How Google+ Pages could affect social media marketing

Earlier this week, Google announced Google+ Pages. Similar to Facebook's Fan Pages, the feature enables small business owners to create profiles specifically for their brands. Previously, only a select few companies were allowed to operate a profile on the social network, all others were deleted.

However, Google+ Pages aren't just a carbon copy of the Facebook feature – the search giant wants its social network to create more meaningful relationships. Many consumers end up "liking" Facebook pages just to get some sort of discount or deal. On Google+, consumers can join the circle of the brand, but brands won't be able to reach them with status updates unless the user opts-in.

Additionally, Google has announced the +1 button won't be used to join circles, there will be a standalone button instead. Again, this makes it more difficult for brands to flood consumers with status updates they don't want to receive and reinforces the importance of launching meaningful, valuable content.

As social media marketing expert Peter Stringer recently explained on his blog, Facebook and Google+ pages will each serve radically different purposes in the overall scheme of promotional efforts.

Search engine versus social engine

The key difference lies in the unique specialties of Facebook and Google. Facebook's primary business is its social network, whereas Google is a search engine at heart. Stringer believes Facebook's Fan Pages are designed to stimulate social conversation, whereas Google+'s Pages are for bolstering search engine presence.

Google+ may not have the membership of Facebook – 40 million compared to the 750 million, respectively – but they will have better search engine rankings, which will ultimately lead to more visits to small business websites.

"People search on Google billions of times a day, and very often, they're looking for businesses and brands. Today's launch of Google+ Pages can help people transform their queries into meaningful connections, so we're rolling out two ways to add pages to circles from Google search. The first is by including Google+ pages in search results, and the second is a new feature called Direct Connect," Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering at Google, wrote on the company blog.

Facebook Pages, on the other hand, don't tend to rank well on search engines. Take, for example, a major brand such as Ford. After searching for the company on Google, its Facebook page doesn't appear until the very bottom of the first page. Interaction with the page is also limited if users don't have an account.

Using Google+ Pages to sell products

Stringer anticipates the biggest advantage to using Google+ Pages will be in selling products directly to consumers. Because Google+ Pages will appear in the search rankings, brands will be able to use this outlet to direct consumers straight to their product purchase pages.

"In fact, for brands that sell their products directly, I'd bet Google+ brand pages could become more important than Facebook fan pages," he explains. "And that’s what Google+ brand pages are really all about."

Moreover, Facebook has come under fire as of late for some of its page redesigns. According to a recent survey from Mr. Youth, nearly half of respondents said recent profile revisions make the social network appear more cluttered and difficult to use. Small businesses should take note of this, as many early adopters of Google+ seem content with what it's doing.

Does your company currently have a Google+ Page? What is preventing you from making one if you don't?

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