Brands have been waiting more than three months to get their hands on a Google+ brand page, and with little warning the opportunity arrived early this November. When Google+ launched, we predicted that the fate of brand pages “could change in a hurry.” Now that they are available the question becomes, what is their value to businesses?

The Google difference

At a glance, the business page is much like the standard Google+ profile. It’s clean, easy to navigate and customized with brand images. There is a large square profile picture which becomes the avatar for posting, and multiple profile pictures can be set, which can be flipped through when clicking on them. There’s also a set of 5 square images across the top, which remain static in position – so can be utilized like a banner.

A little known, but convenient feature we like is called ‘Direct Connect’. To locate a brand’s Google+ page, simply put a ‘+’ in front of it, such as +Pepsi, Google will directly link you to that brand’s Google+ page where you can follow them, without having to wade through a sea of Google search results.

Peace of mind for Google+ users

Brands can’t follow anyone unless that person is following the brand.  By limiting who brands can follow they are only able to broadcast their message to people who follow them first. This eliminates the chance of spam filled brand pages populating the network.

When an individual chooses to follow a brand, any information the user makes public will become visible. This includes their stream of posts in addition to personal information such as age, education, gender, relationship, job title, photos and videos.

Google+ has the potential to be a real powerhouse for brands. The real question is, will this integration give brand pages on Google+ the edge over the Facebook equivalent or is it another case of too little too late?

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