In these early days of Google+ business Pages, it has been interesting to see how different business have started to use this new platform. Financial services provider, Allianz has used its Page to post updates on financial reports.

The Allianz Group released its Interim Report 3Q on 11 November, which was accompanied by updates on Google+. Allianz posted both a link to the report and key figures from it on their Google+ Page.

The extent to which companies have taken up social media for IR purposes varies greatly across the board. Both the blogosphere and existing social networking sites are used to reach investors, but it is yet to be seen whether Google+ will be the platform to make IR via social media the norm.

Many companies will now tweet that their latest quarterly report is available, and some have dedicated IR Twitter accounts.  For example, Proctor& Gamble’s media team frequently tweet financial information, eBay has a Twitter feed for its corporate blog and Roche’s IR Twitter feed, only available to confirmed followers, is an automated feed of investor updates.

In addition to Twitter, companies are starting to talk to investors via blogs like DellShares and via YouTube. An article from the June issue of Communicate magazine featured InterContinental Hotels Group’s YouTube channel, used to disseminate accessible financial information. The videos that the channel hosts include presentations of quarterly results and series on the company’s plans for growth.

Perhaps the timely arrival of Google+ will mean that IR departments find the online voice they are increasingly seeking on this new medium, but the above examples might indicate the potential advantages of using a combination of platforms.