What Are Agents Doing With Google+?

Is Google+ really worth it? That’s the question a lot of real estate agents are asking themselves as they consider the prospect of adding yet another social network to their online marketing strategy.

InmanNext contributor Darin Persigner recently made the argument that Google+ is “a negative for productivity…at least for the moment.” Is he right, or should agents be jumping on the Google+ bandwagon as soon as possible?

To start answering this question, we decided to take a look at what real estate agents are doing on Google+ at the moment - before the new social network opens up to business profiles. Here’s what we found:

There are plenty of profiles out there with no content (at least, no public content). This could mean that agents have set up their Google+ profiles and stopped there, or that they’re only sharing posts with a select few friends.

Google+ streams look a lot like Facebook streams. Those agents who are sharing a lot of content publicly seem to be sharing the same sort of things you might see on a personal Facebook profile - photos, links, and general observations.

Agents are mostly talking to other agents. Few are trying to reach buyers and sellers in their local market yet, preferring to keep the conversation at an agent-to-agent level.

Posts are often more informative, less promotional. The most active Google+ profiles we saw were almost like blogs, with active conversations springing up around links to articles on everything from SEO to the latest economic news.

Our argument would be that spending a little bit of time getting familiar with Google+ isn’t a waste. While the network isn’t yet anywhere near Facebook of Twitter in terms of popularity, it certainly has the potential to get there, and knowing how it works can only be a positive thing. That way, you won’t have to spend too much time playing catch-up if and when Google+ takes off.

Related posts:

1. Google Profiles Await Agents
2. Google+ for Business: When Will it Be Rolled Out?
3. The Top Five (Free) Google Tools for Agents
4. Is Your Google Profile Up to Date?
5. Google Rolling Out Business Photos
6. Boosting Your Blog with Google Insights
7. What’s Blue, Global, and Bigger than Google?
8. Google Real Estate – Should Agents Bank On It?
9. AgentWorld Connects Leads With Agents
10. Is Google Latitude Useful for Agents?