Is 2012 the year of extreme couponing? The phenomenon continues to gain popularity; with coupon junkies getting fast coupon fixes on Facebook and Twitter. But if you are a coupon extremist, don’t bother with Google+; the site is coupon-less by design.
Although company accounts are welcome on Google+, the site has strict policies against businesses leveraging the social network for promotions. In fact, according to Google+ policies: brands and businesses “may not run contests, sweepstakes, offers, coupons or other such promotions” directly on their Google+ page.
A bit of a risky move for the social scene newcomer as top consumer brands such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Disney utilize social sites Facebook and Twitter to provide discounts and coupons to fans. A study recently found that 77% of US media respondents liked when companies and brands offered incentives such as free products, services, coupons or discounts.
Is Google+ a social bomb for businesses? Not quite. Let’s use Android’s Google+ site as an example. The popular mobile company has a Google+ page with over 360,000 followers. Instead of using the space as a discount page, Android’s focuses on providing content to their followers such as video and announcements.
If you’re a promotion fiend, Google+ is not your social friend – Facebook and Twitter are the best bets for your discounted fixes. But if it’s content you are looking for, Google+ may just be your perfect match.
