Google+ debuted to much fanfare a few months ago, beginning first in “super-exclusive” beta mode that led to a chaotic public interest. When Google+ went completely live to the public, people flocked to the new social media service to create their new profiles, and stake their claim in this new social media “frontier”.
Now, Google+ has decided to include a Business option, much like Facebook Pages for businesses. We decided to measure this new business social media tool against the obvious competitor, Facebook, and came up with a few pros and cons. Consider our lists below before signing your business up for Google+.
Pros of Google+ for businesses:
- Search results: Google+ is (obviously) better suited for SEO impact. Content posted on a Google+ page, as well as “recommended” through Google+ are an instant shoe-in for search engines results on Google. This is especially true if the person searching also has a Google+ account.
- Communication: Google Hangout would be an ideal way to have conference calls with staff, or even clients, from literally anywhere. You can do a Hangout session with a specific Circle, so your business could create a Circle for Staff, as well as temporarily create a Circle for a certain client that they want to have a conference call with.
- Google+ button: You can place a Google+ button on your website, to 1) encourage visitors to join you on Google+, and 2) to “recommend” your content on Google.
Cons of Google+ for businesses:
- Not as widespread as Facebook: Google+ is still technically a “newbie” to the social media world, so not as many of your clients will be on it. In time, this will probably change, but for now, this shouldn’t be considered a reliable way to connect with clients.
- Not as many options as Facebook: There are many updates on the horizon for Google+, like a shopping cart capability for Business Google+ pages, but for now, the profile on Google+ is very basic. Facebook offers you much more customization.
