Phacient

  • Who We Are
    • What’s with your name?
  • Why Phacient
  • What We Do
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Technology
  • Try Us Out
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

The Skinny on the New Google+ Pages

By Patrick Healy November 8, 2011


Google+ gets into the business page gameSo Google finally released the ability for Google Plus users to create business pages from their Google Plus profile. This is ours BTW. 🙂 No more “your name is not compliant” messages or threats to deactivate your profile for lack of nomenclature compliance. A nice feature is that you can simply switch your profile to that of the page and back again without having to actually navigate to the page – unlike Facebook. It’s also easier to manage your pages as you can go directly to that section of Google+ and just focus on that without all of the other distractions that Facebook generally throws at you. So what does it mean?

Pages, Profiles, same thing

Basically, pages are like profile pages with a few differences:

  • Quick and easy switching is nicePages can’t add people to circles until the page itself is added first or mentioned
  • Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles are generically for actual people
  • The default privacy setting for information on a page is public
  • Pages have the +1 button – which will be interesting to watch. It’s sort of like the Facebook “Like” button on the top of their pages but I’m not sure if it will help from an SEO standpoint on Google
  • Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 things on the Web – I think this will change though
  • Pages can’t play games – not that you would want your business page to have the high score on Angry Birds. This will only hurt Zynga’s Google+ page.
  • Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’ – again, why would you care? Usually what you are putting out there is for public consumption unless it’s for “special fans” as a reward – which you can still do.
  • Pages don’t receive notifications via email, text, or in the Google bar – I don’t even know how they would address this but they need to have notifications if these pages are going to be viable for community building
  • Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device – I suspect that pages will have their own type of hangouts. They will be like Webinars from GoTo Meeting or the like. Perhaps this will be a pay service you can purchase from Google. That would be good though to do product demos, training sessions or corporate announcements.
  • Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location – just like Facebook pages

Will this change anything? Probably not.

Will this change anytihng? Probably not - yet.Currently, Facebook pages are floundering in the worst way. Yes, there are many that have tens of thousands (sometimes tens of millions)of fans but the actual engagement is negligible, percentage-wise. Rock stars will have someone post something out on their page (or do it themselves but rarely) and a few thousand fans will like the post and a few hundred will comment but for the most part the person who posted it will not generally jump in and engage – nor can they really manage the process so I don’t blame them. Other pages like products or businesses have thousands of fans and the page is updated daily – but rarely will you see a comment on them. Why? Everyone wants to talk to a rock star but a rock start doesn’t want to deal with essentially a flurry or more messages in a minute than they get in a week through any other medium. Conversely, businesses want nothing more than to talk to people and stimulate leads and conversation about their brand but people don’t want to talk to a business unless they have a problem. If they take it to the business page, the community builder’s job is to get them off that page and on the phone so to minimize any negative sentiment toward the brand (damage control).

With that said, these new pages potentially can have much greater functionality than those of Facebook pages since you need to be a Facebook Developer to really get anything good out of them. I suspect Google will take a much more simple approach to this and really allow businesses to serve up their pictures, video and blogs right up into these pages and they could serve as simple corporate sites – particularly for mom and pop shops that really don’t need a website. It will also tie in nicely with Goggle Places and Latitude to drive traffic. Seriously, does your local diner really need a web page when they can’t even figure out how to accept credit cards yet?

The bottom line

In order for Google+ to become a genuinely viable alternative/compliment to any of the other major networks out there, they have to embrace the business/commercial aspect of what goes on in social networking. Many really have no use for any social platform unless they can monetize it.

Louis C.K. is one of those that doesn’t really care for social media.

Anyone who manages people mutters this to themselves whenever they walk past someone’s desk and sees that blue bar or cartoon bird up on the screen. Social business is a pretty big topic right now and I think that Google is looking to get in while the timing is good.  They are not one of the largest companies in the world by accident.

 

-PH


Related posts:
Blog and Be Seen: Ten Critical Things You Should K...
Is the SEO business dying?
Being Logical in an Illogical World

Posted Under:  Blog | Business | Marketing | Social Media | Technology Tags:  advertising | business | facebook | G+ | google | LinkedIn | local | marketing | news | social networking | twitter

Comments

  1. PatrickHealy says

    November 16, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    @GabrielleJeans_ That’s what we’re here for!. 🙂

  2. LauLau81 says

    December 19, 2011 at 3:47 am

    I find the Google+ pages helpful for my Social Media Campaign.. I like the features and I hope lots of people will learn to love using the Google+.

  3. PatrickHealy says

    December 19, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    @LauLau81 they are definitely still a work in progress. I am very excited to see bow they develop!

What Others Say About Us:

"By partnering with Phacient it has helped us to expand our technological footprint in the PEO space by developing our most advanced website for prospects." – Tim Hillert of EasyPEO

"Patrick Healy is the type of person you want to connect with when need a subject matter expert or if you are looking for someone who can connect you to an expert, an equally important and overlooked attribute." – Chris Metzger of Blair Insurance Group 

"My association with Patrick Healy has directly and positively affected my business." – Joe Sheehan of Weichert Realtors

"Phacient's Patrick Healy may be the most energetic, knowledgeable, up-to-date and pragmatic expert on social media whom I have encountered. His advice has proved invaluable to me." – Malcolm Carter of Charles Rutenberg Realty

"I have worked directly with Patrick Healy and recommend him highly for his knowledge, integrity, and drive. Phacient will get the job done." – Joe Spake of Spake Communications 

"Patrick Healy has demonstrated great organizational and leadership skills as founder of the Lucky Striker Social Media Club, an industry trade group that meets regularly to discuss, develop, and promote marketing strategies with a focus on leveraging social media techniques and technologies." – Joe Sheehan of Weichert Realtors

"In addition to being knowledgeable about social media, technology, and online marketing, Patrick Healy is knowledgeable about real business functions." – Ryan Hinricher of Investor Nation

"Since taking the advice of Patrick at Phacient, results of our social networking have increased massively. His continued support affects the entire direction of my business." – Howie Nicholsby of 21st Century Kilts

"Patrick Healy is leading the digital media revolution. He is a complete digital marketing guru, with a robust skillset that translates into a deft competency to grow your brand online. Brands will be transformed by the Internet when working with Phacient and Patrick." – Matt Browne of SDBloggers

"Phacient's inside industry knowledge led us to make some decisions that greatly aided us in the development stages of REcake.  Those insights continue to pay off today." – Berry Enloe of REcake

"To put it frankly, Patrick Healy knows what makes your business work day-in and day-out.  He's effective, efficient, and is a straight shooter.  Patrick Healy = High Value." – Ryan Hinricher of Investor Nation

"Patrick Healy has a vision for the Real Estate Industry with the ultimate objective of assisting real estate professionals to provide the highest levels of service to their clients at the best possible price." – Joe Sheehan of Weichert Realtors

"On a recent visit to New York City Patrick Healy introduced some key people to our company. Those connections are still paying dividends." – Berry Enloe of REcake

"By staying on top of the latest social media and marketing trends and filtering out the fads, Phacient is able to deliver industry-specific solutions through innovative social media avenues." – Joseph Drasin of Prism Consulting Services

"Phacient was a great asset in the development stages of our company. They know the ins and outs of the industry and was able to guide us in ways that helped us avoid some real pitfalls." – Berry Enloe of REcake

"I've known Patrick Healy for approximately 5 years and heartily endorse him and his company, Phacient." – Joe Sheehan of Weichert Realtors

"Patrick Healy's knowledge of online marketing dates back before Facebook, when Google was emerging as the disruptive technology marketers needed to leverage. With the rise of Facebook, he kept his skills sharp, honing his understanding of blogging, community, and social capital. He is a complete digital marketing guru." – Matt Browne of 

Choose a Topic

  • Business
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Operations
  • Social Media
  • Real Estate

Press this red button

  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy and Rules
  • Copyright ©2010 – 2020 Phacient
  • Contact Us

Phacient
10030 Green Level Church Road, Suite 802-158,   Cary, NC 27519  •  Phone: 646-580-4070




654321
  Writing,images and video by Phacient Consulting is copyrighted and licensed under a Creative Commons License. Based on awork at www.phacient.com .Creative Commons License