It seems like every day some new platform or feature for social media appears from the abyss. What platforms and features are actually useful? Are they worth the time and effort to set up?

Google Places is one of the newer features in Google+. Google Places allows your business to be easily found through a Google search, especially based on location. For example, if you have an Italian restaurant in Tampa, Florida and someone searches "Italian food in Tampa", or "Italian restaurants near me" while in the area, your restaurant will show up as a result at the top of the page, accompanied by other important information about your restaurant. By using location as a tag, your business becomes more discoverable geographically, therefore bringing in more customers. 

Another benefit of using Google Places in your business is the ability for customer reviews. It is no longer required to have a Google Plus account to leave a review for a business, making users more inclined to leave one. By having your reviews at an easy access, potential customers will be able to see your ratings right away, therefore quickly aiding them in their decision. People love to read and leave reviews, as having reviews gives potential customers a certain feeling of comfort when deciding whether to work with or go to your place of business. 

Google Places allows your business to have a higher traffic volume, as well as helps with SEO. By being so visible, more people are able to stumble upon your business and see what it has to offer. On the SEO side, Google Places links with Google+ to cast a more accurate net over your target audience and get your business out there. 

Google Places is by far one of the most useful features that has recently appeared. It is definitely worth the truly small amount of time and effort it takes to set up for your business.