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While Irish business is still largely trying to come to grips with incorporating social media into their marketing strategies, many business owners might be even more confused by the announcement that Google+ is now giving businesses and organisations the ability to create business oriented pages.
The aim of this initiative is to allow users of Google search engine to add businesses that are delivered in response to their searches by the use of a feature that is called Direct Connect.

There seems to be an early limitation in this idea as Google + is accessed by a User’s personal Gmail account (Avatar names or pseudonyms are not permitted) and only one user can be an administrator of a Google + business page. This raises the problem within a company of allowing only one user to create the company business page, and of tying it to that user’s personal Gmail account. There does seem to be a commitment to allow more administrators in the near future.

As regards how Irish business will utilise this, judging by the general utilisation of Facebook and Twitter by Irish companies, things don’t look too promising. The sad fact is that Irish business mostly sees Social Media as a box to tick – In other words, we need to be seen to have a company Facebook page or Twitter account. The fact is that most businesses miss the point – Social Media can be leveraged for consumer engagement and brand building. The general trend seems to be to put up a Facebook page, a post saying Hi!, then maybe another cursory post, and more often nothing. The same with Twitter. Most businesses see Social Media as a chore that pays no apparent dividends. The clever businesses create original content, share relevant content, and update their communities on new products and services. They see Social Media as a valuable engagement tool – a two way conversation with their consumers. They are open to criticism and they take it and deal with it, and in doing so they can often enhance their product or service. Social Media represents a valuable End User Testing group. The key is to nurture it, to contribute to it, and to never lose interest.