With the lines between search engine optimization and social media continuing to blur, it is important that companies capitalize on all of the opportunities that exist to increase networks and improve brand awareness. One of the opportunities on the table is Google+ Brand Pages.
Positioned as a leap forward in building relationships between businesses and people, Google plus Brand Pages allows you to create company, brand or organisation pages for people to follow and interact with.
This new social networking platform comes with an icon that when people click on them they can add the page or the company to their Google+ circle. With this, brands are able to create followings on the social networking site easily and keep track of the number of people who have shared their site or content on the platform.
At the surface, Google+ Brand Pages looks very similar to Facebook and if it is so similar, why would you undo all of your Facebook marketing to invest some of your attention in this new platform?
Almost ready to write it off? Well before you do, consider the following:
- Less noise – Google+ Brand Pages has a much smaller user base than Facebook, but this can work to your advantage. With 800 million people using Facebook, it is easy to get lost in the crowd , but Google+ Brand Pages has less noise. It also is more driven by content of a professional, informational and industry-specific nature and because of this, brands may be able to create stronger and more direct relationships with their target audiences.
- Unique functions – Google+ Brand Pages offer the unique functionality of “Hangouts” which are live audio/video chats so companies can directly engage in discussions, receive immediate feedback and provide exclusive content to their audiences.
- Sky is the limit – When google releases a new product or service, those in the communications and marketing industries should pay attention. This is because google are an online power house and Google plus Brand Pages will be integrated soon with other Google products and services including Google Places and Maps, Web and Image Search, and YouTube. This could prove beneficial for increasing a brand’s visibility.
At the end of the day though, the decision on whether to diversify your social media presence lies with you and the type of audience your company has. Success in these mediums relies on your ability to understand who your target markets are, where they spend their time online and what types of content they consume online. Finding the right balance between social interaction and commercial promotional is instrumental in your ability to succeed and positively affect the other marketing campaigns you have. Check out the following brand page I have created for Tricks Machine;
But like every marketing effort, don’t forget to promote your involvement on this platform. Get the icon and put it where you can, add your account details onto your marketing collateral including your business cards and really put your mind to it. It might not deliver the same results that Facebook did straight away… but it is predicted to over time.
