• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Looking at another dozen business professionals using Google+, at this point, the biggest difference is that most people share more personal or indirectly related-to-business posts on Google+ than they do on other social networks.

On Twitter, Jennifer Cisney is @KodakCB, and her stream is quite actively sharing the Kodak story. Her Twitter avatar and background are branded Kodak, and most of the tweets relate to her business.

On Twitter, Michael Dell is @MichaelDell, and his background is branded with pictures of his company’s products. He tweets nothing but Dell-specific or PC industry-specific information.

On Twitter, Scott Monty is @ScottMonty, and his avatar and background are branded Ford. He shares a lot of customer service and communications help. He talks conversationally to people answering Ford Motor Company product and service questions. He’s personable but still sticks closely to Ford topics.

On Twitter, Bill Gerth is @ComcastBill (also @ComcastCares), and he is 100% customer service-driven. His entire stream reads of @replies to customers with issues he’s helping to resolve. All tweets that I observed over a few days were work-related.

So then, what should you do? Should you stick to mostly personal information on Google+? Should you keep your business on Facebook and Twitter? Should you alter your content strategy for Google+?

Although everyone’s mileage may vary, I have a sense of what might work to blend that personal touch with a business agenda. The following sections include some ideas for building a stream on Google+ that might help you build the relationships that can lead to business. These examples are for different types of businesses.

Restaurant Owner

If you’re in the restaurant business, you want to show that your place is the place to be. Your goal is to attract people, to show them what your restaurant is about, and to entice them to come down. Now, most restaurants stuff their social network streams with coupons and offers. Why? Because that’s how they advertise in other media. Well, here’s a chance to do something new. Try these ideas:

• Post photos: People want to see your place and want to see happy faces and delicious dishes. (When shooting photos of people, always ask for their permission to post them on the web.) Showing off your great meals help people see what they will get when they come in.

• Share video: Interview the chef (if she is the kind of person who would sell your restaurant), your best bartender, or whoever can help you sell what makes your restaurant better. Make the video’s duration under 2 minutes. Upload it to YouTube, and post it to your stream for people to get an even better flavor of the restaurant.

• Share local news (positive, mostly): You’ll hear me say this a lot for businesses that have location in mind. Be the hub of your community. This shows people that you care about more than your restaurant.

• Share posts: If you know any other local Google+ users, share their posts occasionally, especially if they promote something of their own or sharing an accomplishment. The more you help them celebrate themselves, the more they’ll come to interact with you when the time is right.

For a restaurant, you don’t need to post too many new things each day. Between two to three posts a day total (including sharing other people’s news and stories) is probably enough. However, you need to pay close attention to the comments on items you post. People will interact with you, and how you approach commenting back and forth can have an impact on how people perceive you and the restaurant.

Community Manager/Developer

A common role in companies these days has to do with embracing and engaging the community around company products and services. Different companies treat this role differently. Kodak, for instance, has Jennifer Cisney as its Chief Blogger, which is ultimately a community role. Scott Monty is Ford’s head of social media, so he has a community role for at least part of his responsibilities. It’s handled differently