Google recently announced that it is phasing out its social media network, Google+ and finally shutting it down on April 2, 2019. With rivals Facebook and Twitter steaming ahead in the popularity race, Google said it was shutting down the social network that it had launched in 2011 "due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations". Google has already shut down all the legacy Google+ API support which were being used by developers for building integrations with Google+. 

While this shut down is making some news online, what you really need to know is whether or not this shut down will impact you as a business owner. Within the Birdeye platform, you have had the provision to integrate both your Google My Business (GMB) and Google+ pages. Let's start by talking a bit about the difference between the two.  

Google+ VS Google My Business (GMB)

Google+ has been a social network site from Google that allowed businesses to share brand content, and engage with prospective leads. Google+ allowed users to share comments, photos, links, and more with other users. The platform never gained much popularity and hence its shut down is unlikely to impact anyone. 

Google My Business (GMB) on the other hand helps businesses manage their online presence on Google, including Google Maps, and on Google Search. A GMB account gives customers access to business' information, including business hours, address, phone number, reviews, ratings etc. In a nutshell, Google My Business is the one that is helping you build your online presence and grow your business.

Will Google+ shut down affect my business? 

Even though Google+ is shutting down, if your Birdeye account is integrated with Google My Business (GMB), it will be business as usual for you. Birdeye will continue to help you to:

1. Generate new reviews on Google 
2. Monitor and help you manage all new Google reviews instantly
3. Help you respond to new reviews on Google from within the dashboard 
4. Auto-share your Google reviews on other social sites, your business profile etc.

The impact, therefore, is limited to reviews and other posts not being shared on Google+ as the platform itself will cease to exist.  However, do note that your reviews will continue to be shared on Facebook and Twitter - automatically and manually.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our responsive support team at 1-800-561-3357 ext. 3 or drop us an email at support@birdeye.com