Google has competitively unveiled a new look for Google Plus in advance of Facebook's planned update for Thursday, March 7th.
The new look is more pleasant to the eye, with a much larger cover image. The profile image has gone from a 250x250 px square to a circle. The new look hasn't been forced yet- if you haven't changed your cover and profile, they will look the same until you take those steps.
Make sure you use a large photo. The smallest size that is accepted is 480X270 px, and the biggest is 2120X1192 px. Using a large photo ensures that you'll have a nice clean look without pixelation and fuzziness.
No changes to the posting section, so no new learning curve there. Reviews look the same on business pages.
If you haven't claimed your Google Plus Local listing, this is another reason to do so; the area where you could have a lovely eye-catching photo that is descriptive of your business as well as a logo, is filled with a big 'ole map and an empty circle, as seen below.
Make sure to claim and verify your Google Plus Local page. Even if you verified your Places page within the last few years, this is different, and you have to claim the page and then verify it with a postcard through Google. Take advantage of the opportunity to present your business the way you like rather than the Google default.
Annie Buck
Sales
Acorn IS
It’s more than evident that Google is taking on a competition against Facebook. Competition is a good thing from the users standpoint as we will be getting a higher presence online without the need to have a “little black book” with all the passwords to the gazillion sites that we are registering to.
While Google and Facebook are two different sites, Google being known for it’s commercial and business related alternatives and Facebook being a merely social site, it might be that someday the two will have no limit or distinction.
I agree with what you say, any business owner should take consideration and check from time to time their Google+ listing to see what new (if any) changes have been made. There is no room in the top for business owners or managers who simply lack the stamina to keep up with the constantly changing world of the internet.