Setting Up A Google+ Brand Page By George Little

I am going to write this lesson as I actually set up the Google+ brand page for my NovemberStar Music Website. I start by going to http://plus.google.com and logging in with my personal Google+ login. After looking around a bit and consulting with Google+ Help, I find that on the right side of 'my stream', down a ways, there is a link to "Create a Google+ Page." Before we click that link, though, let me share with you what I learned while perusing help. First, I should share that I got to the help section by clicking on the gear wheel on the upper right side of the black menu bar at the top of the page. Having done that, I find "Pages" under the first topic, captioned "How to." Then, clicking on "About Google+ Pages" gives me a good explanation of how Pages are similar to personal profiles as well as how they differ. As the specifics may change from the time of this writing to the time you are creating your page, I recommend reviewing the help material before you start. Reviewing this help material will give you a heads up on what you can and cannot do with your Google+ page. (The gist of the differences at this time is that a brand page has the publishing capabilities, but is limited in reaching out as an information consumer.) Reviewing the help materials will also alert you to any changes in the specifics of setting up a page that have occurred since this writing.

Leaving help and clicking on "Create a Google+ Page" on the right side of my stream, I am asked to pick a category. Of the five choices that are given, "Arts, Entertainment, and Sports" seems the best fit for my music site. I then have an opportunity to give the page a name and add the Website address. As I type in the Website URL, I am given a reminder to link to the new Google+ page from my Website. I am then asked to select a subcategory. Seeing more than one choice that would work, I decide to take the most generic for now – which is "Website." Next I must select the appropriate age for viewers of the page. After that, I am asked to address the options for receiving information. I can leave selected or deselect the option to receive future information about pages. Finally, I must agree to the terms of service and state that I am authorized to create the page.

After reviewing and agreeing to the Page Terms, I have an opportunity to provide a 10 word tagline for the page. I use "the place to find great new indie music." Next, the opportunity to upload a picture is given. As I have a logo prepared, I upload it by selecting the logo file from my hard drive. Once uploaded, I am asked to crop it. This becomes a frustrating process as the logo for my page is too linear to crop properly as a "profile picture." Having had the same problem on Facebook and Twitter, however, I have created an alternative logo which I use here instead of the Website logo. Even with the adapted logo, I am still forced to crop it a bit more than I would prefer to stay within the frame provided.

With my page name, tagline and logo in place, I am given the opportunity to tell my circles about this page. Although the prompt to make this post comes within the page setup, this post will come from my personal Google+ account.

After notififying my personal followers about the new page, it is time to make the first post from the new Google+ page. For this, I go to Youtube and get a video of our top featured artist, Andrew McGee, and copy the address of the video into the status box at the top of the stream of my new page. When I submit it, the video shows up as my first post. Google indicates that the initial setup of the page is finished. (I know that I need to go back soon and refine the page's profile details, however.)See More Information Here