When you are logged in on Google, the content from people you are connected with is likely to appear higher in Google’s Social Search results. As only a few brands had Google profiles, although it was possible for them to create one until 2011 March, it was not possible to directly connect with these brands through Google. So the social connections have usually been just real people, which is a bit of a disadvantage.
While following brands on other social sites like Facebook or Twitter allowed you to connect with them, it was unusual for these types of connections to result in an improvement in Google search results. But having people add you to their Google+ circles may give a big boost to your search rank. Ford is one among the small number of brands allowed to have a page on the nascent social platform. If you are connected to Ford on Google Plus, the company is likely to appear in the top search results when you search for cars. This will happen only when you are logged in to Google.
Having a brand page on Google+ will let users connect with your business directly. This in turn will allow you to rank higher for those people. According to Google, brands will be allowed to create a Google+ page in a few months. In the mean time, you can concentrate on getting more +1s for better SEO marketing results. Google has confirmed that this can improve your search rank for people who have liked your content.