Finally, Google has launched a way for businesses to easily join in on the social media fray on Google+ via the Google+ Pages for businesses. Although I’m quite sure that this feature has been in the works for some time now, you have to wonder if it also has something to do with the whole Techcrunch issue and maybe even the seeming flagging interest of users in Google Plus. I don’t about you, but my Google Plus stream has been getting quieter by the minute. Reasons aside, Google can definitely expect interest with Google+ to pick since businesses are ever eager to find more ways to leverage their content, especially these days with the social media interest experiencing an upward trend.
So what do we know so far about Google+ Pages for businesses?
- Publishing posts just work the way they do with your personal Google+ account. So this means that you don’t really have to go figure out how to use it. If you use Google+ (even Facebook), you’ll feel right at home managing your Google+ Pages for your business.
- Contests and Promotions are not allowed. You can share whatever content you deem relevant to your business, but you are not allowed to post contests and promotions, which is one of the most popular things businesses use their Facebook pages for.
- Hangouts are encouraged. The Google+ team seems to be pushing the use of the hangout functionality, encouraging businesses to host hangouts for event such as product demos, meetings between key persons of the company, tutorials and classes, and Q&A sessions.
These are just the very bare bones of what to expect from Google+ Pages for businesses. If you want to learn more, just create your own page for your business and start playing around.
Image credit: Google+ Your Business
