Just a few days ago on July 31st, Google made the somewhat surprising announcement that the company purchased Wildfire, a social marketing software developer. For those who are unfamiliar, this software is what allows different brands to participate in ad campaigns on the leading social networks—Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YoutTube, LinkedIn, and more. Once again, Google seems to be in control of yet another aspect of marketing.
Why and How the Acquisition Occurred
Google was apparently in the market for a software of this type for quite sometime. While the network may have failed when trying to buy Buddy Media, Virtue, and Involver, Wildfire seemed to be the only choice. However, although the software may not have been Google’s first choice, many expect the company will still be able to hit the ground running.
The most interesting part about this acquisition is the idea that the more Wildfire is used in conjunction with social networks like Facebook and Twitter, the more Google will benefit. Although this means competition for Google+, it still means profit for the company behind it all.
According to TechCrunch, Google bought Wildfire for $350 million. The cherry on top of the cake: Wildfire only offers ads through a company known as Adaptly. Whether or not Google will make another purchase to this website is still up in the air.
What This Means for Google+ and Your Company
Google+ was already a social network that companies should be taking seriously, especially when setting up an SEO strategy, but this acquisition has made the network even more important for businesses. Google is now able to help businesses run things like contests and games on Google+, which is something more advanced than the company was able to offer in the past.
So what does this mean for your business? This simply means that social marketing is only going to become more popular, so now is the time to really get your social accounts in order. Optimize these accounts by utilizing keywords, make sure you have a solid stream of valuable content on all of the different platforms, and make sure that you’re continually analyzing your audience and creating adds for those interested in your industry.
What do you think of the new Google acquisition? Do you think this will make a difference for the future of social advertising?
