Google is now trying to attract businesses to its fledgling social network Google+ by launching Google+ Pages. It is described by Google simply as “a way for organisations and businesses to connect with customers and fans”.
Google has already succeeded in getting big star names like Burberry, O2, Angry Birds, Chelsea Football Club, Barcelona Football Club, Save the Children, Mumsnet and the Muppets to set up Google+ Pages. (As I type, Digital Times is trying to set one up).
So what’s the idea, how will a Google+ Page benefit a business? First, Google says it’s about ‘engagement’. “Not only can they recommend you with a +1, they can add you to a circle to listen long-term to all of your activity and campaigns. In addition they can spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face by using Hangouts to video chat.”
Secondly, Google says its about connecting directly with potential customers, and this is where it rolls out its biggest gun, its search engine: “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 will help users transform their queries into meaningful connections.”

Direct Connect
The idea is simple. People use Google everyday to search for stuff. If they have a Google+ account they will be able to connect directly with brands, musicians, businesses etc. “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 feature called Direct Connect.”
Direct Connect is interesting because Google is hanging its social network on the popularity and reach of its search engine. Facebook, Google’s arch rival in this space did the opposite, it hung its search engine on the popularity and reach of its social network.
The battle lines are being drawn. While Facebook has 800+ million registered users, Google+ claims just 40 million.
Now back to setting up a Google+ Page to see if it’s any good. We’ll report back later. Below is a video of John, a US bike retailer, who uses Google+ Pages to stay in touch with his customers.

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