Social

Google+ Hangout Can Energize Marketing Plans

By Kylie Jane Wakefield

Google+’s hangout feature, which allows people to chat with each other via webcam and broadcast, is a great tool for customer service and marketing.

On the site, up to 10 users can video conference with one another, connect and switch camera angles, watch YouTube videos together, upload and share documents, give the hangout a name, and create a shared whiteboard presentation.

Soon, Google+ will be rolling out Hangouts on Air, which will let anyone live broadcast to an unlimited audience, according to Social Media Examiner‘s Phyllis Kare. “Once the on-air hangout is completed, it automatically becomes a draft recorded video in your YouTube account where you can edit it and then publish on your YouTube channel, and then of course share it from there,” she said.

For marketers, Google+’s hangout platform can be used as an instant customer service center, to launch a product, or to run a contest, Kare said. As for Hangouts on Air, businesses have used it to report on news and provide product training. Marketers looking to combine promotion and customer service can use Hangouts on Air to achieve both.

Decoded‘s blogger Brock points out that by setting up hangouts with customers on Google+, marketers can find out who their customers really are. When marketers chat face-to-face with customers, they are also showing that their business is transparent and open to ideas, Brock said. Customers appreciate knowing who is behind a company and seeing a personal touch.

Google+’s hangouts are a great opportunity for businesses to chat with customers and showcase their products. The platform is more personal than other social media channels, and it gives customers the chance to know who is behind their favorite brands.

Image courtesy of Ahmad Faizal Yahya/Shutterstock