Google+ Closes: 13 More Social Media Sites to Make You Happy

By: | October 14, 2018 | Tags: , , , , , | 40 comments

GooglePlus folds, 13 alternatives

UPDATES:

There have been three updates to this situation since the original publication of this article.

First, GooglePlus announced its closing down four months ahead of schedule due to a second data breach. The site will forever close its doors this April of 2019.

Next, GooglePlus now provides directions for saving your GooglePlus data.

In addition, MeWe (added below as a Bonus Tip) is providing a way for GooglePlus users to upload their content directly onto MeWe. 

When I first started blogging almost 4 years ago, I enjoyed using GooglePlus.
I enjoyed the feeling of community the GooglePlus groups gave me.
I met new friends from all walks of life tied by a common thread– a love of blogging.
I promoted my posts on GooglePlus which has the potential to boost blog traffic.
My friends often promoted my posts and expert interviews in which I took part there. Their support further cemented our friendships.
Additionally, I was able to promote in GooglePlus groups which had the potential to attract targeted traffic. GooglePlus had all sorts of groups. I recall groups about technology, politics, and WordPress just to name three.
I say “recall” since I hadn’t been to GooglePlus in an extremely long time.
Apparently, neither had many people since the site announced its impending closure on October 8.
GooglePlus announced the site will close its doors come August of 2019.
Another reason actually precipitated the site’s imminent closure: a data breach involving 500,000 people.
Reactions on Twitter to the news of GooglePlus folding varied:
Google has apparently announced they are shutting down  leading thousands to ask the important question “Google+ was still around?”

And the main lesson for those end-users, like me, who invested thousands of hours helping to build services like Google+ and Google Reader? Never invest deeply in a platform that isn’t the primary focus of the company behind it.

So GooglePlus is dead now? ?☠️

The news that Google is shutting down is met with immense joy and sighs of relief from Social Media Professionals all across the industry who were only publishing on or monitoring the dead platform because it was a checkbox on an executive’s social strategy.

? More like

The data breach is not really a huge deal. No one uses the platform.

Google Is Shutting Down Google+ After Exposing Data Of Up To 500,000 Users. SHOCKING. Never Knew Google Plus Had 500,000 Users.???

The announcement of the end of another social media site may cause dismay among bloggers who also lost the ability to promote using StumbleUpon which closed its doors recently.
What does the end of GooglePlus and StumbleUpon mean for you? It means you need to find new social media sites and social bookmarking sites that allow promotion.
This article will recommend 13 alternative social media sites. You can use these sites to promote your website content. 
It gets better: In contrast to GooglePlus, which had seen a decline in popularity for years before its closure, the social media sites recommended in this article are growing! Their popularity is on the rise.
At the end of this article, you will be able to promote your posts to 13 free social media sites and social bookmarking sites.

What is Social Media?

Social media websites are online communities where people interact. These communities encourage the sharing of information. According to Wikipedia, “User-generated content is the lifeblood of social media.”

What is Social Bookmarking?

Social bookmarking sites can be used to save entire articles. You “bookmark” those articles to find again later.

This post recommends using both social media sites and social bookmarking sites as alternatives to using GooglePlus to promote your content.

13 Social Media Sites You Can Use as Alternatives to GooglePlus

Flipboard

Although I know people have lost interest in Flipboard since its 2010 inception, according to the CMSWire blog, “Flipboard is seeing strong user growth.” According to the blog, Flipboard is a “growing source of referral traffic.” [Read: Instructions for using Flipboard to generate blog traffic.]

Instagram

Is Instagram growing? Is the sky blue? Do people need air to breathe?
Check out these statistics from September of this year:
According to BusinessofApps.com, “For the last 4 years, Instagram enjoyed a skyrocketing growth, from 90 million users who used the app each month back in 2013 to 700 million that use the app in 2017.”
In a recent interview about the best social media apps, 50 social media experts were asked, “Which social media app is the best?” Twelve either picked Instagram or mentioned Instagram in their response.

LinkedIn 

In September of this year, LinkedIn reported having 562 million users with 40% of that number active daily. There are many ways you can get exposure to your content on LinkedIn. One of those is to write an original blog post at LinkedIn.

Medium

Despite rumors that Medium was struggling to find its footing a while back, Medium.com is growing. In April of this year, Medium reported, “We’re now seeing not only more subscribers, but higher-percentage gains every month this year (accelerating growth).”

Pinterest

According to the New York Times September 2018 stats, 250 million people use Pinterest daily. According to CNBC, Pinterest is worth 15 billion dollars. Gaining traction on Pinterest is definitely possible. Many bloggers report Pinterest is the main source of their traffic.

Twitter

Is Twitter growing?
Look:
Alternatives to GooglePlus

Screenshot Courtesy of Statista

According to the screenshot, Twitter’s growth is definitely climbing.

Scoop.it!

Although I couldn’t find more recent growth stats, Scoop.it! ranked as the leading content marketing software in 2016 (Source). You can promote your links at Scoop.it! 50 times before you need to pay for a premium account.

Facebook

According to 2018 statistics, Hubshout reports 79% of everyone online still uses Facebook and 76% of Facebook users use Facebook daily. Despite its recent troubles, I also continue to use Facebook groups to promote my blog.

Steemit

Due to the money-making potential for you at this revenue sharing site, there is a great deal of “noise” at Steemit in my opinion. Steemit is a crowded, and therefore, popular site. Even if you don’t get traffic or even income, when you promote your content at Steemit, you’ll receive a link from a site considered a high-quality site by Google. This alone is worth the promotion for me. However, you can try to make money at Steemit as well as generate blog traffic and income from there.
It gets better: You don’t have to create new content. You can post any of your already published articles at Steemit.

Viral Content Bee 

According to a 2018 review, Viral Content Bee has tremendous potential for making content go viral. “Viral Content Bee has excellent content in regards to social media projects, creating viral content, and how to track your data.”
GooglePlus Closes 13 Alternatives
If you click the “Interaction” tab at Viral Content Bee, you’ll see who interacted with your content by sharing it.

Snapchat 

According to TechCrunch.com, Snapchat reported growth in January of this year despite Snapchat’s online competition. Bloggers and marketers can use Snapchat to generate website traffic.

You can make money by using Snapchat as well as generate website traffic.

Quora 

Quora is a question and answer site. I’m including it here since you can promote your content and interact with the site users. This was the criteria I shared above to be a social media site.

Is Quora growing? Definitely!

In January of this year, Quora boasted a 150% growth rate.

Reddit

According to September 2018 stats, Reddit is continuing to grow. “Reddit has grown dramatically over the years. It has tens of millions of users, hundreds of thousands of subreddits, and it is always growing.”

Despite its reputation for considering bloggers spammers, it is possible to get the kind of blog traffic you want with Reddit.

Update Bonus Tip:

Since the original publication of this article, I discovered MeWe, a new social media site, which offers itself as a Facebook alternative for people concerned their data is getting sold.

Wrapping Up: Alternatives to GooglePlus

This post showed alternative websites where you can get exposure for your content. Not only did this post leave you with a list of options for promoting at GooglePlus, but all the social media sites recommended in this article are gaining popularity! You should be where your potential readers are.
Readers, please share. This way, if bloggers haven’t heard GooglePlus folded, they’ll know. In addition, when you share this post, people will have many social media sites they can still use for blog promotion.

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  1. Ryan Biddulph at 5:41 am

    With Google Plus closing Janice I am more on Twitter these days. I love the network. Plus the meteoric growth you detail shows me I’m on the right track. Win-win scenario. Instagram has super engagement and I am happy to see you mentioned Viral Content Bee too.

    Reply to this comment
  2. Jeanette S. Hall at 7:43 am

    Didn’t realize Google+ was going to be closing shop! I use it all the time. Thankfully, was already on some of the alternatives you talked about. Pinterest is the one I use the most these days. Am on twitter even though I highly dislike the service.

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 9:37 pm

      Hi Jennifer,
      Great to see you! Thanks for writing. You are definitely lucky. I feel for people that only used Google+ for blog promotion. I am glad you’re seeing results on Pinterest. What niche are you in? I always feel Pinterest lends itself more to certain niches.
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  4. Thabo at 10:56 am

    Hello Janice,
    A good friend of mine were just discussing the fact that Google was shutting down Google+ and he wanted to know my thoughts about it. This is not usual. We look at each other’s websites all the time and give feedback that can be helpful. Occasionally when something that we both use or have used is in the news we message each other for reaction. In any case, we were both wondering what we could use as an alternative. Thanks to you we both have good options to choose from. I’ll send him this link just as soon as I am finished posting my comment. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 9:39 pm

      Hi Thabo,
      I am so glad my publication of my list of alternative social media sites is timely for you and your friend. Thanks for sharing my GooglePlus alternatives list.
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  5. Anyaogu Ikechukwu at 11:25 am

    For some, it’s really a bad news. While for others, it’s a great opportunity to make more money.

    I have really been absent on google plus, now its dead, I have to look for other platforms.

    Cool content though

    Reply to this comment
  6. PHILIP V ARIEL at 12:24 pm

    Hi Janice,
    This is indeed a shocking news to many of its users. Though it’s a bit painful action from Google, I am not surprised as it’s not the first time that they are doing such things to its users!

    In fact, they killed 20+ products and services. (I have posted an article on this subject on my website under the title “A sad demise in the family of Google…) so far.

    Earlier when they decided to kill a prestigious platform named Knol they announced it almost 6 months before and the users could migrate their resources to other different platforms and we could save most of our resources.

    Anyways your alternative to Google plus is worth notable and few of them I am already using it.

    But I would like to add a wonderful new platform it this list it is called Webtalk.

    The unique feature of this platform is that it share a major amounts of its earnings to its members in a unique way.
    It is now in its beta stage and of you join now thou will enjoy the life time benefits offered by this platform.

    It’s now accepting members on invitation only. I have posted an article on my page and you can have my invitation link from there.

    Thanks for sharing these valuable information.

    Keep sharing.

    Best Regards

    ~ Philip
    PHILIP V ARIEL recently posted…Webtalk A Social Media Platform Which Shares Their Earnings With Its MembersMy Profile

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 9:42 pm

      Hi Philip,
      Thanks for telling us about Webtalk. Thanks to my use of CommentLuv, we can see the link to your post.
      The article you referenced about the “demise” of Google products: You’re welcome to return with the link if you like. People interested in this topic might want to see it. Thanks for commenting.
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  9. Vishwajeet Kumar at 7:15 pm

    Hello Janice,

    Google is already stop updating features of Google+ in past few years. It is a already a dead product from Google. Users Data breach and lack of user engagement is the reason behind shutting down of Google+. However, I see Pinterest is a great alternative to it. I am recently start using it and get some good results from it. Thanks for sharing the update.

    Hope you have a great weekend 🙂
    Vishwajeet
    Vishwajeet Kumar recently posted…6 Reasons Why Bloggers failed in BloggingMy Profile

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 9:46 pm

      Hi Vishwajeet,
      Many people here are recommending Pinterest as an alternative traffic source. I’m glad to hear. With all the algorithm changes, people are finding it difficult to generate Pinterest traffic. Maybe that’s changing.
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  10. Alice V at 8:21 pm

    I agree, don’t use Google + but had it because…well…IDK! So it doesn’t bother me that it’s going away. I’m still sad about StumbleUpon because I actually got so much traffic from it. I barely get anything from Mix. I did apply for a publisher account on Flipboard and I started contributing to HubPages. Hope some of these pan out for me.

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 9:48 pm

      Hi Alice,
      I found Hubpages frustrating. How are you finding it? I have a Flipboard account. What is a “publisher account?”
      As far as my feelings about GooglePlus: Although I hadn’t used it in a long time, I am sentimental because it’s the end of an era.
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  11. Anil Agarwal at 2:52 am

    Hi Janice, excellent topic to write about.

    I too personally loved G+ and used to show it in my social sharing buttons (I only show 3 social sharing buttons on my blog posts and G+ is one among them), but now with the demise of G+, there are so many fans who are going wild on sites like Twitter.

    The biggest con of trying to build your network around these platforms is this: you never know when they will be out of business.

    So always make sure to give your visitors a way to sign up for your email list by offering freebies so you can build and grow your list from day 1 which can be useful for you to make money in the long run. And don’t forget to start networking with influencers in your field if you want to build your personal brand.

    Thanks for sharing the great alternatives to G+ Janice, much appreciated.

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 1:01 pm

      Hi Anil,
      I appreciate you commenting on my post.
      Many people use the GooglePlus social sharing button; I see it around the internet. “Another one bites the dust,” to quote the lyrics from a Queen song.
      I’m sure Twitter and the others I’ve mentioned will see a boost in growth since GooglePlus is closing.
      If they can stand the test of time, I say, “Good for them.”
      However, like you say, bloggers should not put all their eggs in one basket since you don’t know who will still be here tomorrow.
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  12. Hugh at 8:38 am

    So another social media site bites the dust, Janice. To be honest, I always found Gooogle+ a bit of a ghost town, although I did get some traffic from it. I was surprised that Mix.Com is not on your list. Have you given up on it already? I know it’s in its early stages, but referrals from it are only trickling in despite me using it every day.
    For me, Twitter, Flipboard and Search Engines continue to bring me in the most traffic.

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 12:49 pm

      Hi Hugh!
      Hi Hugh,
      I agree with your description of Google+– a ghost town feeling indeed. Perhaps this isn’t surprising considered it’s closing.
      Regarding Mix: You said it, “Referrals from it are only tricking.” I also use Mix consistently but haven’t seen much traffic from it.
      Twitter and Flipboard were on my list of recommended GooglePlus alternative websites. Search engines, of course, wouldn’t qualify as social media.
      Thanks for commenting on my article.
      Janice
      Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #199My Profile

      Reply to this comment
  13. Steve Clark at 1:12 am

    Google have some history with shutting down services. I still enjoy G+ as there are people there I find interesting. It’s the people that really matter with any social platform. I’ll miss it.

    These days I’m mostly on Steemit. That also has a good community, although it’s fairly small. I’ve made some good money there, but it’s fun too. I’ll be attending their conference in Poland next month, all paid for with my earnings. Steemit is by no means perfect, with various scams and abuse going on, but I still see it as one of the few places where anyone can earn something. It will get interesting if it can grow to many millions of active users.

    Reply to this comment
  14. Ashish at 12:30 am

    Hey Janice,

    Well, Google+ was never a big deal even when it was initially launched. I still remember getting the invite to actually try it and my first impression was like MEH!

    There was another report which revealed that Higher officials and Google+ has stopped using it like 3 years ago.

    Thank you for providing awesome alternatives. Viral Content bee and Steemit were the only networks I had not heard about.
    Ashish recently posted…10 Hacks to Improve Your Memory That Actually WorksMy Profile

    Reply to this comment
  17. Alexa at 7:46 pm

    While your post is filled with suggestions, one was omitted. One that is very close to the same format / layout as G+. I speak of MeWe, of course. It was one of the first I found in many searches for a viable and Net-worthy replacement to our G+ pages. Some of the SNs mentioned above don’t really add up to a full-blown social media outlet. When you produce some of the highest quality images from around the world, SMALL or SQUARE ain’t gonna cut it. Full engagement posts with our audience is also a factor, so tiny tweets of xxxx characters won’t either. Still, your suggestions have given me the energy to search for at least 2 more FULL-blown social network services just like MeWe, which is growing rapidly worldwide. Check it out, it has some really great features – and they accept new feature suggestions for “US” the subscribers as well.

    Reply to this comment
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  20. Terence Boddicker at 9:40 pm

    G+ was by leagues the best platform as long as you weren’t there to promote commercial junk. I engaged with some of the most well known photographers on the planet; and I am not even a serious amateur. Where else can I go and hobnob with Nat. Geo. photographers just back from the upper Amazon? At any rate..

    Twitter sucks by comparison. It’s disturbingly tribal, whereas G+ was expansive and inclusive.

    I have been trying for months with a small group of G+ homeless to find adequate shelter, but it doesn’t look promising.

    Google should give the codebase away to a party that would use it constructively. What lots of people found less than intuitive, I and many others found not only easy to use, but unique.

    Reply to this comment
    • Janice Wald at 12:44 pm

      Hi Terrence,
      I read your comments a few days ago when they came in and have been thinking about them ever since. I wish I could recommend sites with groups comparable to Google Plus. Have you considered these?
      1. Facebook has niche specific groups. Type into the search bar groups + what you’re looking for such as photography.
      2. Triberr also has niche specific groups. If you want more info about Triberr, let me know.
      3. The new site MeWe is slow to gain traction, but it also has niche-specific groups and bills itself as a safer Facebook alternative. It also archived Google+’s data.
      Janice
      Janice

      Reply to this comment
  21. Daisy at 5:52 am

    I wish I had known before that MeWe had a solution for my old Google+ content. I just discovered MeWe last week, so am late to the party.

    First impressions are good though and am considering setting up a page there for my site. That’s how I found your site BTW.

    Love it and I’m off to read your post on Steemit. I don’t want to be late to that party either!
    Daisy recently posted…29+ Unique and Personal Gifts for New Moms 2019My Profile

    Reply to this comment

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