Charities Can Now Have Their Own Pages on Google’s New Social Network

Nonprofits are finally getting their opportunity to create a presence on Google’s new social network.

Until Monday, only individuals were allowed to create pages on the Google+ network, which went public this summer with great fanfare. But now nonprofits and businesses will also be able to, according to Google’s official announcement.

Pages for groups will have many of the same features as personal profiles. Users, for instance, can post information, photos, and videos as well as links and background and contact information. Organizations also have the option of hosting video “Hangouts.”

In addition, Google is giving group pages extra weight in Google searches. Web users who type the + prefix before an organization’s name on a Google search are taken straight to a group’s profile page. For example, a user who types “+angry birds” is taken to the Angry Birds Google+ page.

You can follow The Chronicle‘s new Google+ page for examples of nonprofits that are creating pages on the network.