Using Google Plus Hangouts to Establish Expertise

by Nicole Munoz

One way to maximize your business brand on Google + is to find a way to establish your expertise. A great way to do that is to use Google Hangouts On-Air. You can use Google + Hangout’s On Air service free to give excellent presentations. You don’t need any special software, and you can do them at the drop of the hat.

There are so many interesting features with Google+ Hangout On Air that it’s something you must try in order to establish your expertise and maximize your brand. Whether you have an online business or an offline business using the features offered such as screen sharing, slide sharing, video sharing and more will really take your business to the next level.

The system is not hard to use, it’s pretty much like most webinar tools, but with a few additional bells and whistles.

Host a Panel Discussion

You can ask some of your colleagues or JV partners to join with you in a Google + Hangout On Air session then broadcast it live as it’s happening, post it to your Google+ home page, and even your YouTube.com channel for watching again later.

Host a Private Round Table

Do you work with or coach others? If so you probably often need to have private discussions with them. You can interact on a face-to-face level using Google+ Hangouts without going on air. You can still record it and use it later.

Present a “How-to”

You can use Google+ Hangouts On Air to present a “how to” do something that is related to your niche. When you schedule an On Air presentation you can notify all your followers and ask them to tell theirs.

Build Customer Relationships

Host monthly Google Hangouts just for customers that allow them to ask and get questions answered live. This is a great way to educate your customers about the products or services they’ve already purchased and mention new ones that might solve other problems they have.

Host Product Demonstrations

You can have a Google + Hangout On Air to demonstrate products and services that you offer. Don’t be afraid of “giving away the farm” even when you show someone how to do something, often they’d rather someone else do it for them.

Repurpose & Reuse

When you host a hangout you can record it. You can then download it and edit it for use on a membership site, or as a free give away to encourage newsletter sign ups. You can also have it transcribed and use it in other ways such as an eReport, eBook or even as a Kindle Book.

Everything you do on Google + Hangouts should be in your business’s name and focused toward your personalized audience. Use the same marketing tactics to promote your Google + Hangouts as you would any event you plan to host. Tell everyone you know, ask them to tell everyone they know, and use all methods available to you to get the word out from your blog to other social media accounts.

If you’d like to know more about Google+, then don’t miss our free Webinar on November 7th, “How To Maximize Your Business Brand On Google+”.

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How to Maximize Your Business Brand on Google+ Checklist

by Nicole Munoz

Creating a Google+ business page is just the beginning. Brands need to be consistent, follow trends and interact with their followers in order to increase their brand visibility. Check these questions and see what you should be doing to maximize your business brand on Google+.

Branding

Do you have a clear Google+ branding plan?

Have you created multiple Circles for different topics?

Have you decided on Google+ features that will work well for your branding goals?

Page elements

Do you have a cover photo (background) that eloquently tells your brand’s story or says what the company is all about?

Do you have a professionally designed logo?

Does the design match your website color scheme?

Do you use the same fonts as on your website?

Have you included a company tagline?

Have you included keywords in your company description?

Have you filled out the About section?

Have you started posting relevant information for your followers?

Page marketing

Have you added customers or followers to your page’s Circles?

Have you shares Google+ content with followers and Circle members?

Have you invited people to like your (+1) comments?

Are you posting high-quality photos? How about videos?

Are you updating the page profile regularly?

Are you sharing posts instantly with your Circles?

Have you created events?

Are you focusing all the efforts on brand consistency and

Have you created a ‘voice’ for your followers? Are you easy to recognize?

Are you paying attention to your followers – and their reactions to your company branding? Do they approve them? Are they being indifferent?

Are you constantly creating rich, quality content for your followers?

Are you posting and interacting through Google+ and my Google+ Business branding page consistently and regularly?

Is you Google+ presence optimized for mobile users?

Website requirements

Do you have the G+ button installed?

Do you have a G+ badge?

Do you have Google Analytics installed?

Is your website optimized for mobile?

Do you have the Google Authorship verification set up?

Are your website and Google+ Page eligible to use Google+ Direct Connect?

YouTube

I have come up with a strategy and schedule for branding my company through Hangouts on Air (and YouTube)

Is your YouTube channel optimized and uses the same design elements as your website and Google+ page?

Is your YouTube channel optimized for your main keywords?

Hangouts

Have you tried Hangouts on Air? Have you checked it with your team?

Have you created a series, using the principle of repetition in the episode titles to create event awareness?

Are you paying attention to branding by creating strong, keyword-optimized titles that include the company/ product name?

Have you added the Live Q & A feature to Hangouts on Air sessions?

Are you promoting your Hangouts on Air across several platforms? Here is what you should start with:

Blog or website
Email list
Local platforms
Twitter
Google+ posts
LinkedIn
Pinterest
SlideShare
Other social networks

Are you using Google+ hashtags to promote the page, company, events, posts – and Hangouts?

Google Products

Have you checked Google Ripples?

Have you tried Google Offers for local businesses?

Analytics

Have you set up Analytics goals for the traffic referred from Google+?

Are you evaluating audience characteristics and behavior?

Do you use data collection filtering and management features?

Do you perform performing A/B split testing to measure conversions?

Follow

Are you following these blogs and sites to be on top with what is new in the world of Google+?

The Google Official Blog
The Google Developers Blog

At least one other social-network measuring authority blog, such as:

How many of these tips are you actually implementing?

Google+ Hangouts: The Next Best Thing

by Nicole Munoz

Hangouts are essentially video conferences, but with a casual twist. Google+ named it “hangouts” to give it a spontaneous feel. All you need to do is click “Hangout,” invite a few friends and you can just hang out on video. If other friends see your hangout in their feeds, they can join and hang out as well.

Of course even though the primary positioning is casual video chat, you can also use the technology for business meetings, conferences, brainstorming and one on one chats.

Here’s how to use Google+ hangouts.

STEP 1: GO TO HANGOUTS

Check out your Hangouts on the right of your screen.

STEP 2: CLICK “NEW HANGOUT”

Click on “New Hangout” on the top of your Hangouts box.

STEP 3: ADD OR REMOVE PEOPLE

Click the “x” button in the upper right corner of any circle to remove the circle. Check the box next to any other person or circle to open the hangout to more people.

STEP 4: START THE HANGOUT!

Once you’ve told Google who you want to hang out with, click the little video camera icon to get started!

You’ll immediately see a screen with anyone else in the hangout, along with your own video so you can see how you look.

STEP 5: INVITING MORE PEOPLE

If you’re in the middle of a hangout and want to invite more people, just click on “Invite.”

You’ll then be taken to the invite screen where you can invite more people to your hangout.

STEP 6: TEXT CHAT

Sometimes you’ll want to use text chat in addition to video chat. For example, if someone wants to share a link to something online, it’s a lot easier to just paste the link in a text chat rather than spell it out in video.

To access the text chat, click “Chat.”

Then use the chat box like any other chat room box.

STEP 7: SHARING YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Hangouts makes it very easy to share videos. You essentially have one group “channel” that everyone can watch at the same time. Anyone can set the video that the player is set to and everyone else in the video can watch the same video at the same time.

To share or watch a video, click “YouTube.”

You can choose videos from your playlists or search from YouTube videos. You can also create and save a playlist together! If you want to talk during the video, just click “Push to talk”.

STEP 8: OTHER SETTINGS

To mute your video or audio, click either of the mute buttons in the lower right corner. These are useful for if you need to step away from your video for a few minutes, if one person is speaking or if your dog’s barking in the background.

To access additional microphone and video settings, click “Settings.”

Here you can set your microphone and camera. You can test the various settings to make sure everything’s working properly.

That’s how to use hangouts. You’ve just learned how to start a new hangout, how to set who the hangout is open to, how to invite more people, how to use the text chat, how to share YouTube videos and how to set your microphone and video settings.

Hangouts really takes connecting with friends online to the next level. Instead of just sharing casual, spontaneous status updates, you can now share entire social interactions spontaneously.