Google Plus Social Media Interactions versus Facebook

Google plus has been online for about 2 years now and it has become the second most popular social site. It seems to be shaping up into a useful tool to make professional connections, much as LinkedIn has developed, but in a very different way. The type of use on this social network is contrasted with the very personal type of interactions that commonly occur on Facebook. However, you can become very personal on Google plus as well through use of the Hangouts and chat features that are a part of it if you wish. In fact, I used it to call my family on Christmas to talk to the whole gang in Texas from Costa Rica, so I am quite pleased with Google plus for that reason.

The professional and hobbyist contact aspects of Google plus are a great way to see what others are publicizing within your interest areas. You can find lots of tech, photography and special interest groups, which is helped by the circles design feature. I also have an interest in fitness, qigong and martial arts and there are an increasing number of people within this area that are becoming a part of this social media format.

People in their teens and twenties are the predominant population active on Facebook, while you find a slightly higher percentage of older adults there as well. The people in their teens and twenties seem to shun Google plus for some reason - time, familiarity, lack of curiosity, etc. Maybe some of them consider that if ain't broke, why change? ... or the evil that you know is better than the one you don't know....

Kidding aside, according to a recent article in Business Insider, a growing percentage of affluent suburban adults are making up the active participants in Google +. This group is about four times as likely to visit Google + versus Facebook.

Males constitute about 60% of the participants on Google Plus, versus around 55% on Facebook. But, the figure that is the most stunning about these two services is that over 80% of Facebook users are active, while only about half of the Google + members are considered active. So, in this regard, Google + has a way to go as regard engaging its user base.

For those who are interested in getting the most out of your posts, there are peak times where you posts are more likely to be read on each of these services. They differ significantly so you can schedule your posting times.

Your Facebook posts are more likely to be read if you post on a Wednesday and peak hours for reading are between 1-4 PM daily. Posting in the evening to early morning (8 PM to 8 AM) is less likely to be rewarded with readers. Monday through Thursday are good posting times.

Google plus has low times (6 PM to 8 AM) and two peak periods ( 9-11 AM and 1-4 PM), but there appears to be no peak days for this service. So, it would be good for you to avoid posting in the evening and early mornings any day of the week.

It depends on the person. If you just want the social interactions, then I would say stick with Facebook - it does have a video feature where you can chat with friends like Google's Hangouts. But Facebook is limited in that you can't do conference calls with a group of people scattered across different geographic points.

If you want to interact with people and widen your contacts within your profession or in an area of interest, then I recommend trying out Google +. The interaction there will help you grow in knowledge and enable video chatting with those who share your interests.

Dougherty, Jim. Study: 82% of Facebook Users are Active, More than 30% Higher than G+ or Twitter. Social Media Today.

Fiack, Shannon. Get to Know Your Participants Better with Facebook Insights. Active Network.

Kovach, Steve. Rich Suburban Parents Are Ditching Facebook for Google+. Business Insider.