ROCKS DIGITAL  BLOG

Patrick Dougher

5 Excellent Ways to Use Google Hangouts for Your Business

Use Google Hangouts for business.
Image Credit – BigTunaOnline/Shutterstock.com

Using Google Plus Hangouts for your business is a no brainer! For years business owners have been using the rising Social Media sites – Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and Skype to increase their online presence. These social networking sites have helped savvy businesses to grow their businesses and brands through online interaction and video sharing.

1. Connect With Your Customers on Google+ Hangouts

Marketing is not just about bringing in new customers; it’s about retaining the old ones. With Google Hangouts you can keep them up-to-date on new products, a new service, and enhancements to their current service. You can show them ways to save money, and introduce them to all your products. You can also allow them to get to know you on a more personal level, and learn to trust you even more.

2. Hold Private Consulting Sessions on Google+ Hangouts

How convenient would it be to stay in your office and still speak face-to-face with your client? Being able to hold a private consultation with clients who are a distance away, and have them interact with you as if they were in the same room – that’s what Google Hangouts can do for you.

When working on a long-term project you can stay in touch with your clients, and work out any kinks as you go along. They can see you and your expressions, and trust you are dealing with them in an open manner. Clients like to look you in the eye when speaking to you – “reading you” so to speak. A hangout offers you that opportunity.

3. Conduct Team Meetings Online via a Google Hangout

Let’s face it, conference calls leave a lot to be desired. There can be distractions, which results in miscommunication and lack of focus. Telecommuters, or those working at a different location, will feel more a part of team if they are able to participate face-to-face, in real time. This enhances communication, and allows them to not be included, but engage in the discussion.

Think what it would be like to mastermind or work on a presentation together, instead of relying on instant messages, emails and phone calls. This saves travel expenses, but also saves valuable time and misunderstandings.

4. Hold a Press Conference with Google Hangouts

You don’t have to have a publicist, be super star, or even be a big corporation to hold a press conference. You can have a small, limited audience, and allow them to ask questions about you or your product. If you have a big announcement, why not get the message out? With Hangouts you can announce to the world your new CEO, new employee, a promotion, an award, or the release of a new product or website.

Grammy-winner Taylor Swift hosted a Google Hangouts live chat press conference to announce the release of her new single. When her recording was released on iTunes, it soared to the top of the charts faster than any other in history!

5. Put on a Webinar with Google+ Hangouts

If you have always wanted to share your expertise or products, and make them available to a larger market, Google Hangouts is the way to go. You can create a webinar, where people can ask questions and interact. You can put participants in silent mode as you make your presentation, and then open up for questions, add others to help with the presentation, and even add photos to your presentation. Google records Hangouts, and you can stream it immediately to YouTube, share it with select people, or archive and edit as you wish.

Best of all, it comes as no financial risk. Previously, webinars were expensive to put on. Not with Hangouts! It is free, and simple to use. No need for a lot of technical knowledge. Google has a free video chat plug-in they prompt you to download and install with your first Hangout. There’s no need to sync up with your recording hardware, and it’s easy. It takes about 30 seconds to install. This lets you use video in Hangouts, Gmail, iGoogle, another social network owned by Google.

Google Plus Enhances Your Web Presence

Not only will you be visible to more future and current clients using Google+, which will increase your website traffic, but Google likes to have their products used and shared, so although they don’t actually come out and say it, if you were to use Google+ Hangouts to promote your website you will most probably see other benefits, including an increase in search page rankings.

How have you been using Google+ and other online social networking sites to increase your web presence?

Patrick Dougher

Patrick Dougher is producer & host of The Business Spotlight TV. Marketing is really about getting your door swinging and your phone ringing. That is Results.

More Posts

Download Our SEO Guide

Created in a joint partnership with Advice Local, this guide — What You Need to Know About SEO — provides an introduction to SEO concepts, strategies and best practices for optimizing a website. Complete the form below and get instant access.

    ROCKING DIGITAL SERVICES

    Web Design & Development

    Your website needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional. We build websites for desktop and mobile that are both.

    LOCAL SEARCH & SEO

    Your website needs to attract search engines and consumers. We are experts in local search and SEO, and can make that happen.

    CONTENT CREATION & MARKETING

    Anybody can write words on a page, but can they write content that integrates SEO best practices and converts? We can.

    PPC & Paid Search

    PPC & Paid Search

    Need more customers? We create paid campaigns to reach your target audience and increase sales.

    Tracking & Optimization

    You need a solid foundation for success online, and our tracking & optimization services get it done.

    Graphic Design Services

    Graphic Design Services

    From logo design to your business card, brochures – and everything in-between for print & web – we can help!

    Here’s What Our Client's Have to Say

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich

    Rocks Digital Is the Best Choice

    ★★★★★
    As a long-term client, when it was time to change the primary focus of my real estate business, and my website, I knew Rocks Digital was the way to go. They took my existing website, gave it a complete new look, and still managed to keep my existing content.
    - David Dorum

    Brought My Ideas to Fruition

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital came highly recommended. Once I started working with them I knew why. They took my ideas for a beautiful website and brought them to the screen. From the design phase to content creation, each component was thoughtfully considered and addressed.
    - Clay Adams

    Conversions Are on the Rise

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages two of my websites. They produce our blogs, our service pages and manage our paid search campaigns. Conversions are up and new patients are coming in the door. I highly recommend their digital marketing services.
    - Dr. Thomas Chacko

    Agency Services Are Top Notch

    ★★★★★
    We shifted to Rocks Digital agency services earlier in the year. We are so glad we did. Our website sessions are up, page views are up, and bounce rate is down. Now we can easily see how many form fills we have had at any given time through their real-time reporting.
    - Kristin Schafer

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich
    Name
    Email
    Review Title
    Rating
    Review Content

    LATEST BLOG POSTS

    Local SEO company strategies.

    What Does a Local SEO Company Do?

    Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy focused on boosting a business’ local search visibility within a particular area. With the successful implementation of proven

    Hire a digital marketing agency.

    Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

    Staying ahead of search engine updates and marketing trends is a constant challenge, so it’s no surprise that businesses frequently turn to digital marketing agencies.

    LOCAL VISIBILITY REPORT

    Is your Google My Business listing helping or hurting you? Is bad data causing consumers and search engines to lose trust in your business? This is information you simply must know.

    To get these answers right now, just enter your business name below to run our FREE
    visibility report.


    Need a facelift
    for your website? More search traffic? Need to blog, but don’t have time?

    Our Digital Services Could Be For You
    Get a Free Local Visibility Report Now