Google have unveiled their latest attempt to crack the social networking market, which they’ve called Buzz.

It integrates with the Gmail and enables users to post status updates, as well as sharing content from the likes of Twitter and Flickr. Buzz launches directly into competition with Facebook, but as well as being a social networking tool for private users, Google hope that Buzz will be taken onboard as a business tool (a business model is to follow shortly).

The key selling point for businesses will be real-time collaboration, which will enable feedback from customers and the incorporation of social information at an earlier stage of product or campaign development. This has, obviously, massive potential benefits to businesses of all sizes, although the similarity of this function to that of Google Wave has led some to speculate that Buzz for business is really an improved version of Wave.

Wave’s reception thusfar has been less than blistering, and, as Tony Bradley points out in an article for PC World’s Business Center, there are some serious limitations for Buzz as a business tool, as users of Google Apps Premier Edition are unable to access many of the consumer applications such as Picasa, which takes much of the fun out of the whole Buzz experience.

Businesses are still working out how to fit social media into their marketing and sales strategies. Let’s hope that soon Google will successfully integrate Buzz’s business and consumer services into a truly valuable tool.

LexisClick specialise in social media marketing for businesses. Contact us today to see how we can help your business grow its online presence.

Read the excellent article by Tony Bradley at PC World’s Business Center blog here.

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Social Media Marketing Google Buzz, Social media for business, Social Media Marketing, social media strategy