Google+ Launches Business Pages
Google announced today a long awaited feature for Google+. That feature is brand pages. Some of the more notable brands that announced Google+ pages include The Muppets, Pepsi, CNN, The Dallas Cowboys, and Save The Children. Until this time, Google+ has faced criticism for its lack of opportunities for businesses to brand themselves.
While it is great news that brands can now establish a presence on Google+, but what does Google+ offer brands that Facebook doesn’t? This has been the focus of media coverage since Google+ launched and is now more highlighted than ever. The brand pages look almost identical, but the platforms are constantly competing to gain/keep the advantage.
The following is a list of ways that Google+ might gain the advantage over Facebook now that it has introduced brand pages:
1. It’s New and Shiny- The simplest advantage that Google+ has over Facebook is that it’s new and different. People have been using Facebook comfortably for a very long time. We are used to rapid technological change and many are probably itching for something new. Google+ offers the same services that we depend on from Facebook, but in a new way that users might find more interesting.
2. Google Search- Users can directly connect to Google+ pages through a simple Google search. Any search with a + followed by the brand name will allow users to connect to the page. This is much simpler than the several steps it takes to find and “like” a Facebook page.
3. Circles- the same advantages that circles offer for your connections to other users also exist for pages. Circles could potentially help you keep updates from the brands you like separate from your friends’ updates which could be very useful to someone who gets annoyed by Facebook pages crowding their newsfeed.
4. Measurement- Brands using social media sometimes struggle because it is difficult to measure the effect of their social media branding on their target market. Google+ offers some new approaches that may be useful to brands. These include search results, social analytics, and access to all +1 (similar to the “like” button) activity.
It’s too soon to tell what kind of an impact Google+ will have on businesses. For now, we’ve created a business page for Quintain Marketing and are taking a “wait and see” attitude. If you’re on Google+, why not add us to your circles?