With the evolution of Google+ already forging ahead, we’re actively digging into its features and functionality to assess it for our clients. Google itself has already mentioned its applicability and value for lead generation, and that, in time, it may allow brands to conduct commerce on the service too.

Lead generation is a natural element of the social marketing mix. We are already incorporating a number of social channels into our reach and remit, and Google+ will become relevant possible sooner than previously thought. The company has generated a fantastic level of demand by tightly controlling user sign ups in the early stages, but quickly then rolled out the ability for brands to also sign up and make use of the service via the recently launched Pages, safe in the knowledge that there was already a consumer audience in place. Whether this was always the plan, or a response to the uproar about brands not being allowed through the gates, we will never know.

Currently, both promotions and advertising are absent from the service, but it is highly likely, given Google’s excellent focus on monetisation through advertising and its range of complementary services, that Google+ will become ‘all things to all brands’ as it were.

Just as Magnetise works to cover and cater for all valid lead generation channels and techniques, brands should also ensure that they are present and active in key channels their customers or indeed prospects are to be found in. And from the little we have gleaned so far, the story and rollout of Google+ has only just begun.