Marketing Land reported that the Minnesota Lynx, a franchise in the Women’s National Basketball Association, recently saw its popular Google+ Page disappear … and then Google seemingly restored it. The team aggressively touted its presence on Google’s social network, acting as an early adopter on the network. However, the email address of the user was not housed within the organization’s email system, which likely led to the Page’s removal.
Companies using Google+ as part of a social media marketing strategy can learn a lesson from the Lynx’s mistake. Since Google+ is integrated with Gmail, and Google Apps accounts for businesses and other organizations, the managing email addresses is critical. It’s important that social managers for a Page are carefully selected. Moreover, as Marketing Land pointed out, the struggle of a prominent WNBA team points to an issue other (smaller) early Google+ adopters must prepare for if a gmail (not Apps) account is affiliated with their Pages.
After adopting Google+, the Lynx amassed more than 30,000 followers. When the the profile was deleted, the response from Google painted a grim picture for the franchise. Bob Stanke, director of interactive services for the Minnesota Timberwolves – the NBA franchise that owns the Lynx – told Marketing Land that Google’s response was to “start over.”
Since then, it seems Google (or perhaps the former employee?) has fully restored the team’s Google+ Page. Perhaps the issue was resolved by present and former staff, or maybe Google was able to work with the Lynx to bring the Page back. Nonetheless, brands should use caution when creating their own Google+ Pages to ensure the Pages can’t be deleted.
Despite the frustration for Stanke and the Lynx, managing social media marketing accounts is an increasingly important part of a strategy. The Lynx became the first WNBA franchise receive verification from Google+, along with a custom URL for its Page. Brafton reported last month that Google+ had rolled out the vanity domains for prominent users and Pages that achieved strong followers.
