Google+ is the newest and latest offering by Google in social networking. And though previously, Google’s attempts at social networking have pretty much been flops, it seems that finally, Google has created a site that most of its earliest users are raving about. Just three weeks after its launch, Google+ already has 20 million users under its belt. And they haven’t officially opened the doors to everyone yet, since you can’t make an account there without an invitation.

So what does this mean for your personal brand? Though you may already have accounts in established social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you simply can’t ignore the value that Google+ can give you. It offers features that have integrated the best of what social media are offering, and it’s even given a new meaning to online relationships and sharing with Circles and Sparks.

So let’s take a look at how each feature can help you in your personal branding campaign.

Circles

Unlike with Facebook and Twitter, where every post or tweet you put up is basically shared with all of your friends and followers, and your newsfeed is filled with every single entry that your friends have shared, Google+ Circles gives you the ability to include and exclude the people you want to share and exchange information with. It’s a way to separate your personal and professional from each other, a very helpful feature in your personal branding campaign.

After all, if you skipped work because of a major hangover, you don’t necessarily want to share that information with your colleagues or your boss, which may get you fired, or if not, reprimanded. With Circles, you can simply choose a group to share this information with (such as the people you were drinking with that night), so you don’t have to worry about your personal brand suffering.

What Circles offers is intuitive, encouraging a more meaningful information and content sharing with specific groups to form closer connections and relationships. This is really helpful for your personal brand, as you can have much more meaningful interactions with potential clients or employers, and highlight your skills and expertise to a more targeted audience.

Sparks

Sparks is another excellent feature of Google+. It lets you select your interests and find relevant news and information online that you can share with your groups. It’s an excellent way to keep up to date with the latest trends, as well as always have a stimulating conversation going on with each of your Circles.

In your personal brand, it’s all about selling your skills and expertise, and one way to do this is to keep updated on what’s happening with your particular niche, and showing this to interested people. With Google+, you don’t have to share this information with your five hundred friends who couldn’t care less about marketing trends or the latest gadgets; you can simply choose a group whom you know will be enthusiastic about the news you share.

Perhaps the best thing about Sparks is the fact that you don’t have to leave the page so you can find something to share with your group. You basically have a search engine built right into the site that highlights your interests, so you can easily build your personal brand by sharing content that’s targeted toward your niche.

Hangout and Huddle

These two are excellent features to help you better interact with your groups in real-time video conferencing and chats. You can easily form closer relationships with people involved in the same industry as you are without having to meet in real life – with Hangouts, it’s easy to do a team video conference where you can talk about common interests with your groups. And Huddle is an excellent group messaging tool to easily send specific information to one of your Circles.

Google+ Profile

One thing you shouldn’t forget is to make sure your Google+ profile is completely set up, as this is very useful for your personal brand. Having a complete profile can help you rank better in the Google Search Engine for your name, and it also plays a vital role in defining who you are, as well as your skills and expertise.

A key hint is if you’re known by different names or even if you want to be associated with your business or company name make sure you list it as “other names” so that they will be associated with you.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy.