The content is only available to subscribers so thought I would re-post here:

Influencing: How important do you see Google+ as playing in social media campaigns?

It will obviously depend on the brand’s strategy.

Google+ has a smaller number of users when compared with other social networks so it’s up to each individual brand to assess the pros and cons of establishing a page.  The typical Google+ user is very tech savvy and more likely to be male.  If that’s your audience then Google+ could play a big role in your social media campaign.

As a minimum, brands should be monitoring Google+ to see what people are saying about their brand, category and competitors.

Influencing: You were one of the first PR firms in Australia to sign up, has it been helpful so far (or is it pretty empty)?

Our page has provided an opportunity for us to demonstrate what’s possible to clients and get a feel for the functionality.  It has also led to this opportunity with Media Connect, so yes it has been helpful.  You can check out the Encoder PR page on Google+ here.

Influencing: What are your thoughts on Google+ brands pages right now?

The functionality is very similar to the basic features within Facebook Pages.  There are some limitations that have been well documented.  For example, you can only have one administrator per page.

Google+ sets itself apart by providing easy segmentation of followers, which is useful in a business context as brands may want to talk to different audiences in different ways with a personalised call to action for customers and non-customers.

The Hang-Out feature is a big differentiator as well – I think we’ll see some interesting applications of this by brands.

Influencing: And what improvements could be made? 

Brands on Facebook can differentiate themselves by offering their fans different functionality and utility via apps.  This is not currently available on Google+ but it’s bound to come.

Facebook provides some analytics with Insights.  I think Google+ will eventually provide much deeper analytics as this is a core competency for the company.  This could be a big selling point for brands that may feel frustrated by the fact that Facebook retains most of the useful information about their fans.  Google is already providing a greater level of detail with Ripples.

Again, its early days.  Our expectations when it comes to tech are very very high but we have to be realistic.  It’s very early days for Google+.  Facebook has iterated and re-designed over many years – it didn’t launch in its current form.  Google+ will eventually rival Facebook in terms of functionality and will probably end up doing some things better than Facebook.

Influencing: Do you think the brand pages are too similar to Facebook brand pages, and therefore will probably just end up being duplicate pages (to increase reach)? 

My advice to clients that want to engage via social media is to concentrate on one platform and focus their energies in order to get it to the point where consumers are interacting and receiving value.  I don’t think Google+ changes this and I wouldn’t recommend that brands duplicate their content across Facebook and Google+ communities.

The niche that social networks fill tends to be determined more by the users than the service provider itself.  It could be that Google fulfils a need in social networking that is not currently being met by Facebook or Twitter.

We’re seeing users leaving Facebook in overseas markets.  This could be because it is over exposed and no longer perceived as having any social cachet.  Speaking yesterday at the ninemsn digital marketing summit, Jeffrey Cole said that he believed Facebook would end up as the social network for families because it is losing or has lost the ‘cool’ factor.

This could be the Google+ opportunity.  I think some brands will try and capitalise on this by establishing a presence on Google+ but I think the majority will sit tight for the time being and wait a little longer to see how this plays out.

The other big event on the horizon is the introduction of the Timeline layout on Facebook, which could result in a reaction among Facebookers and play into the hands of Google+.

Influencing: Are there things the brand pages do that you PREFER to other social media? Or make the pages unique from other social media sites?

Brand pages are fairly unique as a platform for interacting with customers and fans.  You can achieve something similar with a blog but without the easy sharing and readymade audience that Facebook provides.

Influencing: And more generally, what websites would you now regard as critical components to all/most PR campaigns now?

I don’t think there is a one right answer to this question.  It depends on your audience, your idea and your objective.  It’s important that we think more broadly than just Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  There is a first mover advantage for brands that do different things in different spaces.