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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Twitter and Facebook may be “what’s hot” for social networking, but with LinkedIn’s network of over 100 million professionals it’s quickly becoming a hotspot to help grow your B2B business. Most people are familiar with how to use LinkedIn on a personal level, but there are several features available to raise awareness and generate revenue for your business as a whole. The top ones are below:

• Make your profile complete and add keywords.
Your profile is the first thing other LinkedIn users see so it’s very important to list all relevant information about yourself. Also, LinkedIn profiles have a high PageRank on Google, so by completing your profile, adding keywords and making your profile available for search engines to index the easier it will be for people to find you.

• Make connections.
LinkedIn is a social network, but for building relationships with other professionals. You need to remember that this isn’t Facebook, Twitter or Myspace (heaven forbid) – we aren’t trying to be friends with everybody. Make valuable connections with other professionals that can help you promote your business and your own personal brand. You can search by industry, keywords, company and title to name a few. Take a look at business descriptions and connections to determine who would be the best contacts for you and don’t connect with anyone you don’t actually know – LinkedIn is not a popularity contest.

• Get recommendations.
Recommendations are the most looked for feature on your profile and can enhance your professional credibility, which will help make connections. Most importantly, don’t ask everybody for recommendations – only people that you know well. Always be sure to return the favor when appropriate!

• Use LinkedIn Answers.
The most powerful tool LinkedIn has to offer is LinkedIn Answers, which allows professionals to ask and answer questions about every possible business topic. The more answers that are chosen as the “best answer” can earn you the title “expert” in a certain field. Now that you demonstrated your knowledge or “expertise,” you have the opportunity to connect with the question-asker and anyone else that read the question and your subsequent answer.

• Join groups – or start your own.
LinkedIn’s Groups feature is a great way to stay informed and make new connections with other professionals that share your interests. There are hundreds of thousands of groups on LinkedIn and chances are you will find a few that will work for promoting and discussing your business. The more you interact with your groups the more exposure you will receive. Select groups that are appropriate for a business professional of your kind, but also be sure to get involved in groups where your PROSPECTS are – this way you will be on hand to sniff our opportunities.

LinkedIn allows professionals to connect with people they already know and to search for people they want to know. Spending some quality time on LinkedIn and using its features will help grow your business and generate revenue, especially for those of us who are too busy to do the amount of face to face networking we should be doing. LinkedIn is proving to be a very credible substitute for such in any B2B focused social media strategy.

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