With the recent launch of Google+, everyone is speculating how this new social media “project” will fit within the overall landscape dominated by well-established players such as Facebook and Twitter. Are we really ready to adopt yet another new platform? And what is this new platform exactly? One answer currently prevails: Only time will tell.

As a PR professional, it has been exciting to watch the buzz continue to manifest since the platform debuted in late June. While this could be easily attributed to the strength of Google’s brand among consumers and media, it is clear the company had a thorough strategic PR, social media and reactive communication plan in place.

Let us take a moment to examine how each strategy played a role to support the company’s launch of Google+.

• Diverting Rumors. Buzz of what is known today as Google+ emerged long before its official launch. Since December 2010, stories appeared across a variety of media outlets such as TechCrunch, Search Engine Land and Read/Write Web about a mysterious “social media project” at Google speculated to be named, “Emerald Sea.” While TechCrunch was able to confirm the project name from a handful of sources, Google managed all leaks diligently and swiftly. Within hours of media breaking that Google would launch Google+ at SXSW in March 2011, the company issued a statement that this was not the plan causing media to retract their stories. Was this part of the reactive communication plan to keep everyone guessing? Regardless, it is clear they had a plan to contain any leaks about this new platform, and kept it well-under wraps while it was in development.
• A Clear Launch Plan: When reading the initial coverage of Google+, it is clear the company pre-briefed key journalists and provided demos of the platform’s functionality to highly influential media. As TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reported, he had the opportunity to sit down with Google’s Vic Gundorta and Bradley Horowitz the week before the official launch. The result of this activity led to several in-depth articles like Siegler’s story on Google+ that captured the key messages accurately while creating a positive review of the platform, its existing features and functionality.
• Use of Social Media: Google rolled out its new platform with invites that quickly became highly coveted. Whether it was on Facebook or Twitter, I saw countless friends talking about how fun and easy it was to organize their “circles” while others were begging for anyone to share a Google+ invite.

Seeing this chatter intrigued me to learn more. Naturally, I Googled “Google+ Circles,” which brought up a YouTube video created by Google demonstrating how it works. After reading the positive media coverage and seeing my friends talk about it, I wanted in — and so did everyone else.

However, when conversations quickly moved to complaints about the lack of access, Google kicked in again with a proactive statement using social media. Google’s Vic Gundotra wrote in a Google post they had “shut down the invite mechanism for the night. Insane demand. We need to do this carefully, and in a controlled way. Thank you for all your interest!”

When you look at the unveiling of Google+ over the past year, it is evident they had a clear PR plan in place that examined all possible scenarios with a strategy on how to respond. While many today are questioning the adoption rate among users and how it will compete against Facebook, in the end Google has received an overall positive response from media and users.

From my personal experience, Google+ has been pretty easy to set up and become familiar with, considering it seamlessly integrates with my activity on other Google platforms like Gmail, Picasa and my Android phone. Plus, Mashable shared some great tips & tricks on how to get started on Google+, which we will highlight in another blog post here soon.

What are your thoughts on Google’s PR efforts to support the launch of Google+? Do you think it has the potential to be a game-changer in today’s social media landscape? We would love to hear your thoughts on it.