The arrival of Google+ triggered of a frenzy in which everyone wanted to see for themselves whether it truly would turn out to be a Facebook killer. This frenzy was somewhat damped as membership was made through invite only. This all changed a month back when everyone with a Gmail account was welcome. But still a problem persisted as business companies were not allowed to join. So the business honchos created personal profiles with their business name. But Google were up to task and banned all such accounts. So as an alternative, Google gave a special type of account for these companies known as Brand page. This somewhat is vaguely similar to a fan page as available on Facebook. But it’s much simpler and has many more options.
So here’s a quick review of the procedure to be followed to create your own brand page.
STEP 1: Login to Gmail using your personal/business account. Then follow the link http://www.google.com/+/business/.
Then click on the Create your Google+ Page button.
STEP 2: Select a category from the list of available ones. If your business does not fall under any specified category, you can create your own one. Here’s a low down on each category.
Local Business or Place: This is most suitable for hotels, local stores, etc. This requires you to mark out your store’s location on Google maps and hence is a great way to attract tourists and travellers.
Product or Brand: Great for any company which has a huge presence across the land. It can be a website or a manufacturer. You are asked to give details regarding your company’s website, tagline, etc.
Company, Institution or Organization: Suitable for educational institutions and NGO’s.
Arts, Entertainment or Sports: Covers a great variety of society. Probably most suited for bands, artists and sporting teams. Will be a great way to connect with fans.
STEP 3: Filling in the details like name, website, etc. but the most innovative thing is that you can restrict the type of people viewing your page. For example you can restrict on the basis of age like 18+.
STEP 4: Give an attracting tagline and a profile image that is a major source of identification.
STEP 5: Publicity i.e. spread the word about your new page with all your friends or in certain selected circles only. This is a great way to start marketing your brand as only potential customers can be selectively invited.
There are more advanced mechanisms that Google provides to integrate your social experience with other parts of your life. Features like Google+ pages allows users to add your brands to their circles so that you can connect with them long-term and recommend you to their friends. Another cutting edge feature provided by Google plus is called Google direct. This is an almost automatic way of connecting with your favorite artists or bands. All you have to do is search [+] followed by their name (e.g. +angry birds) to find their page without any hassle. All things said and done Google+ brand page is very easy to create and use and is a great way to stay connected with your peers!
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