Promote yourself using Google+ Pages
Looking for more free ways to promote your business? Google+ has now added business pages to its arsenal of social tools. Here's why you should get involved.
Google+ is the latest big thing from Google. It's Google's answer to Facebook, a social site designed to help people connect and share, but thanks to Google's dominating position as the most widely used search engine they've been able to throw in a few extra features as well.
Up until recently, Google+ was invite only and only for people - not businesses. However that's all changed recently and now you can register your business as well!
How do I make a business page on Google+?
It's simple - just visit http://plus.google.com/pages/create (you'll need to either sign in or create an account with Google if you don't already have one) and you'll see this:
Select a category for your business, such as 'company' or 'local business', and the right side will update to show a simple form asking for basic details about your business, such as your business name and website.
Click 'create' and that's it, your done!
You'll now be able to add a business logo, write posts about your business, add photos and fill out a profile for your business. It really couldn't be much easier.
Why should I create a Google+ page for my business?
Social Networking is the current big thing on the internet, with over 20% of all online activity spent on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and now, Google+. So it makes sense that if you want to be seen, you need to be on these social sites.
Another great reason for getting on board with Google+ is because of how it integrates with Google Search. In time, having a Google+ page will have the potential to increase your business's position in Google search results and people will also be able to search for something like +(your business name) and have your business come up first in the search results.
But best of all - it's free publicity. You can create a bit of powerful online real estate for your business and all it costs is a few minutes of your time to set it up. If that!
I'm still not sure...
Not convinced? Watch this video from Google+ about how a bicycle business is able to use Google+ to interact, share and build a better rapport with their customers.
Learn more about Google+ Pages
Check out www.google.com/+/business/ to learn more about Google+ and how you can use it to help promote your business and find out more about your customers.
