On November 7, Google+ finally opened its doors to business users. Companies everywhere went right in and launched their own pages, with Philippine brands jumping straight into the thick of the action.
The still-nascent service is attracting a steady stream of business users, with some notable early adopters already gaining traction among Google+ regulars - many of whom, according to a recent study, are highly brand conscious.
Not surprisingly, the Philippine community of Google+ business users is led by major online content producers such as gaming portals and media companies. But real-world businesses are also getting a boost from online social interaction, with airlines and a shopping portal making the list.
Here is a list of the top ten Philippine brands on Google+ based on follower count, as of November 12:
10)
Manila Concert SceneProving that Filipinos love to tune in and rock out, the Google+ page of music blogsite Manila Concert Scene has 76 followers, with +1’s. The page is regularly updated with upcoming concerts and music events in the nation's capital.
9)
Greenpeace PhilippinesOnline Filipinos are very nature-conscious, if the popularity of this page is any indication. Greenpeace Philippines, the local arm of the international non-profit environmental organization, has 128 followers and 14 +1’s.
8)
Level Up! Philippines Filipinos absolutely love online games, as evidenced by their popularity on social networks and in Internet cafés alike. The page of Level Up! Philippines, an online gaming portal, has 94 followers and 27 +1’s. The page is already actively posting news about multi-player online gaming in the Philippines.
7)
Philippine Ragnarok OnlineThe local page of Ragnarok Online, another popular online gaming portal, has 152 followers and 29 +1’s. Their page offers promos and services for Ragnarok players.
6)
TV5The page of television network TV5 has 125 followers and 16 +1’s. The page has been updated with news and promotions of TV5 shows.
5)
Ensogo Philippines SiteFilipinos also love to shop. The page of online bargain-finder Ensogo Philippines has 165 followers and 39 +1’s. The page regularly posts bargain deals.
4)
University of the PhilippinesThe only academic institution to make the list, the official University of the Philippines (UP) page has 386 followers and 39 people have +1’d it. The page posts campus-related press releases and links to online articles about UP.
3)
Philippine AirlinesOnline booking services have helped make air travel easier —or at least more talked about. This is the likely reason why the pages of two of the country's major airlines made it to the list. Philippine Airline’s official page has 298 followers and 30 +1’s. Aside from flight updates, the site also posts news releases and links to articles on what’s hot in tourism and travel.
2)
Cebu Pacific AirCebu Pacific Air, well-known for its foray into viral videos and social media, has the most followers of any local airline on Google+. The official page of Cebu Pacific has 596 followers, and 88 people have +1’d it. The page has photos of the Cebu Pacific planes and crews. It also shows photos of popular destinations the airline covers.
1)
GMA NewsThe official Google+ page of GMA News, the news segment of GMA Network, has 1,740 followers and 93 people have +1’d it. The site is regularly updated with the latest news and developing stories.
For a while, Google+ had focused on growing its community of personal users and advised against the creation of business or corporate profiles. But with the introduction of pages for businesses, brands can now establish their own presence and interact with people online.
As of this writing, other known brand names like Bench, UnionBank and 7-Eleven have already created their own Google+ pages. Given the stable growth of Google+ over the past year, more brands may be expected to follow suit as well.
