8 Ways to Use Google+ Hangouts for Your Business

Do you use Google+ Hangouts?

Interested in ways to use them for your business?

Google+ Hangouts are a fine way to hold group meetings, interact with customers, interview people and share your expertise.

In this article you’ll detect eight ways to use Google+ Hangouts for your business.

Detect eight ways to use Google+ Hangouts for your business.

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A Quick Introduction to Google+ Hangouts

Before getting into ways to use Google+ Hangouts, here’s a quick look at the types available.

For public Google+ Hangouts, you’ll want to choose Google+ Hangouts on Air. Google+ Hangouts on Air permit you to have up to ten hosts in a live hangout that is publicly accessible on Google+, your YouTube channel and your website. You can record hangouts directly to your YouTube channel for future use.

Get commenced with Google+ Hangouts on Air.

For private Google+ Hangouts, choose Google+ Movie Hangouts, which permit you to have up to ten participants in a movie talk that is accessible only to the people invited.

Get began with Google+ Movie Hangouts.

You can run Google+ Hangouts from your desktop browser or by using the recommended Google apps. Attempt running a private Google+ Hangout with yourself and a select group of people to embark with, so you can install the decent browser software and test out the controls before you go live with a hangout.

At the top of a Google+ Hangout, you see controls that (from left to right) permit you to invite people to the hangout, mute your microphone, turn off your webcam, adjust your bandwidth settings, configure your movie and sound settings and end the hangout.

Google+ Hangouts top control panel.

In the left sidebar you’ll find apps that permit you to do specific things during the hangout, some of which are available only in hangouts on air, not in the movie hangouts. These apps may also be ordered differently depending on which ones you choose to use or have used in the past.

Google+ left sidebar controls.

Embarking at the top in the above photo, you find the Group Talk app icon, which opens a talk box on the right side of your hangout. This is a fine way to invite a person to interact during the hangout, even if he or she isn’t one of the ten people in the movie with you.

Next, you have the Screen Share app icon. This permits you to share your screen to demonstrate slips, live software demos and other information on your desktop.

Choose screen-sharing options for hangouts.

The Tag icon permits you to showcase links from websites of your choosing on the right side of the hangout. These can be links to your website, social profiles, landing pages and other items that your hangout attendees and viewers would need.

Showcase items from websites in your hangout.

The Q & A icon permits you to specifically commence a Q&A in the hangout.

The Camera icon enables you to take a screenshot of the hangout while it’s live. You can use this feature at a specific point during the hangout to create a thumbnail picture to use for your YouTube movie preview. You can also use it anywhere you’re planning to promote the hangout replay.

The Movie Camera icon permits you to control who is being shown during the hangout and how guests will show up when they join the hangout.

Use the Cameraman options to customize your hangout.

Use the UberConference app icon to create a conference call number that people can use to call in to the hangout if they’re incapable to access the live movie stream.

Give attendees the option to listen to your hangout via conference call.

The Control Room app icon permits you to quickly control which participants in the hangout are seen and heard. You can also use it to kick people out of the hangout if needed.

The Control Room permits you to mute and hide a participant’s movie feed.

The Hangout Toolbox app icon triggers a box of features you can use to further enhance your hangout. In the example below, you can see how to add a lower-third banner with your name tagline or a custom-built overlay photo so every person on the hangout is identified when they’re on movie.

The Hangout Toolbox offers several options to enhance your Google+ Hangout practice.

The Effects app icon toggles special effects you can use on your movie during the hangout. These are more for private use than business use.

Use special effects in Google+ Hangouts to create a joy practice.

Ultimately, there’s a YouTube app icon that permits you to choose a YouTube movie to stream live during your hangout.

At the bottom of your hangout (as shown below), you see extra options for embarking and stopping your broadcast, as well as links to share to direct people to your hangout.

Google+ Hangouts bottom control panel.

Now that you know a little about how Google+ Hangouts work, here are a few ways to use them for your business.

#1: Upgrade Conference Calls

Want to feel more connected to remote employees, contractors, vendors and others you work with outside of your office? If you have fewer than ten people in attendance, upgrade your conference calls from voice to movie with Google+ Movie Hangouts. This will increase everyone’s engagement in the meeting, as you’ll be able to see attendees’ facial expressions and gestures.

Movie hangouts can be used for regular weekly meetings, brainstorming sessions and more.

#Two: Present a Webinar

Ready to present a webinar to your audience, but don’t want to pay hefty fees for a webinar platform? Attempt Google+ Hangouts on Air. Hangouts on air permit you to use your webcam, share your screen and observe other YouTube movies live with an unlimited number of viewers. You can also record and save hangouts on air to your YouTube channel.

One feature missing from Google+ Hangouts is the capability to get attendees to register for your webinar so you can capture their email addresses. There are a few ways around this. One option is to have a registration page for your webinar that has a plain opt-in form for your email list. Require people to opt in to get a link to your webinar before it goes live.

Another option (after the live webinar is over) is to embed a replay webinar on your website, rather than publicly listing it on YouTube. All people have to do to see it is to give you their name and email address, and you send them the link to the web page on which your webinar recording is embedded.

#Trio: Host a Q&A Session

Want to turn hangouts into an chance to interact with your audience? Host informative Q&A sessions with people in your business or industry leaders.

Simply find topics that relate to your products and services (topics that people typically have lots of questions about) and create a Q&A session around them. You can have one pro or a panel of experts (up to Ten) to response people’s questions submitted prior to the event or submitted in the text talk.

#Four: Interview Industry Leaders

Movie interviews make excellent content, and they’re effortless to create with Google+ Hangouts.

You can choose to record the interview with just you and your guest(s) and share it later with fans after some editing. Or you can host a hangout on air with a live interview and open the floor for viewer questions at the end.

#Five: Enhance Job Recruitment

Is your business hiring? Don’t just post a job listing. Hold a hangout on air session for potential applicants letting them know more about your chance, how to apply, tips for applying and insights into the job they would be doing.

You can then use Google+ Hangouts during the interview process with your potential candidates. This is especially helpful if you have remote employees who need to be part of the interview process, or if you’re hiring remote employees and don’t want to make them travel to your location.

#6: Launch a Product

Launching a fresh product? Use Google+ Hangouts on Air to host a live product launch party.

This event has the potential to get your customers excited all across the globe. You’ll get bonus points if you can get a celebrity on board with the launch, as shown in the above hangout.

#7: Hold User-Group Meetings

Want to virtually bring together users of a specific technology or contraption? Hold a weekly or monthly user-group meeting.

Groups of ten or fewer can participate live on movie, and groups larger than ten can view and interact in the hangout talk. Google+ Hangouts make the flawless environment for virtual user-group meetings because people can share their screens for tutorials and feature reviews.

#8: Sponsor a Hangout

Don’t want to host Google+ Hangouts on your own? You can get your name on them by sponsoring them instead. Similar to podcast sponsoring, find people who regularly host Google+ Hangouts in your industry and see if they’re interested in sponsorship opportunities.

In exchange, you can ask for a few mentions of your product or service during the hangout and a link in the YouTube movie description when it’s collective after the event.

What do you think? Do you use Google+ Hangouts for your business? If so, please share your practices and ideas in the comments!

8 tips for using Google+ Hangouts for your business.

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