Facebook Users Leave for Google+

Analytics firm ForeSee’s 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report said the site elicits a slightly favorable response but still came in dead last among social networks, in its survey of how customers feel about social media.

Facebook, now at the 750 million-member milestone mark, increased its customer satisfaction score to 66, up two points from last year’s ranking, a sign ForeSee Results CEO Larry Freed said indicates the social network “may be moving in the right direction, albeit very slowly.”

“More than half our users visit Facebook every day, and we’re constantly enhancing our products to offer people the best possible experience,” said the company in a statement responding to the survey results.

On a scale of 1 to 100, with 80 being the benchmark for excellent, overall customer satisfaction with social media sites remained unchanged from last year, pulling a score of 70. As a whole, social media ranks low, with just three categories — airlines, cable television and print newspapers, ranking lower.

ForeSee Results’ Larry Freed pointed out that by sheer numbers, Facebook is still the undisputed social network of choice for most, as figures this year increased slightly over the previous year. Still, the unimpressive score means there are opportunities for other services to gain.

“Facebook is clearly king right now, but if anyone can knock it off its throne, it would be Google,” said Freed.

These results may play well into the hands of Facebook’s emerging rival in the social networking biz, Google+. If the search giant can tap into the apparent customer dissatisfaction with Facebook, the company may be able to fortify its fledgling social network, which it launched by invitation only earlier this month and that currently supports about 10 million current customers.

ForeSee’s survey categorized Google under search engines and portals, rather than social media, because its social network wasn’t established in time to be considered for this year’s survey. As a search engine, Google led its category with a score of 83.

Wikipedia topped the competition in social media sites with a score of 78, followed by YouTube’s 74 score.

Share and Enjoy

Ford Motor Company’s Google+ Jump Start; Approved Brand Pages Coming Soon

He speaks, others listen. Closely.

Ford has become so active in adapting to new tools and offerings through social media that the company didn’t wait around for an invitation from Google+ to start using Google’s new social networking site currently in field trial phase. Brands have been able to set up pages at Facebook, the world’s leading social media site, for some time, but that wasn’t the case immediately with Google+ when that social network was launched in June in a limited field test phase.

So Ford Motor Company set up its own hacked brand page on Google+ soon after Google launched its most ambitious social network to date. Google was thrilled with Ford’s eagerness, as one might imagine, and results.

“We’re positively overwhelmed by how quickly Ford has become involved with the project,” said Christian Oestlien, the lead product manager for social advertising at Google, in an interview with Ad Age. “They’re doing some incredibly cool stuff like the “hangout” they’re doing this afternoon with their customers. It’s the kind of stuff we’re looking to test.”

In response to Ford’s hacked Google+ brand page, Google set up in early July an application page where companies can apply to become a part of Google’s initial test that will be conducted for business and brand pages, like Ford’s. Google has said companies approved will be able to begin testing their pages by the end of July.

In the meantime, until the business pages initial test is launched, Google has been going through and actively taking down profiles that don’t belong to real individuals getting ready for the formal application-approved process, in which big businesses and small businesses will be selected and allowed to launch. Then, Google can officially observe how brands are using Google+ for tweaks and changes like those that have occurred in the past month in the Google+ field trial among individuals.

Ford wasn’t alone at jumping into Google+ with a brand page before the system was officially ready. Dell didn’t set up a page, but the company has hosted hangouts with Google+ users, something Google also like seeing.

“The hangout is one of those things where it’s really just the beginning in the potential ways it can be used,” Oestlien said, in the Ad Age interview. “For companies to be able to talk literally face-to-face to their customers on a regular basis will be incredibly powerful.”

Other companies getting an early start with brand pages at Google+ includes MTV, and the online tech blog Mashable.

Share and Enjoy