In our last post, we gave you the scoop on the features that would be available to businesses once Google+ greets them with open arms. Below I wanted to outline specifically what it is that Google+ Pages will bring to your social media tool belt that will be good for small to medium-sized businesses. See below for the top 5:

• A New Meaning for Live Streaming? Recently, Google disabled Realtime Search, which displayed tweets from Twitter and posts from Facebook. The end of Realtime Search might be a hint for what Google has planned for the future – Google’s live feed. If Google integrated this feature into its search options businesses with a Google+ page could utilize live streaming to appear organically in real-time on a search query.

• Location, Location, Location. Facebook uses location so it’s inevitable that Google+ will too. Companies may also have the ability to link their Google+ to their Google Maps and Google Places listings. The Google+ profile “Info” could be directly linked to a Google Places page. This could also allow users to have a live feed of business reviews from customers and feedback or promotions from the business owners and employees all in one place.

• Apps & More. Google’s Apps for Business productivity suite offers businesses everything they need & more once you look at the benefits of being able to share spreadsheets, calendars and documents online. These tools, in addition to Google’s booming Apps Marketplace & Google+ provide companies with a web presence and social networking platform in one – quite possibly the perfect pair.

• Click +1. Facebook users can “Like” and comment on Web pages, but Google lets you help your friends find the best products, sites and services by simply clicking “+1″. The Google+1 system only arrived in March, but is quickly catching on. If Google+ grows in popularity, it’s possible that the “+1″ could become the new “Like.”

• Google+ Sells. Google+ may be competing with more than just Facebook. PayPal may also have a new rival in the Google Checkout payment system. If Google+ utilized the Google Checkout system on business pages, customers could actually purchase products on Google+ business pages.

Taking a new spin-off of what is currently available to you through Facebook Pages, Google+ is planned to be much more robust. It will be interesting to see who wins out in the long run, but one thing is certain: If your target audience is represented on Google+, your brand definitely should be as well.

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Google+ is looking better than ever for use by small to medium size businesses and individuals. The simplistic design of the Google+ profile is refreshing in comparison to the new – and extremely busy Facebook site. Google+ has not given businesses permission to set up Google+ pages yet, but it has allowed GM & Ford to set up test profiles. So far, Ford Motor Company’s page is significantly more developed than General Motor’s page.

Google+ reported that a business variant of Google+ pages is set to launch later this year. Entrepreneur.com reported that Christian Oestlien, the advertising lead for Google+, said the new business pages will include “things like rich analytics and the ability to connect that identity to other parts of Google that businesses might use on a daily basis, like AdWords,” he added.

Below are the benefits we compiled of developing a Google+ page based off of Ford Motor Company’s Google+ page:

Google+ Page Features:

o Buzz: “Goes beyond status messages”
 Users can share updates, photos, videos, & more with the circle of their choice. They can also start conversation about things you find interesting.
 Allows users to connect on other sites they already use and has inbox integration.

o +1: Anyone can instantly see how many times a link/information has been shared by users.
 +1 is designed to “get a conversation going.” By clicking +1 a user gives something “their public stamp of approval” – then they can immediately share with their Google+ “circle” of choice.
 Once a user +1’s a topic or item on the next, the next time friends and contacts search on Google, they might see their friends’ recommendation, giving web users the power to help their friends narrow down their search.

o Circles:
 Users can separate friends from the companies they follow
 Allows companies to specifically target certain users by dividing the users into different groups and tailoring specific messages to those users. Circles could help marketers target and tailor messages to a specific audience.

o Hangouts:
 David Armerland’s article “Google+ Business Accounts: What Can You Expect?” said it best: “If we look at Ford’s example of using hangouts, the group video conferencing feature of Google+, to connect directly with relatively small groups of casual users and discuss subjects specific to their cars (like the recent move to integrate Spotify on-demand music services on some models) we can see how what appear to be relatively small, low-cost aspects of social media connections become the seeds which grow into successful viral campaigns.”

o Integration with Google Analytics style reporting tools: Business pages will see where visitors come from and they will also gain stats about how much interaction each visitor has with their actual page.

Pop Labs is gearing up several campaigns to launch once Google+ gives businesses the green light to proceed in a formal manner. We look forward to utilizing this new platform to grow the audience for each of our clients that will gain some benefit from their target audience enjoying Google+.

Need help with your Google+ strategy, get in touch and let us help!

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