Google+ for Business doesn't have a lot of pluses

by Mike Moran

Perhaps you saw the announcement of Google+ for Business--it made big news for a day, but there isn't that much to say about it. Honestly, if you understand how Google+ for individuals works, it will take about ten minutes to get up to speed on Google+ for Business, which is rather disappointing, because after months of development, Google added just a few fields for a business name and a photo.

So, if you have a business or a brand or a product or a local place, you can now set up a Google+ page. That's about it. Lots of businesses jumped in at launch and Google famously deleted all those profiles, so now everyone can get in and put their business name in. That's about the end of the excitement.

Now, you should do that. Your profile can help Google understand who you are, where your Web site is, and it can use your Google profile to connect lots of other stuff. Putting a +1 button on your page can't hurt anything. And the more Google knows about your social media footprint, the more credit Google gives you for high-quality content, so you need to create a Google Profile and Google+ pages to maximize your impact here.

But it's still disappointing. I really expected that Google was holding off on business pages because they were doing something really interesting, but they didn't. Now, you might argue that Google+ all by itself is interesting, so opening that up for businesses is interesting. Perhaps. And for all you out there who are not familiar with Google+, here is a cheat sheet of just some of the functions:

• Privacy. Facebook scurried to match this feature because it got so much attention. Google+ Circles allow you to decide which of your connections can see which posts, instead of sharing everything with everyone.
• Huddles. These are similar to text messages within your Circles.
• Hangouts. Some people have found this the most interesting feature--they are Skype-like multi-user video chats that are great for impromptu Web meetings.

These are all cool features, but they were already there, so the fact that businesses can use them is not the most exciting announcement Google has ever made. So, if you liked Google+, you'll like Google+ for Business, because they are hard to tell apart.

Originally published on Biznology

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