Opinions are floating all over the internet about Google+ and what it means for Facebook’s dominance in the Social Media arena. to quote my friend Zach, The Tech world loves its Cliches.

Well here’s mine: Facebook should be sh****ing their pants over Google+, and that’s a good thing for everyone.

I’ve been purposefully waiting a bit before sharing my thoughts on G+ and its implications in the Social Media space- partly to see how its adoption is going and partly to not jump the gun on my opinion.  Google+ is definitely going to improve our current state of social media, and here’s why:

Monopolistic Complacency

Facebook has become a fat and sloppy behemoth since its iconic rise to the top. The problem with a company having a monopoly on something is that it breeds complacency.  Products tend to evolve more in a competitive environment. Without any viable competitors to one-up, Facebook really has no need to evolve its products and UX in earnest. »

<obvious statement> We’re living in a world driven by information </obvious statement>

The internet and all of its iterative constructs have enabled the creation and sharing of information.  In its current form, public consumption of this information is driven by a mixture of search and socially-enabled sharing. This means that successful sharing of relevant, engaging information is the key to maximizing the digital public’s consumption of your content.

There’s a very wrong assumption floating around the heads of many CMO’s and small business owners alike. They are of the belief that just having a social media presence is enough. »

As is customary in the transitory world of social media, best practices for audience engagement continue to shift and evolve.  While the primary function of social media portals remains the same (tools for maximizing engagement), marketers and social media professionals alike are constantly striving to magnify the level of engagement they can achieve with their current and potential clients.

The assumption has been that users who “engage” with a brand digitally are more likely to: 1) Buy the product or service and 2) Share their interest with their social circles.  The more people that engage a brand, the more likely they are to see an increase in traffic and (consequently) sales.  User engagement creates an increase in the conversion rate from a site visitor to a paying customer.

So what’s the next iteration for increasing engagement?

Liking someone on Facebook for your whole network to see is all but commonplace.  While the underlying assumption of user engagement still holds true, one starts to wonder if this action becomes less effective at high adoption levels.  Perhaps the next iteration of user engagement is providing means for users to engage with more intensity.

Actions such as “liking” were the first rung of user engagement. The second rung was sharing the brand with others. But what’s the next level? What’s the next tool that marketers can present to users that enables them to outwardly show their support/love of a brand in a more meaningful way?

Cue our example:

The folks at Heinz Ketchup UK provide a shining example of the next generation of audience engagement.  By leveraging Facebook’s new iframes capabilities, visitors land on an interactive tab that offers an exclusive offer just for fans of the brand.  Naturally, we became fans (half out of curiosity, half out of a genuine love of ketchup) and were greeted with the following:

The offer was for first dibs at buying a new, limited-edition flavor of Heinz Ketchup. It may seem like a simple variation on the old model, but there are numerous benefits:

• Increased initial engagement: The audience is more likely to become a fan just so that they are able to discover what the offer is.

• Direct link to sales from the social media portal: This limited model is able to do away with the need for pushing site traffic from the social media portal to the website. The sales are done right at the point of engagement.  This is a significant benefit.  Digital marketing revolves around making it easier for one to learn about and eventually buy the product they want.  Keeping the user’s experience with the brand centered on Facebook minimizes the chances of users bouncing from a website after they click to learn more.

• Preliminary gauge of new product success: Implementing a limited offer of a new product to fans before it hits stores allows for a more facilitated analysis of how well a new product will do when released to retailers.  This gives a brand the change to more effectively use whatever input its fans give them prior to a full launch.  Brands may be able to head off potentially unsuccessful products before they fail in a more widespread manner.

The potential for this new sort of strategy is significant, and marks the next iteration for marketing in the social space. CMO’s should be shooting for the realm beyond the simplistic “like”.  Making sure that your brand is at the cutting edge of engagement enablement allows for more successful ad campaigns. If you’re interested in seeing a few additional examples of brands who are taking it to the next level, check out this piece from our friends at Hubspot.

Moral of the story: don’t leave the ripe tomatoes on the vine! Turn them into ketchup and sell them to your Facebook fans.