Google has just recently allowed for the creation of Google+ Brand or Business pages. These are similar to the business profiles you can setup in Facebook but now you can make them on Google+. Do we think that Google+ Brand Pages will trump Facebook Business Profiles? Hard to say at this point and a little too early, but we need to remember that Google is a Seach Engine,

Google disabled Realtime Search, which displayed tweets from Twitter and some limited content from Facebook on July 4 after its contract with Twitter expired and they never bothered renewing, probably because they would integrate their own Google+ feed into search results. If Google does this, businesses will have to create a Google+ business page and begin adding regular content updates for a chance to appear organically in real-time on a user's search query.

So we've put together a quick "How to Guide" on creating your own Google+ Brand Page to help you get yours up and running. But before we get into that, it's important for you to first decide on whether this is the right move for your marketing strategy.

Before you go ahead and create your page we recommend you go through the following checklist to ensure that creating a Google+ page is a good idea for your business. Will you be able to answer the following:

 Who will run the page once it's been created?

 Will that person have the time and energy to actively engage with users?

 Will you be able to make regular content updates to keep your page looking fresh e.g. interesting post's, pictures, news updates etc?

 Are you able to deal with customers and clients expressing negative feedback on your page?

If you answered yes to all of the above and have a clear place in your marketing vision for the page then you are ready to start creating you Google+ Business page.

The 'HOW TO GUIDE' to setting up a Google+ Business Page

STEP 1:

If you haven't already, create a Google+ profile for yourself. You can only create a business page through your own personal profile or that of the person who is going to run it.

STEP 2:

Once you're logged into Google+ navigate to the page creation step. Here you must choose a category for your business, which includes:

Local Business or Place
Suitable for: hotels, restaurants, places, stores, services

Product or Brand
Suitable for: apparel, cars, electronics, financial services

Company, Institution or Organization
Suitable for: companies, institutions, organizations, non-profits

Arts, Entertainments or Sports
Suitable for: films, TV, music, books, sports, shows

Other
Suitable if your business doesn't fit into another category

STEP 3:

Now we start adding details such as your company name, website address and which users you'd like to allow acces to your page (choose everyone for maximum visibility).

STEP 4:

Now you can add your page's profile picture, which will probably be your logo as Google will only allow a certain size and image shape (i.e. Square). The tag line could be your companies slogan, the bio space is very tight. You have just 10 words to summarize your business.

STEP 5:

Get the word out! Here you can share your new page with anyone on Google+ that is within your circles. So tell your friends, get your friends to invite their friends and start marketing your new Google+ Business Page.

STEP 6:

Once you click finish you'll be taken to your newly created page. You'll see a list of things to do on your page and this is where you can start editing your page in more depth.

You should also think about linking your Google+ page to your other accounts e.g. your Twiiter account, so that when you tweet it will show up on your page as a new post.

If you take the time to add the interesting details and content to your page, it will be more engaging and, combined with Google's layout, become an effective social marketing tool - just look at the Angry Birds page as an example.

Here are some links to other business pages to help get you started:

Good Mornign America

Macy's

Pepsi

Toyota