Five Reasons Google Buzz Should Be Included in Your Social Media Plan

Well, this is awkward: Google and Kandessa Media Solutions both wore the same dress to prom. Or did they?

On one side of the dance floor, Google — the Web’s proverbial belle of ball — has successfully launched its new social media platform known as Google Buzz (note the reference to “buzz” in this scenario: it’ll come up again). Meanwhile, qsrbuzz has looked extravagant at the party bearing the “buzz” name for months.

Hrmph.

Now Google Buzz sounds an awful like qsrbuzz, and we all know pretty much anything Google touches turns to GooglegGold: but as a QSR owner, is Google Buzz really for you? Here are five reasons why this new tool absolutely should be included in your social media marketing plan:

Reason # 1: Social media marketing can build your brand at a low cost, and Google Buzz is another great way to accomplish that.

In this age, all businesses have to have a Web presence. With social media, QSR owners can control search engine optimization, customer reviews, and perceptions about a their brand. Google Buzz should not be the exception. It already contains a “Buzz” search engine for looking up information about your brand including customer perceptions, links discussing your brand, or pictures. Within hours of launch, Google Buzz surpassed Twitter in the number of postings per minute. Why ignore this medium?

Reason #2: Buzz takes less than 30 seconds to set up, and it is surprisingly easy to use.

If your restaurant has an e-mail account that is YourQSR@gmail.com, all you have to do is login and activate buzz in your e-mail settings. Once that is complete, upload a picture, and you can easily begin posting. If you don’t have a Gmail account, registration is just another 30 seconds.

Reason # 3: If you have e-mail lists or online newsletters, you can instantly start following customers.

Google Buzz’s structure for following users, and having them follow back, is based on who is in your Gmail address book, and who you have e-mailed recently. If you are a QSR who has an e-mail list, simply add the e-mails from your address book, and you’ll be following your customers instantly. Once that’s complete, simply start a conversation with them. Interaction will always get more customers thinking of your QSR when they get hungry.

Reason # 4: Social media campaigns can easily be integrated to include other social media sites and Buzz together.

Within a blink of an eye, you can easily link all Twitter, YouTube, Picasa, and Flickr accounts to your Google Buzz account, making posting much more manageable. So if you Tweet about a new promotion, or upload a new picture on Flickr, it will also go out to all your Google Buzz followers. This makes it much easier for independent QSRs that don’t have the means to hire a social media coordinator.

Reason # 5: Interaction has never been easier to manage.

All interactions that happen on Google Buzz involving your Buzz account are e-mailed directly to your QSR’s Gmail address (which can then be forwarded to any e-mail address you desire). Unlike Facebook Fan pages and Twitter accounts, if a customer mentions your name in a post, or comments on any of your post, you will be notified daily. This makes interaction much more timely, which will keep your customers happy.

Ryan O'Hara is Strategic Marketing Manager for Kandessa Media Solutions. Having worked with several start up companies within the New England Area, his expertise ranges from brand development to emerging marketing strategies. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics, where he received his bachelor's in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing,  Ryan worked on several market research projects.  The most noteworthy was  a project with former Vice President of Marketing at IBM, Chuck Martin, to help publish a book in 2010 by the American Management Association (AMACOM) on  Cognitive Characteristics with High Performing Individuals in the work place.  For more information, visit: Marketinggun.net.