Brands get on Google+ in Asia

GOOGLE   SOCIAL MEDIA   RYAN HAYWARD

Hong Kong – Cathay Pacific and Uniqlo are among the first few brands to take up Google+, despite reports of the social site not being as popular in Hong Kong as in other markets.

A month after brand pages were launched, Google’s product marketing manager Ryan Hayward (pictured), product marketing manager said 95 out of 100 brands have expressed interest in setting up an account on Google+ to reach out to consumers in Asia.

Uniqlo, for example, has set up an official brand page and is cross-promoting a Facebook campaign on Google+ for its winter collection.

“It makes sense for brands to cross-sell on social media platforms to gain maximum eyeball,” Hayward said.

The clothing brand has more than 600 followers on Google+, while Cathay Pacific is starting off its page with 20 fans.

He added that the various platforms have their own features, and Google+ offers marketers something new as a more in-depth platform than Twitter and a less personal one than Facebook.

However, Hayward said there is no statistics on how many registered users there are in Hong Kong alone. Google announced in October the global user base for the social site was 40 million.

Hayward said Google+ also serves as a quick mobile outlet for marketers as their brand pages are automatically mobile-optimised.

Meanwhile, Google has launched a free tool for brands to check if their websites are mobile-friendly ahead of the Christmas shopping season. By keying in their brand URL, marketers get a “mobile health check” rating and suggestions to optimise their websites for smartphones.

According to Google’s latest mobile research, one in three Hong Kong smartphone owners had made a purchase with their mobile phone.

“80% of Google’s advertisers don’t have a mobile-optimised website, that’s like shutting the door on customers who tries to walk into your shop during the most important retail season of the year,” he added.

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