followers. For a small business, perhaps the most powerful benefit of Google Buzz is the ability to easily update their Google Profile page, and to streamline the connection with their Twitter account.
At first glance, Google Buzz seems to match a lot of the basic functionality of Twitter and FriendFeed. Google Buzz users post short messages and communicate with the people who follow them. As with other social media platforms, Google Buzz offers an online venue for connecting with people in your community or industry and highlighting your expertise or demonstrating part of your company’s personality by discussing your interests or local events.
But unlike Twitter, Buzz doesn’t have a 140-character limit, and gives you the ability to include images, video and basic HTML formatting in your posting.
Updating Your Profile
For a small business, perhaps Google Buzz’s most powerful feature is that Buzz messages are instantly added to your company’s Google Profile, which in turn is linked to search results in Google and its Maps service. Someone running a local search for your services or products can see not only a link to your Web site, but also to a Google Profile that complements your Web site with images, maps and driving directions.
Because you’re able to send information through Google Buzz to your company profile, it’s easy to update the profile with information about specials, discounts, local or industry events, or any other information you’d like to convey quickly and easily.
You can also integrate Google Buzz with Twitter and other social media sites your company is active on. If you connect the accounts, you can post something on Twitter. From there, the message automatically flows to Google Buzz and then to your Google Profile.
Gaining Mobile Influence
Another powerful way Google Buzz can help promote a company is through its mobile application, which allows people to see Buzz messages not only from their friends, but also that have been posted near their location. As with popular location-based social networking services such as Foursquare and Loopt, smartphone users can discover and review the businesses around them.
If your company depends on a local clientele or neighborhood foot traffic, you want to be active on these services and engaging in conversations with your customer and prospects. Like other social media tools, Google Buzz can help.
