When Google+ was first announced, brands and companies were warned off creating profiles and pages on the social media network by Google itself. It looks like the search giant has had a change of heart.
Christian Oestlien, group product manager for social advertising at Google, announced last week that Google is close to unveiling Google+ business profiles that will permit companies to create pages and circles like those of an individual user of the social network.
It’s an about-face from a July blog post in which Oestlien wrote that businesses should refrain from setting up profiles, noting a policy team was working to shut down profiles set up on behalf of companies. A number were killed, including those for Sesame Street, MTV and Mashable, all of which had enthusiastically tried to set up a presence on Google+ only to be told Google+ wasn’t ready for them.
As it stands, only two marketers have gotten the official go-ahead to test the waters for Google+, automakers Ford and General Motors, whose beta status is identified by “test account” and “sneak preview” banners. But several unofficial business profiles have cropped up on Google+, set up surreptitiously by companies, fans or squatters registering the brand name.
As of late last week, Ad Age found a host of top names on the network, including Burger King, Starbucks, Home Depot, Kraft salad dressing, Verizon Wireless, Snapple, The Wall Street Journal and Condé Nast. In the case of Coca-Cola, Best Buy and Louis Vuitton, there were multiple profiles for each. The situation is reminiscent of what marketers discovered on Twitter a few years ago when they tried to register for Twitter handles and found those corresponding with their company names had already been claimed. In one egregious situation, Hyundai’s legal department wrangled with Twitter for months to obtain ownership of @Hyundai, to which an individual had posted racy photos.
At least one marketer isn’t overly concerned. Told that there is a Snapple profile on Google+, a spokesman for the Dr Pepper Snapple Group said it was typical for fans of brands to do such things. Robert Stone, director-interactive for the company, added, “We’re always looking at new opportunities to engage our fans. We’ve been monitoring Google+ since it launched and will actively seek ways to incorporate our brands when the time is right.”
It’s not quite the same on Google+, where one name can be registered multiple times. “It’s not a land-grab situation,” said Google spokesman Jim Prosser. “Right now it’s very clear, because there’s only two business we’re testing with, so in a very binary way, it’s clear that anyone who’s acting as a business on there [is not authentic].”
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