14 DAY TRIAL // Google+ Pages are finally here, brands and organizations everywhere are overjoyed. But they feel a bit spartan compared to Facebook pages for example and there aren't a lot of options for managing a Google+ page.
Google has said that more features are coming, enabling better control over who gets to post and so on, but for now it's offering an interim solution, enabling some third-party tools to expand the functionality of Google+ pages.
While it does present some opportunities for page owners, the move is becoming typical of Google since only six companies can tap into Google+ Pages, there is no open API at this point.
As such, any developer out there trying to do something better is out of luck until Google opens up its API. And that may take a while.
"Businesses can create and manage their pages directly through Google+. We are committed to working on enhancements and innovative features to offer businesses more flexibility and power to run their pages," Sara McKinley, product manager for Google+ Pages, promised.
"We also recognize that some businesses use social media management companies to manage their presence across multiple social networks," she said.
"So today we’re announcing that Google+ is enabling six companies to test Google+ functionality in their management tools -- Buddy Media, Context Optional, Hearsay Social, HootSuite, Involver, and Vitrue," she added.
Each of the tools enables companies to manage Google+ pages from the same place they manage their other social networks and some have additional functionality.
Still this is big news mostly for those already using the tools, Google+ page owners looking for more functionality and more complex management features are mostly out of luck.
As with everything else that people are asking for, Google says more advanced features, such as the ability to have more people manage a page, is coming, but it's not quite here yet.