This week, Google+ launched its business pages which will compete with Facebook business pages as a way for organisations to manage online communities, to market and to interact with clients.
But is Google+ just one social network too many for us to manage and care about?
Last week, Chris Brogan, author of about-to-be-released book GOOGLE+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything was our guest on BOOKED for Lunch, the HerBusiness’ interview series with best-selling business book authors. During the webinar (for which over 700 people registered), Chris pointed out many reasons why business people absolutely MUST start to use Google+, not the least of which is because Google indexes all public posts (your posts on the other social networks are not), giving you a lot of power behind your posts and the chance to integrate with other Google products. Plus, Google+ has some fun features (Hangouts where you can video chat in small groups) and a better way to manage your contacts (Circles) than Facebook. We jumped on the moment Pages launched and grabbed our page. We suggest you do the same. We use our Facebook Page extensively for business and I’m sure we will continue to — BUT that’s no reason for us not to also explore how to best use Google+ for business. (I bet you’re not lamenting that you now have a smart phone and not an old brick of a phone – technology and tools change and evolve and it’s important to keep evolving with them for your business to stay up to date.)
As Chris explained: “Google+ is more ‘open’ than Facebook, more deep than Twitter and more rounded than LinkedIn.”
And the fact that Google+ is tied to the number 1 and number 2 search engines in the world (Google and YouTube respectively) makes it a tool unlike the others. So, there’s no time for fatigue. Register and grab your page today.
To help you make sense of it we suggest two things:
- Watch the webinar on the HerBusiness website (duration 1 hour).
- Read this list of Google Pages how to guides compiled by Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.
Here’s some comments from people who attended the live webinar: — “I found Chris’s responses insightful and thoroughly convincing.” — “Great ideas, which I’ll be implementing.” — “I enjoyed the targeted information that came out though the interview (which was conducted in real language rather than ‘business speak'” — “Practical tips and reconfirmation of the importance of social media.” Watch the webinar here.
About Chris Brogan
President, Human Business Works
Chris Brogan consults and speaks professionally with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. He is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents, and a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine. Chris’s blog is in the Top 5 of the Advertising Age Power150. He has over 11 years experience in online community, social media, and related technologies. Read more about Chris Brogan.
About Google+ for Business (the Book)
In Google+ for Business, Chris Brogan guides you through using Google+ for promotion, customer service, community building, referrals, collaboration and a whole lot more. You won’t just master innovative new tools like Circles and Hangouts; You’ll use them to generate more customers and more cash! OUT SOON: Order your copy today.
