THE POWER OF THE PLATFORM: VISUAL STORYTELLING ON SOCIAL NETWORKS 117 If you are looking to use content marketing to expand your audience among business and industry professionals, then SlideShare offers a smart alternative to other networks. It gives you the built-in advantage of being able to share SlideShare content easily across platforms and promote it on other networks. Google+ In November 2011, Google+ unveiled brand pages, enabling brands and businesses to use its social networking platform. Since Google is the world’s favorite Internet search engine, its foray into social media has been snapped up by business owners eager to improve their SEO and keep up to date with social media trends. For businesses, Google+ offers many advantages of other social net- works, as well as including several unique ones. It has LinkedIn’s business mentality: an open interface and networking strengths. It has the usabil- ity of Facebook and some of the news and interest aspects of Twitter. Its strengths lie in its openness, its community features, and its streaming facilities; it holds huge potential for brands keen to engage and connect with their audience and build new networks. Many brands that have joined are still not showing true engage- ment; many just aren’t sure what Google+ offers that Facebook doesn’t. However, the recent increase in buzz surrounding the business opportu- nities is beginning to convince more technologically focused businesses in particular. It’s not just the numbers of new users. It’s who they are: tech- savvy, business-minded people who are looking to connect, share, and engage. What hits you first about Google+ is the prominence of visuals in a profile page. The cover photos have recently been expanded to up to 2,120 by 1,192 pixels, so you can show off the visual side of your company to its best advantage. However, the cover photo dominates your profile to such an extent that you can be let down by a subpar photo. It’s worth putting as