November 8, 2011
Google+ Launches Much Anticipated Brand Pages
Whether or not you’re ready to jump on the Google+ bandwagon, perhaps there is no greater time than now for your business to think about doing so. On Monday, Google announced that users can now finally create brand pages on the site after four months of public pressure.
While the site is still light years behind Facebook in terms of membership totals and engagement rates, Google has taken great strides recently in an effort to compete with the Zuckerberg Empire. The implementation of brand pages is perhaps the biggest move the company has made since the site’s launch in late June.
At first glance, the Google+ brand page layout looks very similar to that of Facebook. There are tabs for wall posts, information on the company/product, photos, and videos. The name and company picture are displayed in a very similar fashion as well, and there is a “+1” button that users can click on in order to follow the page — very much in the same manner the “Like” button operates on Facebook.
Although both of the respective platforms do not seem all that different, Google+ brand pages actually offer some unique features for its new business partners that Facebook does not currently offer, and these tools could help Google become a major player in the ever-expanding digital marketing landscape.
- The site’s “Circles” feature allows for companies to segment their brand page followers into different categories which will allow them to target certain posts and informational material toward specific group members. Facebook also allows page administrators to target a certain portion of their audience, but it is much easier to do so on Google+.
- The “Hangouts” feature will allow businesses to interact with their followers face-to-face via video chat. This is a revolutionary tool in the digital marketing world because it allows for companies to build more personal relationships with their customers and provides them with a brand new outlet for engagement.
- The “Direct Connect” feature incorporates Google’s social network with its search engine by allowing users to find brand pages in an instant. When a user types in “+” followed by a company, product, or celebrity name, the user is then automatically directed to the subject’s Google+ brand page. It is the only operator that instantly reroutes users to a specific brand page after text is entered into a search box. Furthermore, for brands that sell directly, Google+ may become more important than Facebook because of the SEO implications. With Google’s domination of the search landscape, it’s only natural that “Plus” will help feed that machine.
The only advantage that Facebook pages provide over the new Google+ format is that Facebook allows companies to run promotions and special events directly from the page itself. Google+’s promotion policy prohibits brands from running any promotions or competitions directly on their Google+ page. While brands will be able to link to promotions hosted elsewhere, the competition itself cannot be hosted on Google+.
Of course the company still needs to add more features and continue to enhance brand pages before it can be considered a strong competitor to Facebook. But the simple fact that Google+ now allows for businesses to promote themselves on the site, along with the unique promotional tools it provides, is a huge first step.
The site is still very young, and there is much work that needs to be done. But it would behoove any digital marketer to check into the new brand pages introduced by Google+ and determine how this new tool can work for your company.
