Google+ pages for brands launched last week, opening up the network to brands for the first time.It has given third-party social media management companies, including Buddy Media, Context Optional, Hearsay Social, Hootsuite, Involver and Vitrue, access to be able to test Google+ functionality within their tools.

Google said the move was in recognition of the fact that some brands want to use third-party tools to manage their presence across multiple social networks.

Sarah McKinley, product manager of Google+ pages, said, “Businesses can create and manage their pages directly through Google+. We are committed to working on enhancements and innovative features to offer businesses more flexibility and power to run their pages. We also recognise that some businesses use social media management companies to manage their presence across multiple social networks.

“These companies will offer a subset of their clients the ability to manage Circles, publish to Google+ and monitor usage,” she added.

Google said the companies selected in the scheme were chosen because they are well established but has called for more third-party providers to join the test.

Luca Benini, MD of Buddy Media in Europe, said, “We like starting early, learning and growing with our platform partners Facebook, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn, and delivering the best unified social enterprise solution to our clients.”