Falken Tire came out of the gate quickly on Google+, announcing the creation of its page not long after Google released this new social media platform for brands and organizations to connect with consumers.
I recommend that you follow suit, but proceed with care. After setting up JTMarCom’s business pages, here is what I found out and I am NOT happy:
• First of all, don’t link your Brand Page to your personal Google account. One mistake I made was following the link to create a Google+ page (http://bit.ly/ry53E8) while still logged into a personal Google account. As a result, the brand page was automatically linked to my personal Google+ account, which means I have to toggle between my own and the company’s, depending on what I want to post.
For some people – like those who don’t want the company account linked to their own – this is problematic. It appears the only way to fix it is to delete the Google+ page account, then re-register it under a new Google account that you create specifically for the company or brand.
• Google doesn’t allow multiple administrators, meaning only one person can manage the page. The only solution is to open yet another Gmail account and give that account’s login information to anyone who needs to administer the page.
• Be careful when switching between linked accounts. If you either accidentally or purposely link a Google+ page to your own personal account, always be aware of to which account you’re posting.
When you switch between accounts, Google+ does show you a banner notification at the top that reads, “You are now using Google+ as this page.” Your posts, comments, and notifications will be from this page. And while you can click "Ok" to make it disappear, it can be easy to miss.
• There is no cross-platform integration. Surprisingly, Google+ pages don’t integrate with Google Analytics, YouTube or Google Blogger. Surely, Google will integrate these platforms in the future, but it is a pain now.
• Finally, unlike Facebook, Google+ pages do not allow contests or promotions. You can link to a separate site where the promotion is hosted from your page, but Facebook makes it easy to keep visitors on your Facebook page.
When you start the process of creating a page for your company or brand, you only need to enter a name for the page, a link to your preferred website, your business category, and who will be able to see your page.
Yes, there are some bugs to be worked out. But if you think you may want a Google+ page in the future, go ahead and claim your business’s name to prevent squatters from holding on to it.
Bank of America learned about this the hard way!
Let me hear about your experiences with Google+.
Christine Taylor is vice president of social media marketing for JTMarCom,a Nashville-based marketing agency that helps companies with online reputation management and integration of social media into their traditional marketing programs. With a combined 35 years of experience in the tire industry, the agency places a special emphasis on working with tire and automotive aftermarket companies. Follow Christine on Facebook and Twitter (@chrisgtaylor). She can also be reached at 615-714-5469.
