How Google+ Will Copy Facebook

Google is going to have to embrace social ads at some point, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.

The search king has thus far resisted overt ads running in Google+ news feeds. And yet Google still uses some social data for advertising. One example: social annotations, wherein ad text displays how many G+ users are following your business. Facebook is similar in that it'll show you which of your friends likes an ad or service pitched in your newsfeed.

Tim says it's a short distance from annotated ads to promoted posts -- think of them as similar to Twitter's Promoted Tweets -- from businesses or people you've interacted with via the Google +1 button. The search king might also allow businesses to pitch offers directly from their Google+ Pages.

We're long past time for Google to do something in this area of the market. Researcher BIA/Kelsey has the total spend on social media advertising rising from $6.1 billion this year to $11 billion by 2017. There's no sense in ignoring that sort of hypergrowth opportunity, Tim argues.

Do you agree? Or should Google keep G+ free and clear of advertising? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know where you stand.