The lesson today is never be dependent on one social media platform!
I was awesome on Google Plus.
me!
I had 18,000 followers.
Social media influencers would reply back to any comments I would make that were thoughtful.
I could connect and make a comment on anyone’s post.
The newsfeed goal was for attractive and engaging images which people felt compelled to make a comment.
I had people wanting to come into my groups. I joined many groups and added value when I could to the group. People started to recognize me.
I could connect with people from all over the world from within a post or within a group. I was in a “Flowers Group” with people from Sri Lanka but we could understand each other with the use of Google Translator.
My hobbies and passions like the Chocolate group could be enjoyed. I could check out the latest posts in my “Scientist ” circle or “Photographer’s” circle. It was a great place to hang out.
So last year, Google decided to close Google + in April 2019. Why? They never created a mission statement for Google+. They never understood why they wanted to create it. They never figured out how to monetize it. They didn’t understand how unique it was from Twitter or Facebook. They had a data breach because they hadn’t been monitoring Google well. They should have had a master plan with a dedicated Google team to develop it into what they wanted or did they know what they wanted it to be?
As I archive the three years of posts and interactions I had on Google plus, I realized there is an important lesson in Google Plus closing (as there was when Blab (social conversation broadcast platform) closed.
- All social media platforms are privately owned and the “owner” can change or close it at any time even without notice (Blab).
- Never be dependent on one social media platform to create awareness and market for your business.
- Always have your own asset, your own home base, your own identifiable location on the internet where you keep the assets whether it products or membership sites or any other asset in your business. So always have a website hosted that is uniquely yours.
- Don’t expect that having 18000 followers on Google plus or 5000 friends on Facebook or 10000 followers on Instagram is an asset of your business. Get those people onto a mailing list of subscribers and then they become your asset in your business, no matter what!