4 major Facebook and G+ differences you should know about

4 major Facebook and G+ differences you should know about - article content

# 1 Facebook has Friends / Google+ has contacts

Both Facebook and Google+ are social networks that connect people and share content like links, pictures, videos, opinions etc. Facebook concentrates more on connecting people with their friends and entertaining them with applications and games. Most of the Facebook users are younger than 30 years old. Google+ on the other hand is designed more as a professional and formal platform connecting people with others who share the same interests or similar business interests. Google+ users seem to be a bit older than Facebook Fans and more tech-savvy.

# 2 Facebook has Fan-gating / Google+ has Hangouts

People are generally more motivated to support a brand when they get rewarded for it. Facebook allows Fan-gating to limit exclusive content only to its Fans. For now, Google+ seems to be offering exclusivity via live video chats which they call Hangouts or Circles that enable Google+ brands to share their content with specific groups of people.

#3 Facebook has the Like button / Google+ has the +1 button

Both the Facebook Like button and the Google+ +1 button express people´s approval or support and generate traffic. But when searching for something on Google, people will bump into the +1 button more often thanks to the Google Search plus option generating more personalized results directly from the Google+ social network. In other words, their Google search will be influenced by recommendations of their G+ friends, who have previously +1’d particular content that will appear among their top search results. This is supposed to work as a reference base where people can find the best stuff on the web and recommend it to their friends. It moves the concept of word of mouth marketing to another level.

#4 Facebook has Lists / Google+ has Circles

Both Facebook Lists and Google+ Circles help organize people into groups. But while Facebook Lists are available only to personal profiles, Google+ has Circles for users and brands enabling them to share specific content with a specific group of people. Computer chip maker Intel even found a way to let users categorize themselves by encouraging them to visit their photo gallery and click +1 on the image of the circle that best matches their interests, for e.g. on IT Experts, Technology Enthusiasts or Life at Intel. This helps the company to share the right kind of information with the right people.

Check out the Socialbakers Google+ brand statistics and Facebook brand statistics to compare the Fan growth and the social media performance of the top brands. And don´t forget to sign-up for a free 14-day trial with Socialbakers Engagement Analytics PRO to see how your brand is doing on Facebook and Twitter.