For someone who had only had about 48 hours to work with Google+ pages, Shelby covered this topic well yesterday. Today I’ll focus on thoughts about the potential benefits and pitfalls of a business or brand having a Google+ Page. I’ll also share some basic getting started steps that worked for me. Also, at the end of this post you’ll find the topics for our #SheHeChat over on Twitter at 8pm CST tonight.
First, my biggest frustrations
So far I’m part of two Pages: One for “She Said, He Said” and one for ColorMetrix. The problem is I can’t help administer the “She Said, He Said” page and Shelby can’t help administer the ColorMetrix page. That’s because at the moment Google only allows the creator of the page to have the ability to edit and post to the page. Hopefully that will be fixed quickly.
There’s a lot of complaining about G+ not supporting vanity URLs yet. I’m becoming a bit worried because I had figured this would be something Google had resolved by now. Part of me wonders if they are waiting until they have some way to give legit businesses and brands first shot at their URLs. It seems easier to take your time and get this right the first time around than to have to go back and fix it later.
Reasons to have a G+ page for your business or brand now
I figure any additional information you can give Google about your business, the better. It’s kind of like having a site and not taking advantage of Google Tools for Webmasters. Why would you not do that? Typically, the more you tell Google about your site or business, the better you will show up in search results.
As for a brand that’s not quite a business yet, like “She Said, He Said,” I like that we can share posts and pictures and build a relationship with our audience which is really more of a community than an audience. Even on the ColorMetrix page I made sure some of the scrapbook pictures included people. The days of static pages “selling” anything are long gone. It’s about community and engagement now and that happens with humans not logos.
Tips to get your G+ page started
Just like any social network, the first step is to complete your profile. For the ColorMetrix page, this included steps like adding our logo as an avatar, filling in the basics and contact information and, most importantly, adding pictures to the scrapbook.
Since the beginning, I’ve liked the control G+ provides for the five scrapbook pictures you choose. You get to decide what five pictures are going to show up and even the order they show up in. As a starting point, I’ve included both product and people images. As I stated earlier, it’s important to let people know there are real humans behind the business.
Next, I’d get some posts up. I added links to interesting blog posts and a link to a video we made. Then, I started promoting the page and re-sharing content from the page on my G+ account. For now, I just want friends following us so I can ask for honest feedback about how we are doing.
Give it time
Not everything Google does is going to be a 99-yard touchdown pass. Some of it’s going to be the foundation on which they build better solutions. They’ve proven they can get it right through search results, maps, email, etc. The list goes on and on. It’s my opinion that they are committed to G+ and will keep going just as fast as they can without messing up their future vision. (Yes Shelby, I’m still a G+ fanboy at this point in the game.)
#SheHeChat Topics
Be sure to join Shelby and me over on Twitter at 8 p.m. CST for our #SheHeChat. Tonight we’ll be discussing these three topics and welcome your participation.
1. G+ Brand & Business Pages.
2. Voice-activated technology on mobile devices.
3. Adobe’s announcement killing Flash on all mobile devices.