A little over a month ago I wrote a post about why you should care about Google+. At the time that I wrote that article Google+ was just for personal use and was actually discouraging businesses from signing up yet. Everything has changed now, though, with the launch of Google+ Brand pages.

The brand pages look similar to an individual’s profile but they also have a box by their name that symbolizes they are a page, along with a 10 word description about the page. Some companies were very quick to get the brand pages and have some great customization with it so far. A few examples of my favorite designs by brands are by The Muppets, Coca Cola, and by Google itself.

I found two great tutorials online that show you how to create a Google+ Brand page as well how to create a profile banner to complement your branding.

So as a business owner already spending time on your social media presence with Facebook and Twitter, why should you also set up a Google+ Brand page? There are some key differences between the social networks that you should evaluate and see if they are beneficial to your target audience.

• Google+ is more content driven— Facebook is full of games, happy birthday messages and photos of friends and family, which make it more of a personal social experience. Google+ on the other hand is more professional and focused on informative content.
• Live audio/video chats— Google+ has hangouts that directly engages fans and can provide exclusive content. The Black Eyed Peas recently hosted a session backstage prior to a concert that allowed the fans to connect with them and tell some insider secrets of the band. The Muppets are another great example of a hangout and you can actually see the highlights from their hangout session below.

• Integration throughout Google— Google recently added +1 buttons into their Image Search so that there is a deeper integration with Google+, Places, Maps, Web and Image Searches.

Ultimately, it is up to your target audience and where they are that determines what social platforms you join. So do your research on your target market and make sure you are constantly marketing toward them.