Have you created a Google+ Page for your business yet? With more than 40 million users, Google+ has emerged as a key player in the social media space, and this week, Google+ opened its doors to companies by introducing business pages. To give your company a head-start on Google+, download our newest guide, hot off the press -- How to Use Google+ for Business -- and be sure to add HubSpot's Google+ Page to your Circles! (The following article is an excerpt from the ebook.)

Google+ is similar to other social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn when it comes to marketing, but it does have its own strengths and weaknesses. To get the most from your Google+ Business Page in terms or traffic and leads for your business, follow these best practices:

1. Share Lots of Photos

Photos are very important on Google+. A quick look at a Google+ feed will tell you that lots of individual images are shared by users. This is slightly different from Facebook, where users might upload an entire album of images at one time. Think about your business and marketing visually. Which images, charts, or slides can you share on Google+ to ignite conversations and increase the viral spread of your content? Google+ is built for sharing images, so take advantage of it.

2. Add Recommended Links

Under the ‘About’ tab of your Google+ Page, you have the option to add recommended links in the right side bar. Don’t let this space go to waste. Instead, add links to important blog articles and lead generation offers to drive more traffic and leads for your business.

3. Promote Your Google+ Page on Your Blog and Website

To get real business value from Google+, you have to have a community of people there to consume and engage with your content. In order to get people to add your Google+ Page to their Circles, you need to promote the page in places where you are already attracting visitors, such as your homepage, blog side bar, or other social media accounts . Cross-promotion is key to building a strong Google+ community.

4. Encourage People to Share Your Posts

Sharing on Google+ is a catalyst for increasing the virality of your content. When you post a message, photo, or link on Google+, be sure to ask your subscribers to share your content with the people in their Circles. This is similar to asking people to “please retweet” on Twitter.

5. Analyze Traffic and Leads From Google+

So is this Google+ thing actually working for your business? To determine this, you’ll need to look at the traffic and leads that have been driven from Google+. You can do this by looking at referral traffic from plus.Google.com to your website, or if you are a HubSpot customer, HubSpot will segment all traffic, leads, and customers from Google+ for you as part of our marketing analytics .

Want more tips on how to get started using Google+ to achieve your business goals? Add HubSpot's Google+ Page to your Circles so you can join our live discussion and Q&A this Friday, November 11 at 1 PM ET. We'll announce details via our Business Page.