How will Google+ Brand Pages Impact Your Business?

Google is using their new plus one button to refine its search algorithm. Since the launch earlier this year, Google search results have gotten rid of Tweet and Facebook ‘Likes’ in its search results. But the question many people are asking is ‘are people already so enamored with Facebook and Twitter that they won’t adapt’? Are we comfortable just the way we are?

My guess is that Google will decide for us. The core feature of Google+ is that it will rely on the opinion of users to determine what is and is not a quality site; therefore, making search engine algorithms similar to a democratic vote. Google listens to the voice of users and what they deem high quality. In this new democracy friend recommendations will drive engagement in content thereby establishing high rankings in search and overall online visibility.

Many people predict that Google+ will evolve to become a social search engine, not simply a social network that replaces Facebook or Twitter.

How will Google+ Brand Pages affect your business?

I think it’s still fairly early to predict how precisely Google+ Brand Pages will influence SMBs; they only officially launched branded business pages on November 7/11. Google initially discouraged businesses from establishing a presence on the social network, but now that it has opened its doors will companies flock to create yet another page that needs to be maintained, that is, aside from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and their blog pages? There is definitely a lot of potential benefit to be gained by using Google+. From a business perspective, the ability to segment your followers is very powerful and it will allow companies to really target specific segments with targeted posts and content. Google+’s new hangouts which offers a 2-way video feature definitely gives then a leg up over other social networking sites.

With over 800 million Facebook users and more than 130 million LinkedIn users, Google+ is already making a strong play. According to Google CEO Larry Page, Google+ current has 40 million users. Not bad at all. There is huge potential for businesses to stay connected socially with customers while staying productive and receiving important social data.

Mashable, an award-winning site and one of the largest and most popular destinations for digital, social media, and technology news and information, offers some great tips and tricks on getting started with Google+ Brand Pages.

http://mashable.com/2011/11/08/how-to-google-plus-brand-page/

What are your thoughts on Google+? Does it have a place in your current B2B marketing strategy?