Google_ for Business_ How Google's Social Network Changes Everything - Chris Brogan [66]
Immediately, with this gesture, Intel has basically said, “We know that not everything we post will be for everyone. If you want to receive X kind of news, we’ll add you to the X circle, and send you only that.” This is smart and something to highlight and underline for your own potential implementation of a business page.
I also loved Intel’s use of video on its page to tell stories. In one video, Intel features blogger Scott Schumann, the sartorialist. By using its products to tell stories about its users, and then creating well-produced video to share on its page, Intel engages while showing off the benefits of its products. This is a great move.
Edelman Digital: https://plus.google.com/106069281351191490929/posts
This is a PR agency, so I expected to see its page stuffed with client-related posts. I was pleasantly surprised to see more of a “life at Edelman” mixed with “things PR practitioners would find interesting” kind of mix. There was video, links to blog posts, photos of the team, and such.
If you want to talk about your company, it’s interesting to talk to your peers in this way. I found the posts engaging enough to make me come back, even though I’m not in the market for Edelman’s services. Instead, I appreciate what caught the page curator’s attention, and I found surfing through the people they chose to circle to be worthwhile, too.
Finally, I like that Edelman uses the page as part of a hiring funnel. If you engage with the pages and find the people in the pictures interesting, you might want to learn more about working at Edelman Digital. It’s an interesting way to share the flavor of the business and then encourage people to jump in.
Forbes: https://plus.google.com/116243183460563505245/posts
Several media properties are quite active in the business pages on Google+. In most cases, media companies post links to their articles. This is to be expected.
I like how Forbes and the other brand pages for media properties I visited highlight stories on its own site but provide enough of a fresh synopsis as to feel like they were curated and picked, instead of just foisted on us. If you want to follow a business publication, this is certainly one for your list. And I have hopes for the future of Forbes and the other media properties.
Forbes, like many others, has video in its arsenal. I’d like to see some of its video interviews peppered on this wall. Forbes also has quite a staff of writers, and it would be interesting if they all had Google+ accounts and came around to add to the conversations that happen when the magazine posts a story. I would love to see Forbes host hangouts with important business voices and invite in some of the audience to listen in. See how amazing this could be?
NASA: https://plus.google.com/102371865054310418159/posts
The folks who bring us rocket ships and space walks have an engaging brand presence on many social networks, but I feel they’ve found their stride with Google+. With fascinating videos and brilliant photographs, plus several astronauts and other NASA employees hanging around to post updates and share comments, NASA has a great opportunity here.
Schools can benefit from arranging live hangouts with their classrooms. Imagine encouraging tomorrow’s scientists and engineers by putting them in touch easily with the women and men who get to step off into space and watch the Earth revolve. When thinking about building business and brand pages, I hope that more companies consider what they can do to help foster education and growth. NASA will definitely implement these kinds of experiences, if their other social media presence is to be a guide, and this speaks well for what else could come about.
The Role of Your Business Page in Doing Business
In watching the early days of people