Google+ is Open for Business: Setting up your G+ Business Page

If you haven’t heard the news yet, as of early this week Google+ has opened itself up to businesses with its version of “Pages”.  Similar to facebook pages, Google+ Pages allow brands and businesses to connect with their customers and fans.

To create a Google+ Page, you will first need to set up a Google+ personal account. Once that is completed, you should be able to access Pages through a link on the right hand side of your G+ account page.

If that option isn’t available, you can access it through the following link:

http://plus.google.com/pages/create

There is a chance that you will be met with a “Thanks for your interest in Google+ Pages, but we haven't finished releasing them to everyone. Please check back soon” message, but these should be disappearing over the next day or two as Google completes the process.

Assuming that you are cleared to set up a Page, clicking the link will take you to the “Create a Page” page where your first choice will be to choose a “category” for your page.

Hovering over the button will provide my detail about that category.

Choosing a category will take you through a series of basic set up steps, follow the instructions and you will end up on the “Congratulations on Creating Your Google+ Page” page.

You can return to this page by clicking on the “Get Started” link that appears below the Profile Picture on your Home page

You’ll be given a series of options that you can choose to use to get started with your page.  At some point, I would take the time to “Connect Your Website”.

Place the G+ button on your web pages. The G+ button will lead visitors from your website to your G+ page where they can choose to “circle” and engage with your company or brand.

At the bottom of the “Congratulations on Creating Your Google+ Page” page, there is an option to copy the script for the Google +1 button for your website or blog.

I would recommend making this button easily accessible on most, or all, of your pages. To access the code, click on the “learn more” link which will take you to the following page:

Click “Get the Code” and you can select the icon and copy the code snippet. Add it to you web pages.

There is a very important difference between the +1 button, and the “follow me on G+” button. The +1 is not the same as “liking” or “friending” a brand or company; instead it is more like a “recommendation” for that page or product.

From here, you might want to visit your Profile page and finish filling it out. Once there, click the blue “Edit Profile” button in the upper right hand side of the page, fill in the information in response to the prompts, and add appropriate images to fill out the “5 across image gallery” at the top of the page.

That’s all there is to it - you’re G+ page is ready and waiting. Time to share its existence with your connections, produce great content, monitor activity, and engage with your circles! Good luck!

I would love to hear how you shared your G+ Page? What work? What didn’t? Please leave any comments or feedback in the “comment” space below, or feel free to email me with any questions.

Don’t for get to visit our Echelon Business Solutions Page and “circle” us. We look forward to seeing you soon.