Google introduced its new social initiative, Google+, with what they called a Google Wave – a large invite-only rollout. They attracted 10 million users in the first two weeks, and are working on ironing out the wrinkles and enticing brands and organizations to become users.

You may be thinking, “Why do I need another social media platform?” With MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, LinkedIn, and countless others, users are familiar with how a social media platform works. Google Plus is not that different, but it does offer some new, very beneficial features.

Google Plus Features:

+Circles
Imagine having the ability to segment Facebook friends and keep them separate from each other as opposed to combined into one giant news feed – that’s what Google has done by adding circles. There is one main stream where all your contact updates show up, but you have the option to see updates from only certain circles, like ‘work,’ ‘friends,’ or ‘family.’

Since you can label your circle, and personalize the group, you can easily share with industry-specific people. You can create a circle of ‘Business Contacts’ and control the information you share. This allows you to keep personal and professional posts separate, while using only one account. For those individuals that fit into more than one category, you can add them to as many circles as you would like.

+Hangouts
Hangouts is a video calling feature where you can chat with up to 10 people in a single ‘hangout’ group chat session. Business groups can chat, and video chat, through Google Plus. This is very beneficial for members who are in different physical locations. Google Plus Hangouts is also connected with YouTube so you can share video within video chats quickly and easily.

+1 Button
The +1 button is a way for people to share items from the internet that they like, agree with or want to recommend. These items are shared with the +1 button, similar to the various other social media buttons you see online. Individuals are more likely to share industry-specific information on Google Plus because they can choose which circles see it and not share it with friends or family members who have no interest in work-related posts.

+Sparks
The Sparks menu acts as a one-stop center for topics of interest. You can browse sparks (topics) or add them to your menu for quicker browsing. To select the content that shows up in the sparks feeds, Google Plus uses a combination of +1 sharing and Google’s search engine algorithms. The aim of the sparks feed is to share fresh, new information. For companies incorporating SEO into their web content, Google Plus sparks could eventually help increase your website’s visibility.

Adding Contacts
Once you create a profile on Google Plus, you can immediately start building your circles, starting with current Google contacts. Google Plus also provides a tool enabling you to import contacts from Yahoo! or Hotmail. For information on how to transfer your contacts from Outlook or LinkedIn, view the links below. Once you have imported your contacts, you can use the ‘find and invite’ option to add individual contacts into your desired circles.

Click to learn how to add contacts from LinkedIn

Click to learn how to add contacts from Outlook