Monday, November 07, 2011
At Google, we help grow your audience by connecting you with new users. We introduced the +1 button so your site would stand out on search and your users could easily share your content on Google+. But, sometimes you want to join the conversation and post content directly to where people are sharing.
Today we're introducing Google+ for Business, a collection of tools and products that help you grow your audience. At the core of this is Google+ Pages, your site's identity on Google+.
Google+ Pages: Have real conversations with the right people
To get your site on Google+, you first need to create a Google+ Page. On your page, you can engage in conversations with your visitors, direct readers back to your site for the latest updates, send tailored messages to specific groups of people, and see how many +1's you have across the web. Google+ Pages will help you build relationships with your users, encouraging them to spend more time engaging with your content.
Hangouts
Sometimes you might want to chat with your users face-to-face. For example, if you run a food blog, you may want to invite a chef to talk about their favorite recipe, or if you manage a fashion review site, beauty specialists might want to hold how-to sessions with makeup tips. Hangouts make this easy, by letting you have high-quality video chats with nine people with a single click. You can use Hangouts to hold live forums, break news or simply get to know people better, all in real time.
Circles
Circles allow you to group followers of your Page into smaller audiences. You can then share specific messages with specific groups. For example, you could create a Circle containing your most loyal readers and offer them exclusive content.
The Google+ badge: Grow your audience on Google+
To help your users find your page and start sharing, there are two buttons you can add to your
site by visiting our
Google+ badge configuration tool:
The Google+ icon,
a small icon that directly links to your Page.
The Google+ badge, which we're introducing in the coming days. This badge lets people add your page to their circles without leaving your site, and allows them to get updates from your site via Google+.