What could a Google+ page mean for your business? Why would you want one? How can you use it to engage with your clients?
Google have produced a couple of videos which explain how they envisage Google+ Pages for Business being used:
I have to agree with the emphasis on this video - people buy from people, and something which brings you closer to your potential customers has to be a bonus. The advantage of course is that Google run the most popular search engine - certainly in the western world - and therefore I would suggest it's likely that the Google+ Pages for Business are likely to rank quite nicely if they are well optimised. Furthermore, they have introduced a pretty clever way of allowing your customers to connect directly to your Google+ for Business page, by using 'Direct Connect'.
Direct Connect
Direct Connect is basically a funky redirect whereby if you enter a plus symbol in front of the business name, you automatically get dropped to their Google+ page rather than going to a search result listing. Try it now with +Google (I couldn't get the others to work like Pepsi, Angry Birds etc) - this could be a great way of hooking people straight to your Google+ page - a much quicker way of teaching people to find what they're looking for just by adding a simple symbol rather than the whole URL. That's the advantage you get with owning the search engine most people will be using, I guess!
Sharing Circles
Another great way I can see of connecting with both clients/customers and also with other professionals, is to share circles with others. For example, I had a circle shared with me, containing all the Google+ Business Pages currently in existence. I can then share that on with my contacts. I might create a circle with Joomla! developers which I could share on with others. The potential for this boggles the mind - there are so many clever marketing uses for this kind of setup, I look forward to seeing how it pans out.
Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn ... which one is best?
My humble opinion is to use all methods of connecting with your clients, make sure you have a clear, concise and well-managed brand across ALL social media which ties in with the branding of your main website and also your print materials. If your target market tend to hang out on LinkedIn, then pay more attention to that network but don't neglect the others. Don't forget that social networking is as much about building your brand reputation and raising awareness of who you are and what you do, as it is chatting to people and sharing information. I cringe when I come across Facebook pages and Twitter accounts which haven't been used in months - if you're going to have these accounts, use them or lose them!
When can I get a Google+ for Business Page?
We don't know is the accurate answer! The blog post mentions that it will be opening soon, but there is no definitive answer as to when it will be open to all. The URL for creating a page will be http://plus.google.com/pages/create.
Follow me on Google+ here
Update:
07/11/11 1900hrs Here's a great link which takes you through some of the ways in which you might consider using your Google+ page (when you get one!) http://adwords.blogspot.com/2011/11/get-closer-to-your-customers-with.html
07/11/11 2100hrs Want to get involved, suggest features and find out what's new? Join the group here: https://groups.google.com/a/googleproductforums.com/forum/#!forum/pages-discuss
07/11/11 2130hrs We have a Google+ Page!
Virya Technologies
on Google+
