Experts Speculate About Google's Social Platform Future

With Google’s social media platform splitting into separate parts, pundits have wasted no time in describing it as the demise of the service.

It’s not hard to see why; although Google is the go-to search engine for anyone with a query and Chrome is the browser of choice for a huge swath of the population, the Internet technology company’s social media foray never quite took off, at least not in the way Facebook or Twitter did.

But dry your eyes, dear readers. According to Business 2 Community’s William Comcowich, Google+’s restructuring comes with a silver lining in the form of a marketing lesson: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

“Companies that focus their marketing efforts on a social media network have no control over what the network does,” Comcowich stated. “Social media networks can revamp their services at any time or even disappear entirely. Every PR and marketing strategist needs to consider how their business would survive if their go-to social media network drastically changed or disappeared.”

The best way for marketers and PR professionals to protect their clients, Comcowich argued, is to ensure brands get an even spread across multiple platforms. Even more important is making sure social media isn’t the be all and end all of a company’s efforts.

“If you are the kind of business that has chosen to invest all of your marketing eggs in the social media basket… you’re in trouble,” Carrie Morgan, digital PR consultant and head of Rock The Status Quo, told Business 2 Community. “Not only do you have just one basket, but that basket is on fire.”