Google Inc. is beefing up their social networking portfolio as they acquire Meebo, the social networking platform which started in 2005.

The announcement was made yesterday on Meebo’s site:

We are happy to announce that Meebo has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Google!
For more than seven years we’ve been helping publishers find deeper relationships with their users and to make their sites more social and engaging. Together with Google, we’re super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike.
We’ve had a blast building Meebo so far and we’re really excited to start the next leg of our journey.
Thank you all for coming along for the ride!
Meebo Team

Meebo started as a browser-based  instant messaging program which supported multiple IM services such as Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, AIM, ICQ, MySpaceIM, Facebook Chat,Google Talk, CafeMom and others.  It expanded its reach via the Meebo Bar, which allowed users to chat with their friends on hundreds of websites including TV Guide, TMZ, CafeMom, amd Entertainment Weekly.

Google’s Meebo acquisition is priced at roughly $100 million in order to expand their social reach as it will work in conjunction with Google+.

“We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the Web, just as they do in real life,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “With the Meebo team’s expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google+ team. We look forward to closing the transaction and working with the Meebo team to create more ways for users to engage online.”

Social marketing campaign

The acquisition is viewed as part of Google’s Business Builder, which plans to integrate a variety of products and services such as Google+ Local pages, AdWords Express, Google Offers, Delivery (a new service that would enable stores to deliver products to homes), Google Wallet (a combination of online payment and smartphone-enabled payment at a POS), TalkBin (an SMS-based customer feedback tool) and Punchd (in-store loyalty program, which Google acquired last July), aimed at small business customers for a more streamlined approach.

But Google isn’t the only looking to integrate social media marketing within a larger services platform.  Salesforce.com Inc., a global enterprise software company, agreed to acquire social media management software company Buddy Media Inc. for $745 million – $467 million in cash, $184 million in common stock and $38 million in options and restricted stock.

“Social media has caused the biggest transformation in marketing since the Mad Men era, causing chief marketing officers to completely re-think their strategies,” said Marcel LeBrun, senior vice president of Salesforce Radian6’s social- media analysis platform in the statement. “By bringing together market leaders Radian6 and Buddy Media, we are doubling down on the Salesforce marketing cloud to provide chief marketing officers with the ability to manage the entire social marketing lifecycle.”

Companies are seeing the huge effect of social media on businesses big or small as it serves as a platform where consumers interact, exchange views and opinions on products and provide feedback to companies.  For Google, their social tie-in is a necessity for the future of their search.  Google+ is the linchpin for the company as they look to leverage their existing apps and services across the mobile and web landscape, while also maintaining their market position in search advertising.