Google+ Now Has Business Pages [Archive]

vangogh

11-08-2011, 02:37 AM

When Google+ first launched one complaint was you could only set up a personal profile and you couldn't set up a page for your business. Google said it was coming and now it's here.

Here's the page I set up for my business (https://plus.google.com/b/114137823950110357722/). It's not particularly exciting as I haven't done anything with it yet other than add the company name, a link to my site, and the same avatar you see here.

You do need to first have a personal account in order to set up a page and when setting up a page you have different options for what kind of page it will be.

1. Local Business or Place
2. Brand or Product
3. Company, Institution, or Organization
4. Arts, Entertainment, or Sports
5. Other

The new Page looks pretty much like any other profile from what I can tell, but even if they're the same thing it's nice to be able to use Google+ as a brand instead of only as an individual.

I collected a few links if you want to read more.

Grow your audience with Google+ (http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/11/grow-your-audience-with-google.html)

Google+ Pages: connect with all the things you care about (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/google-pages-connect-with-all-things.html)

Google+ Pages Now Open For Businesses, Brands, Places & More (http://searchengineland.com/google-pages-now-open-for-businesses-brands-places-more-100217)

The first two links above are directly from Google and the last is Danny Sullivan's review at Search Engine Land.

If you have a Google+ account and want to use the network for business it seems like a no-brainer to set up a page.

greenoak

11-08-2011, 09:50 AM

the social media people i follow are starting to talk about google +....but i havent gotten too interested in it yet.again, im not national or selling online ......im all about facebook,over 2k fans now, and pinterest...which i think will be major for some businesses....im waiting for a while anyway...i did yelp...last report said i had 3 visits to my site thru them...so i assume that was a waste of time...

kerrylinux

11-08-2011, 01:14 PM

I'd like to throw in my Google+ business page (https://plus.google.com/112798627486511280963) as well.

Let's see which new features Google will come up with to make a real difference to their competitors.

vangogh

11-08-2011, 03:45 PM

I see you've at least added some information to your page unlike me.

im not national or selling online

Ann just curious, but why would the above keep you away from Google+ but make you like Facebook? Or am I misunderstanding your reasons?

I wouldn't say you have to be on Google+ at all, but it's worth looking at. In time I suspect many of the people you talk to now on Facebook will also be there and Google+ is much more likely to affect Google's search results.

greenoak

11-08-2011, 05:19 PM

i have 2000 followers on facebook and im not hearing about google + from any of them or my wholesale customers...many of them are talking a lot about facebook.....
im really going to be paying attention to the idea that it w ill affect the searches ...that would matter to me....but im on the first page now...
i just look at google more for national searching...and im already on the first page of google in my main category....if anyone is looking for antiques in indiana they are going to find me very easily......im sure you wouldnt be able to say that about what you offer, you are in a huge sea of like businesses...im not.......so you need to work it a lot more than me....... im very happy with my google..
.i might have my web person sign up for google plus.... im not a gainst it..if i start hearing aboutit in my field i will sure get on.......they are mad about pinterest tho...and my efforts there are getting me many connections to my website.....and making my facebook and blog richer...
whats your goal for google +?
i just read an article that s aid facebook was gaining fast on websites in importance and changing the value of seo....

vangogh

11-08-2011, 10:52 PM

I can understand all that. The part I was wondering about is what not selling online or not being national had to do with your decision. Google+ isn't specifically for selling or being national. I'm not suggesting you need to be there. I was just curious about your reasons.

My goals for Google+ are the same I have with any social network. To interact with people. Sometimes that might be personal and sometimes it's about business, but it's always about interacting with people and building stronger relationships with them.

Where search engines are concerned both Google and Bing have said they now look at social signals such as what content is being shared and by who when it comes to ranking web pages. Not that it's all about social stuff, but signals from social networks are entering search algorithms.

Facebook doesn't give Google any data so it's harder for Google to use social signals from Facebook because they don't have access to all the things they want. Naturally Google has all the data they want from Google+ so most likely it'll be Google+ data that influences how pages rank in Google much more so than what happens at Facebook.

Google+ is still pretty small in comparison to Facebook, but it looks like Google has finally built a social network that will take hold. They're integrating all their products to help the network grow. One aspect to being successful marketing through a social network is how much influence your profile has. It's much easier to build that influence early on than after everyone's joined. That's one reason I think it makes sense for people to sign up sooner rather than later for Google+ That way by the time the masses are joining you'll be someone who stands out and you'll understand better how the system works.

greenoak

11-09-2011, 09:49 AM

sounds good..right now its about time...im so busy...butim planning on getting to it ...
..my goal is always to get people to the store to buy....and google and facebook are a big part of that...nothing comes even close to facebook for connedcting with actual customers for us right now..

vangogh

11-09-2011, 06:16 PM

im so busy

I hear you. There's only so much time for all of these social networks.

nothing comes even close to facebook for connedcting with actual customers for us right now

One thing I would point out is that you like Facebook and seem to spend more time with it. It's possible another network could do well for you too if you put similar time into it. Obviously there's only so much time to be able to spend. It's just a thought.

greenoak

11-09-2011, 10:02 PM

billbenson

11-09-2011, 11:14 PM

i think you kind of underestimate the power of facebook ., nothing really compares in the retail world... .... ...you probably arent a daily user are you?.or do you know any other businesses who use it?..... .
.....i wonder what other social network you would think my customers visit and use like they visit and use facebook...

I suspect that is pretty much related to retail and probably certain niches within retail. I don't do any social network marketing and I really doubt my customers go there either (for work purposes). If I were looking for a web designer for my business, to me facebook would lack credibility. I would want recommendations from business people. I really don't see where a web designer would benefit a lot from Facebook. Then again I don't use it so...

kerrylinux

11-10-2011, 05:39 AM

Tony Lawrence, an IT support professional for many years, published some interesting thoughts about the value of the new G+ business pages (http://aplawrence.com/Web/multiple_googleplus_pages.html). He explains that the business page can be used for permission marketing, because for customers it opens up a way to subscribe to a specific channel of information in which they have an interest. As a consequence, a business should create different business pages to offer the channel of information which is right for the customer. A single business page wouldn't do.

With different business pages for different parts of your business you can post your content (your breaking news) on the page which is most appropriate and use your other pages to share this post to become included in the wider picture. Customers who are specifically interested in a certain aspect of your business will see the content only if it appears on their specific page, while other customers with a more general interest see the content as a shared information, too.

The question is though, how the new business pages can reach their audience, which certainly is not answered by creating the pages.

greenoak

11-10-2011, 09:19 AM

BILL...thats sure how i see it too.... its just not appropriate and wouild be a waste of time in many businesses ..i wouldnt expect t o see a webdesigner, or accountant company or lawyers,or manufacturers on there, ........ but then there are tons of businesses like grandma mary on ...giving social media advice to businesses ...i think they a re kind of the new wave of internet advisors ...the ones who understand how we are using or trying to use social media ....and able to talk about the issues .......
. if you were advising retail or any business involving popular culture, homes,style, women, resturants , art, trends, young people, etc etc you should probably get some education on facebook ....AND pinterest!!!
.... its perfect for my business ...dh is not interested,he would probably never sign up,,, hes financial, accounting, a guy, and rolls his eyes...but also is amazed by how much our customers talk about and respond to it ...

KristineS

11-10-2011, 11:37 AM

I put a Google+ page up for EnMart today. Not much on it yet, but I'm still playing with Google+ and learning what it can do. I figure it can't hurt to have the page and it might help.

AvidTexting

11-10-2011, 07:05 PM

Even if you don't use these social networks (Facebook, Google Plus) creating a page on there takes only a few minutes. There are many benefits as well especially if your business has a website. Social media is KING now, and has been since a few years ago, if you own a business - you need to get into social media.

vangogh

11-13-2011, 09:53 PM

a business should create different business pages to offer the channel of information which is right for the customer.

That's one of the nice options I think Google+ is offering. I haven't set up multiple pages myself yet, but it's easy to see how useful it can be.

creating a page on there takes only a few minutes.

True. Just setting up a profile page isn't going to get the most out of any social network, but it still likely gets you something, especially if you take a few minutes to fill out the profile and add a few links to your site and your other social profiles.

Still it's better to actually participate in the community if you want people to interact with you in some way.

I suspect that is pretty much related to retail and probably certain niches within retail. I don't do any social network marketing and I really doubt my customers go there either (for work purposes). If I were looking for a web designer for my business, to me facebook would lack credibility. I would want recommendations from business people. I really don't see where a web designer would benefit a lot from Facebook. Then again I don't use it so...

Bill you're looking at social as you would search. It's not that people go to a social network specifically to search for someone to hire or do business with. They go there to be social. If you're there too then you might meet them and interact with them in some way.

People visit social networks for various reasons. Some just want to connect with friends and family. Some are looking for recommended content. A business might set up a page as a marketing vehicle or they may use the network as a line of customer support or a way to get information to customers. You can probably reach your customers quicker through social media since they're likely to be there. Social networks are simply a place where a lot of people hangout so they become easy places to reach people.

Facebook isn't just about retail. Type the word design into the search box on the site. Tons of designers have pages that are doing well and have attracted many fans. Design Observer (https://www.facebook.com/designobserver) is one example with more than 50,000 fans. Search accountant or attorney too and you'll find plenty of people in those industries with pages. There's no one industry that automatically does better.

billbenson

11-14-2011, 12:42 AM

Bill you're looking at social as you would search. It's not that people go to a social network specifically to search for someone to hire or do business with. They go there to be social. If you're there too then you might meet them and interact with them in some way.

People visit social networks for various reasons. Some just want to connect with friends and family. Some are looking for recommended content. A business might set up a page as a marketing vehicle or they may use the network as a line of customer support or a way to get information to customers. You can probably reach your customers quicker through social media since they're likely to be there. Social networks are simply a place where a lot of people hangout so they become easy places to reach people.

Facebook isn't just about retail. Type the word design into the search box on the site. Tons of designers have pages that are doing well and have attracted many fans. Design Observer (https://www.facebook.com/designobserver) is one example with more than 50,000 fans. Search accountant or attorney too and you'll find plenty of people in those industries with pages. There's no one industry that automatically does better.

You know my business Steve. Do you think I should be doing social media marketing? One of my current problems is that I as a single person business can't deal with the requests for quotes, emails etc that I currently get. I'm actually trying to scale back my business at the moment until I can get more organized, hire, get more people to order online without consultation, whatever.

I would rather spend more time expanding my site making it a true resource site than time with social marketing.

I also have a security issue with putting my name online. People like you have no options as you are selling yourself. I'm selling a product. I don't need to put my name online.

So given all of the above what would you recommend I do as far as social marketing. Should I start a base now that could potentially help me in the future? If so what? Do I need to stick my name out there?

vangogh

11-14-2011, 03:10 PM

Bill my point wasn't specifically that you should be using social media, but rather than you shouldn't see social media as being for one or a small handful of industries. Maybe different industries are involved and have success with social media.

As for you personally why couldn't you be Bill Benson on Facebook or Google+ like you are here? As far as not having the time to be active I can completely understand, however that's not a reason why social networking can't work. That's about you getting more organized and hiring people, etc.

I see no reason why your customers wouldn't be using social networking sites. Facebook has something like 800,000 users at this point and I would think some of them are your customers. How you would go about connecting is something you'd have to think about. Your's certainly isn't a typical business so some of the usual things probably wouldn't be the best ideas.

SnellExperts

11-14-2011, 10:23 PM

I think Facebook has so much power right now because people have had their profiles for years at this point and have everything set up and all of their friends on their, and are comfortable with how to operate it. Google + in my opinion has more to offer for businesses in the way of tools, but without the community of Facebook those tools aren't worth much :( The problem is that nobody wants to start over on G +.

greenoak

11-15-2011, 07:06 AM

good points.. there is always the time issue...for our buainess, we have to interact on facebook majorly and now pinterest.....plus keep the website going right, ..so there would have to be a pretty compelling reason to do it all again on google....but if my customers go there i will too...
+

vangogh

11-15-2011, 11:38 AM

The problem is that nobody wants to start over on G +.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Realistically we have to wait and see how big Google+ grows. Last I heard there were 40 million Google+ users. That's a lot of people in just a few months time. It's only about 5% of Facebook's size, but Facebook has had a few years head start.

Not everyone likes Facebook. People complain about it all the time, mainly about privacy, and Google+ has privacy as a selling point. Google has a pretty large network in general and is now integrating all their products to funnel people into Google+ It's going to be hard to be a Google user and not be aware of Google+ if it already isn't. Also keep in mind that communities are fickle and change. For example if you 15 and your parents, grandparents, and all their friends are on Facebook, there's a good chance you might choose the other network.

Is Google+ going to grow to the size of Facebook? Certainly not any time soon. How large it grows we can only guess at this point. What we can say is Google+ has grown pretty quickly in a short amount of time and unlike Google's other attempts at social networking they seem to have gotten it right this time. They have a very large user base to nudge toward Google+ and Google will use information from Google+ as signals for its search algorithm.

kerrylinux

11-16-2011, 11:04 AM

Do I need to stick my name out there?

No need for that, I'm Kerry Linux on Google+ and people sometimes address me as Kerry.

Regards
Ralph

PS : you can even edit your name after creating your account using the same email address that you used for registration

billbenson

11-16-2011, 09:13 PM

btw Ralph, most know here, but my name isn't bill benson. I am bill but not benson. When I take things to PM's or email I use my real name.

SnellExperts

11-17-2011, 10:48 AM

For example if you 15 and your parents, grandparents, and all their friends are on Facebook, there's a good chance you might choose the other network.

Is Google+ going to grow to the size of Facebook? Certainly not any time soon. How large it grows we can only guess at this point. What we can say is Google+ has grown pretty quickly in a short amount of time and unlike Google's other attempts at social networking they seem to have gotten it right this time. They have a very large user base to nudge toward Google+ and Google will use information from Google+ as signals for its search algorithm.

The point about the parents and grandparents being on Facebook is an excellent point. I hadn't even thought of that point. Google + did blow up pretty quickly like what you were saying, but I was of the opinion that it was mostly the nerds and "techies" that were on there. These are usually the ones that you see obsessed over Google, and I know in my direct network, that's mainly the ones that have switched over to Google +. With them being up to 40 million already though, perhaps I should rethink that opinion lol.

vangogh

11-17-2011, 10:59 AM

Geeks and techies are often the early adopters of new technology. Twitter was exactly the same way. Early on the general public wasn't there at all. I think it was when a few celebrities joined and built followings did Twitter go mainstream. Facebook didn't start out with hundreds of millions of users. It began on one college campus, spread to other campuses, let in high school students, and then eventual the general public. Even then it was people in front of the curve who were using it at first.

Right now Google+ is definitely more of the higher tech crowd. You probably aren't going to find your mom there. The question is will you be able to find your mom there a couple or three years down the line. I think there's reason to believe she might be there.

Google+ seems to be doing well with the early adopters who continue to use and promote the site. You're seeing more +1 buttons on websites and Google is aggressively integrating G+ into all their products. Google+ may not be 800,000 strong, but Google itself is across it's different properties like gmail and YouTube, etc.

Again no way to know if G+ will grow to the point where the masses sign up and become part of the community, but so far they appear to be headed in that direction. It makes sense to me to be there now, because you can be a bigger fish in a smaller pond that will likely become a much bigger pond in time.

SnellExperts

11-19-2011, 02:24 PM

Geeks and techies are often the early adopters of new technology. Twitter was exactly the same way. Early on the general public wasn't there at all. I think it was when a few celebrities joined and built followings did Twitter go mainstream. Facebook didn't start out with hundreds of millions of users. It began on one college campus, spread to other campuses, let in high school students, and then eventual the general public. Even then it was people in front of the curve who were using it at first.

Right now Google+ is definitely more of the higher tech crowd. You probably aren't going to find your mom there. The question is will you be able to find your mom there a couple or three years down the line. I think there's reason to believe she might be there.

To be honest, I still don't see why Twitter is as popular as it is. I don't know but a handful of people that actually use it, but the way you hear people talk about it, its the hugest thing since sliced bread. And yeah, I still believe that the reason that Facebook blew up the way that it did was because they used the principal of exclusivity by not allowing anybody to join unless they had a .edu email address. This made everybody else want to get in that much more because they weren't allowed, so when it finally opened up to the general public, everyone jumped on it.

greenoak

11-19-2011, 11:18 PM

i dont get twitter either.... but i respect it since i have to believe its big...i hardly ever hear of it in my circles...
.. i have to disagree that the geeks are the early adopters ...not in the case of facebook and pinterest...maybe those 2 huge things were made by geeks but they were adopted by and enjoyed by a very different population.., the throngs of users dont get or care to get the inner workings at all....the beauty of both is partly how easy they are compared to what was before...
i am probably signing up for google + tho....just in case...so far im not hearing much talk about it...

duniaputri

11-20-2011, 05:34 AM

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Realistically we have to wait and see how big Google+ grows. Last I heard there were 40 million Google+ users. That's a lot of people in just a few months time. It's only about 5% of Facebook's size, but Facebook has had a few years head start.

Not everyone likes Facebook. People complain about it all the time, mainly about privacy, and Google+ has privacy as a selling point. ...

Is Google+ going to grow to the size of Facebook? Certainly not any time soon. How large it grows we can only guess at this point. What we can say is Google+ has grown pretty quickly in a short amount of time and unlike Google's other attempts at social networking they seem to have gotten it right this time. They have a very large user base to nudge toward Google+ and Google will use information from Google+ as signals for its search algorithm.

cool idea of information :D ya see, my friend said it's f*ckbook - it's like we both dislike *or, say, gettin bored* with it but we still use it somehow. i guess it's because we (that friend and i) could use it as our alternative Contact Book :D

PS: see, i bold the part of your comment that i like :cool:

duniaputri

11-20-2011, 05:39 AM