Google+ Hangouts: What Marketers Need to Know to Get Started

Do you use Google+ hangouts for your marketing?

Are you wondering how hangouts can help your business?

Google+ Hangouts Marketing
What is a Google+ hangout?

Brandee states that first of all, it’s free. Google describes it as a unification of their video, chats and messenger service all in one place. It was a replacement for Google talk and Google chat.

Hangouts can either be private or you can stream live to your YouTube channel with Hangouts on Air.


Brandee Sweesy's YouTube channel.

Brandee explains that if you’re a consultant or coach, you can use hangouts like you would Skype. The quality of the video is amazing.

If you want to record your private hangout sessions, then you will have to useCamtasia or ScreenFlow. These hangouts are great to use for team meetings, consulting, coaching or when you privately advise people.

With a hangout on air, you can host yourself and up to nine other people. You can all be on the video at the same time, where you can chat and give a presentation. This can be done with private hangouts and hangouts on air.

You’ll discover why you need to keep control of the sound-activated screen and what you need to do.


You can control who is in the larger screen.

Hangouts on air stream live to your YouTube channel. It’s linked to your Google+ page. If you have a Google+ profile or a Google+ business page, you link it to yourYouTube channel.

You need to have your YouTube channel verified for uploads of more than 15 minutes and most hangouts run longer than that.

The great advantage when you stream live to your YouTube channel is that at the end of the broadcast, you have unlimited YouTube content. You’ll find out what you need to add once you have finished the live stream to be able to optimize your video marketing.

When you stream live, it also runs on your Google+ profile page at the same time. Once you start a hangout on air, you can take the embed codes and share them on a Facebook tab, website or blog post. You can then direct people to watch it there.


Share the embed code on Facebook to announce that you are live on air.

There’s also a Hangouts on Air page that lists all of the hangouts that are currently on air.

Listen to the show to learn about how you should name your hangouts to grab people’s attention.

How does a hangout differ from a webinar?

Brandee first saw hangouts as a possible replacement for webinars. A lot of the webinar platforms are expensive and if you only do a few, it can be hard to justify the cost. Many webinar platforms base their price on the number of viewers. But with a hangout on air, you have unlimited viewership.

Brandee explains how she has done webinars by herself with a slide presentation embedded on a website that has unlimited viewers.

With hangouts on air, you don’t need to buy expensive plugins for your website. People can enter their email address and then flip over to a Watch Live page.


You can have people opt in on your website and then flip through to your Watch Live page.

You’ll discover the best option to help build engagement and keep viewers from getting distracted. The advantage with hangouts is you have the opportunity to share an image with your audience, plus have that face-to-face connection, all in one place.

You can share content with both private hangouts and hangouts on air. All you have to do is press the Screen Share button. Brandee’s trick is to never share your desktop screen. Always make sure you close everything down first, except for what you want to share.

If you use Keynote, you need to convert your slides into PowerPoint, then load them into your Google Drive and select Present in New Window. You’ll also learn how you can build your slides in Google Drive and Brandee’s secret trick.

Listen to the show to find out how to control the main video and swap among guests.

Why marketers should consider doing a hangout

Brandee says the number-one reason is because it’s YouTube. Videos always rank higher in searches and hangouts on air jump very quickly to the first page of Google.

With normal video, you have to go through and edit it before it is released; whereas with hangouts on air, you have the live streaming to YouTube. This gives you unlimited YouTube content. If you are strategic with the optimization afterwards, you will skyrocket to the first page on your subject.

Remember that people buy from people they know, like and trust. It’s a huge opportunity to allow people to get to know you face to face. You’ll hear what people can gain from these live experiences.

Brandee has had clients who have made $12,000 with one hangout on air alone. You can also create web shows, which help build your list and engagement with your audience. People love it when you mention them live on air. When you have a weekly show at a certain time and are consistent with the people you interview, it’s a great benefit to your business.

You’ll discover how the analytics work for live streaming and what made Brandee’s viewers double in 24 hours.

If you want to share exclusive content, the best option is to go back into the video once the broadcast has ended and mark it as unlisted. This allows you to share your exclusive content with only the people who registered to watch it. Once you mark it as unlisted, it’s pulled out of your YouTube channel. You’ll also learn another way to share exclusive content.

Brandee shares what equipment she uses for her videos and why there is zero labor involved.

Listen to the show to find out about what you need to learn first before you start to record and what Brandee tests before she starts a broadcast.

What kind of apps can enhance hangouts?

One of Brandee’s favorite apps is the Hangout Toolbox. It allows you to have a lower third, where you can put your name and your website address.


You can brand your video in the lower third with your name and website address.

Even if it’s a hangout with others, you still need to have your name, website address and a call to action there.

You can also use your logo in the same area. The Hangouts Toolbox has custom overlays, so you can make sure you have a well-branded lower third. It’s great for consistency and branding. It helps with when you are on other shows too.

Listen to the show to find out what size the lower third needs to be.

What you need to know if you are getting started with hangouts

Brandee states that you first need to know the answer to “What is your why?”Once you understand this, the next stage is your strategy, which includes where you want people to watch your hangouts.

If you’re a video person, you’ll want to send viewers to your YouTube channel. For a marketing person who wants to build a list, then the best place to send them to is your website and ask for an opt-in. It all depends on where your biggest audience is.

As with all marketing, it’s about consistency. If your goal is to build relationships and engage your audience, then you might want to do a weekly show. If you want to sell a product, it won’t be as often but you will become known for this through your hangouts. It’s another marketing tool.

You’ll hear about two guys who co-host Social Media Maniacs and how within a couple of weeks they went from zero subscribers to thousands.

Although hangouts can be any length, the ideal time is around 30-45 minutes. It only works for longer periods if it’s high-energy and moves forward.

Brandee talks about viewer engagement and what you need to take into account when you ask questions.


Get viewer engagement with an attention-grabbing promotion.

People love it when you include them in a hangout. Make sure you prompt for questions. The Hangout Toolbox and Comment Tracker will let you pull comments in from your YouTube channel, your Google+ profile and your Twitter account. You can then pop these on the screen.

Listen to the show to find out the best way to include comments if the hangout is on your blog.

How to promote a hangout

First you need to decide what your goal is and where you want to send people. It’s the number-one consistency in your marketing. Brandee firmly believes that you should go where your audience is. Never try to drag them to another place. You need to make it as easy as possible for your end users.

You’ll discover what promotional pieces work best and what you need to include to help drive people to one location.

If people happen upon you on the Hangout on Air page or on your YouTube channel, then these are bonus people.

When you promote your live event, you need to start 4 days in advance. Brandee uses a plugin for her website, so when you land, you need to fill in your email. Then instead of a double opt-in, it takes you through to the Watch Live page.

Brandee shares how she gathers questions for the show and what techniques she uses to remind people of the live hangout.


You need to keep promoting right up until the last minute before you go live.

About 30 minutes before you start your hangout on air, Brandee advises to start setting up and making sure the lighting and camera angle are in a good position.

Then 15 minutes before you start, you need to invite your guest to come and join you in the “green room.”

You only start to stream live once you click Start Broadcast. You’ll hear how Brandee does one last promotion 5 minutes before the hangout starts.

Once the broadcast has finished, the video is available within a couple of minutes in your YouTube Video Manager. You now have the opportunity to add the description, keywords or even edit the video.

Brandee shares how to make a trailer for your longer broadcasts and where to add annotations.

Listen to the show to hear what Brandee trims off her video.

This Week in Social Media

Mobile ad spending takes off, Facebook grabs a decent share of it, the first short film shot only on Vine, Twitter acquires Trendrr for social TV measurement, unintentional risks of cloud sharing on personal devices in the workplace, another Facebook privacy policy update, Kevin Spacey teaches us a thing or two about the future of content and more, it's This Week in Social Media.

A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.

Each week at Ford, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, social media, mobile, communications and marketing in order to keep the wider team up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in their jobs. These are those links.
If you have additional links, sources or ideas that might be helpful, I'd encourage you to add some via a comment below or tag me in Google+. And if you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the This Week in Social Media Magazine, which is now available on the Web.

Industry

• Trend: brands buying advertising around earned media about themselves.
• The latest CMO Survey from Duke's Fuqua School of Business has been released. Some highlights include a continued plunge in spending on traditional advertising, a leveling off of digital spending, and a lack of quantitative metrics to demonstrate the impact of marketing spending, the pressure of which 2 out of 3 CMOs are feeling from boards.
• Mobile ad spending is growing: by 2017 it will account for about 36% of global digital ad dollars.
• Want to get into the mind of a college student? As with many things related to college,they're apathetic about following brands. The challenge for brands of course, is how to break through the lack of attention and lack of interest without going overboard.

The Platforms

• Facebook is releasing a new feature that allows multiple users to upload images to the same album. Great possibilities for events, reunions, launches and more.
• We were always told "you're judged by the company you keep." Well, it still holds true:your Facebook friends may affect your credit score.
• Google and Facebook account for almost half of the UK's digital ad spend andFacebook has seen big gains in global mobile ad market share. 

• Two interesting ones on Twitter: how many Twitter profiles does your brand need?In short, it depends on how you're using it. But even so, it's likely that your brand is tweeting too much and not taking time to speak with (not broadcast to) fans.
• Twitter has acquired social TV startup Trendrr to track conversations across media.
• Medium may be the most interesting new platform that you haven't heard of. Or perhaps you have, but you're still wondering, "What is Medium?"
• A recent update of the Instagram app allows users to straighten their photos. But why?
• Instagram is acquiring video-sharing app Luma, thus allowing filters to be added to videos.
• Sina has released WeMeet, a competitor to WeChat; here are some first impressions.
• While it may be seen as lots of "lite" content, Tumblr content has a longer shelf life than on any other social network - largely because of the reblogging feature that allows it to live on.
• Airbnb is making the world's first film shot entirely on Vine; the film will premiere on the Sundance Channel on September 12 and submissions can be found atHollywood + Vines. 

Measurement / Metrics / Big Data

• While the use of services like DropBox, Google Drive and iCloud are commonplace with personal devices, the use of these for company data could be putting those data at risk. Particularly of note, with so many Millennials using tablets and smartphones for both personal and work purposes.
• The Virtual Chief Digital Officer interviews Katie Kaine on her book Measure What Matters. One of the main takeaways for digital is to measure outcomes, not outputs - that is, actions taken, attitudes changed, behaviors altered, rather than simply likes or followers.

Legal / HR

• Good news for brands, bad news for app developers: Facebook no longer requiressweepstakes and contests to be conducted through third party apps.
• A new update to Facebook's privacy policy allows the social network to analyze your profile picture and more.
• Related: Facebook will pay out $20 million stemming from a class action lawsuit about privacy breaches in its Sponsored Stories product.

Content

• As branded content becomes more important, so too does attracting, retaining and leading writers; Contently has three basic tactics for wrangling writers.
• Virool is taking video content to the next level by helping connect brands and publishers to put the most relevant content in front of viewers.
• Content marketing is continuous storytelling. Michael Brito helps under stand how to actually do it. 

Bookmark / Read / Watch Later

• Steve Garfield's success in social media isn't only about his savvy angel investments. It has to do with his entire philosophy, which boils down to building trust by adding value - not by selling.
• One of the most inspiring thought leaders out there is Avinash Kaushik, who writes Occam's Razor. While he publishes new pieces only every three weeks, they are always insightful and inspire deep thoughts from his readers. His latest is See-Think-Do: A Content, Marketing and Measurement Business Framework. He challenges marketers to think of customers in different stages of consideration and map the audience to those stages.
• Just for fun: 10 sites renamed for the reasons we visit them 

Commentary

Without a question, "House of Cards" on Netflix last year was one of the most groundbreaking pieces of content we've seen. Not because it was a great program but because Netflix broke the mold of television shows being released week after week at the pleasure of the networks and decided instead to release all 13 episodes of the season at once.

"We must observe, adapt and try things to discover appetites we didn't know were there." - click to tweet 

This didn't happen by accident. In the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture a the Guardian Edinburgh Television Festival, Kevin Spacey gave an impassioned speech about the future of content at the entertainment industry based on his experience in shopping around "House of Cards." In this 45 minute-long lecture (and it's worth every minute to watch) he clearly lays out the opportunity for the entertainment industry (or any content-heavy enterprise) to change the future of viewership. Part of the assumption was that the old model of producing a pilot can be put behind us as we now have access to audience preferences, data about their viewing habits and more. 

Spacey said:

"Clearly, the success of the Netflix model, releasing the entire season of 'House Of Cards' at once, proved one thing: the audience wants the control. They want the freedom. If they want to binge, as they've been doing on "House of Cards" and lots of other shows, then we should let them binge."

But this goes beyond the scheduling model. It's fundamentally about realizing that customers and viewers don’t care about the inner squabbles of companies and the way the companies see the world; they want content in every conceivable format. And if it means watching a movie on a streaming service, a television show on a table, or a YouTube video on a television, it doesn't matter what we call it. When they view those shows, it's no longer by appointment and the "water cooler" conversations are no longer happening the day after; they're happening virtually, digitally and socially in real time.

The consumer has the ultimate control. The sooner we realize that and break down the old models of doing business that don't serve them, the better off our industries will be. Really, watch this video when you have a moment.

PR Agencies and Social Media: 4 Tips to Power Social Brand Building

The Importance of Social Media for Public Relations

PR professionals today are using social media to either supplement or add to their existing strategies, signaling an evolution in the role of PR over the last few years. Public relations specialists were among the first few to understand the power of social media, making them leaders in the social space. Along with handling website content, more and more PR pros are responsible for their company's and clients' social media presence. The gradual shift towards, what industry experts call 'the social media release', indicates how the traditional long form press release is changing. According to David McCulloch, director of public relations at Cisco Systems, "The press release of the future will deliver its content in text, video, SMS, microblog and podcast form, to any choice of device, whenever the reader decides, and preferably it will be pre-corroborated and openly rated by multiple trusted sources."

eMarketer expects PR as well as ad agencies to witness an increase in their social media revenue in 2011. Findings from a joint study by the Transworld Advertising Agency Network and Worldcom Public Relations Group show:

• In 2010, 28% PR firms said that between 15-33% of their revenue came from social media.
• This number has grown by 44% in 2011.
• The study indicates that, when compared to ad agencies, the PR industry is more effective in leveraging social media.

The Road Ahead...
Industry research firm IBIS World has predicted the factors that are likely to fuel the growth of PR firms in the coming years and the expected rate of growth.

• PR firms are expected to grow at an average annualized rate of 5.7% to $12.8 billion from 2010-2015.
• This spurt will be attributed to the increase in demand by companies who want PR firms to handle daily interactions with consumers and the press on their social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
• The recent shift from traditional media to more direct media (social media) will result in PR firms specializing in or launching divisions devoted to blogs, social networking sites, mobile media and podcasts.
• Over four-fifths of PR firms are anticipating an increase in digital and social media work in the future.

Whether it is consulting with clients from the agency point of view or working with an in-house team, PR agencies need to be social media ready. Position² lists a few guidelines that will help your agency survive and stand out in the digital space:

1. Making a Pitch
Social media has given a whole new meaning to the concept of 'pitching'. While the idea of e-mailing a press release to journalists, editors and bloggers is not completely obsolete, it is easy for the readers to hit the delete button and forget about it. Incorporating social media in your PR strategy will ensure your pitch is heard above the din. In order to effectively use social media in your PR pitch plan, we recommend a few points that can be added to your 'to do' list:
o Avoid the Fancy Stuff:

Too much information laced with fancy catch phrases like 'cutting-edge, mission-critical applications to improve business process, etc' can put off readers. Keep in simple.

o Getting your Tweets Right:

If you are planning on using Twitter to make a pitch, keep in mind, you have 140 characters to get it right. According to Nicole VanScoten, a public relations specialist at Pyxl, getting your tweets right leads to high response rates than e-mail.

o Don't Spam them:

Whether its journalists or bloggers, no one likes to receive random tweets or Facebook messages. It would be a good idea to learn about the journalist or blogger before reaching out to them. Read their Twitter profile or personal blog to find out if these are the contacts that need to be targeted and then make your pitch.

o Build a Relationship:

Once you have figured out your contacts list, the next step is easy. Building a relationship with a journalist or editor involves getting on their radar. What you can do is a) check out their Facebook page and comment on the posts you like b) retweet their messages and c) comment on a blog post. This will ensure your presence on their radar, even before you decide to make a pitch.

Here's an example of a good pitch made by a PR professional to a marketing blogger:

For PR pros, using social media to make a pitch saves time as well as money, besides yielding much higher response rates.

2. Delivering Value to Clients
The last 2-3 years have seen PR agencies don an entirely new role in organizations. A large part of a PR specialist's job involves educating clients on the benefits of social media. Handling a company's or a client's account these days includes everything from building brand loyalty to promoting and monitoring content on various social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn). In order to be a successful, we believe a PR firm should deliver value to its clients. Here are a few simple suggestions:

o Creating Content:

PR companies are expected to be experts when it comes to writing. Therefore clients expect your agency to figure out how to turn a boring announcement into interesting content. This could either be a campaign or a company blog. Churning out good content will not only get the required media coverage, but will also help generate leads.

o Identifying the Influencers:

Identifying and developing relationships with the 'influencers' in the PR domain is an added advantage. Instead of simply looking for bloggers and journalists who are magically expected to create buzz and drive sales, it will be wiser to:

o Determine who the real influencers in a noisy market place are. This can be done by connecting with reporters, bloggers and journalists who cover the topics that are closer to the market your client is interested in.

o Keep in mind, the size of one's audience does not always translate into influencer popularity.
o Engaging and Monitoring Conversations:

Social media monitoring and engagement is vital for any PR agency that wants to deliver value to its clients. Brands understand that they not only need a social presence, but are also keen to work with PR agencies to know what is being said about them in the market. By using social media monitoring tools such as Brand Monitor, you can:

o Measure your influencer scores: Social media monitoring tools make it easy to identify journalists and bloggers with high influencer scores.

o Handle Crisis Situations: By keeping a watch on blog conversations, twitter messages and Facebook posts, your agency can help identify signs of trouble. Following this, you could either diffuse the situation yourself, or alert your client asking them to respond as necessary.

o Measure the consumer sentiment for clients' brand (s) and products (s) and quantify impact.

o Measure the connection between press releases and news coverage with social media activity.

o Assess the effectiveness of your communication strategies.

o Provide you clients with domain expertise based on the data obtained.

o Measure detailed metrics such as popularity, share-of-voice etc.

When videos of rats running around at a Taco Bell outlet in NYC were posted on YouTube, owner Yum Brands saw its stock sink to an all time low, with customers doubting Taco Bell's hygiene standards. Within hours, duplicates and versions started multiplying. Customers looking for reassuring information from the brand had a hard time finding it. Although Yum Brands' PR team was not entirely ignorant (the CEO posted an apology on YouTube), monitoring the situation better and engaging with customers in real-time could have averted the PR crisis.

With the public relations industry evolving rapidly, the need to monitor social media channels has never been more important. According to Daryl Willcox, founder of PR industry information firm Daryl Willcox Publishing, listening is a critical part of social media strategy - a proactive process as much as a reactive one. A survey by his company indicates that almost 60% of PR agencies and departments that monitor social media channels spend less than two hours a week doing so. These statistics indicate the growing need for PR companies to monitor social media.

3. Sorting Out your Social Media Toolkit

With so many social media platforms to choose from, how would you know what's best for you? As professionals in PR domain, it's not always about putting a PR pitch on Twitter or Facebook; the social media platforms with the most value must be used to connect with a client's target audience and should function as a meaningful place for brands to connect with journalists, bloggers and consumers. We believe that each social media tool has its own benefits, depending on what your agency wishes to achieve.

o Facebook & LinkedIn:

While Facebook and LinkedIn are almost perfect for establishing and maintaining relationships with media, these tools are slightly more personal than Twitter. It would be wise not to start sending friend requests to every reporter possible. After using Twitter to initiate a friendship with a journalist or a reporter, you can then follow this up by connecting with them on Facebook or LinkedIn.
If you are looking to increase engagement or reinforce your brand's reputation for value, then Facebook is the place to be. For instance, when the Healthy Choice brand aimed to grow its fan base and increase engagement, the company decided to target its huge Facebook fan base and launched a progressive coupon on the Healthy Choice Facebook Page. This was supported through a variety of PR tactics. Efforts by the brand's PR team resulted in the Healthy Choice's Facebook page growing from 6,800 to nearly 60,000 fans. The PR team also distributed over 50,000 buy-one-get-one-free coupons.

o Twitter:

Twitter is a great tool:

o If finding influencers in on your agenda: What you can do is look for influential blogs in your industry, subscribe to them and start following the authors on Twitter.

o For connecting with other independent PR professionals: This will help establish valuable relationships with other PR agencies and professionals. By using Twitter, you can connect with the rapidly growing independent PR community to exchange advice, references, and suggestions in general.

o For Increasing Tweetability: Writing a headline with 'tweetability' in mind can influence the number of tweets or retweets your press release registers. This will help get your agencies or client's name noticed in the social web. While writing a tweetable press headline you must: a) keep it short enough to include a Twitter handle and link b) ensure that the company or product name is in the beginning so that it does not get cut off c) add relevant keywords to make it searchable d) and keep it attention-grabbing enough to generate retweets.
o Blogs:

Blogs can be useful for sharing multimedia content and news that does not always require a press release, but is important enough to pique the interest of the media. Blogs are beneficial:

o If you have a small budget, but want to influence your customers and increase readership.

o For creating a sense of community with your present and future potential clients and customers.

o For providing valuable content to your clients or their customers instead of simply advertising to them.

o For publishing successful case studies; this will also help build your brand.

o For designing campaigns for your clients.
When the BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire decided to use social media to stand out in the digital space, the hotel partnered with agency bobdonpaul. The agency's PR strategy involved selecting one 'resorter' from several entries and allowing him to blog and post videos (in addition to other social media activities) about his experiences. The campaign was a success and saw 20% increase in hotel bookings in a month.

4. Measuring ROI
How can you tell if your public relations efforts in social media are working? To determine the success of your PR strategy or programs, we suggest measuring the return on investment (more appropriate in case of PR- return on efforts). The benefits of measuring ROI include:

o Knowing if your efforts are generating the desired results.
o Helping you decide if your current strategy needs to be reworked.
o Bringing about positive changes in popularity and online traffic.
o Helping your client make informed buying decisions.

How to calculate your social media ROI?

o Assess you reach: Evaluating how many Facebook fans or Twitter followers you have. How many 'likes' has your Facebook page registered.

o Tracking how many 'likes' on your clients' Facebook page are actually converted to sales.

o Comparing Results Before and After Launching Social media initiatives: Has your newly launched Facebook page or your new twitter account make any difference to your brand's reputation online?

o Listen, Measure and Engage: Social media monitoring tools like Brand Monitor offer you a platform to listen, measure and engage with customers across the social web.

Conclusion

What gives the modern PR firm the edge over its yesterday's counterparts is the fact that today's public relations professionals are more open to syncing social media with their existing strategies. Whether it's in-house assignments or working for external clients, PR agencies understand that surviving in the digital space is centered on getting their social media strategy right. While mass social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will continue to be important to a certain extent, niche, industry-specific networks are expected to be of greater value in the future.

In the next five years, the most important tools in PR will be monitoring and measurement tools. PR specialists, as well as their clients, will be more concerned with what happens after a message is out there. We expect PR companies to not only dedicate a budget for their social media efforts in the future, but also hire social media specialists to handle their client's social media activities. The social media world is dynamic; however, the job of the PR person remains the same: generate positive coverage across media to help build brands. It will be interesting to see how PR pros in the years ahead will leverage the power of social media to do what they always have been doing; communicating and connecting.

Position2 is a Search and Social Media Marketing firm that delivers continuous growth for our clients using our proprietary "Surround and Intent" Marketing Methodology, delivered by our products. Our proprietary methodology is a result of years of experience in working with diverse clients to deliver customer acquisition goals through search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and Pay Per Click (PPC) and online media advertising.

Position2 was founded in 2006 with funding from Accel Venture Partners, and has offices in Palo Alto, Bangalore and Mumbai. Position2 is a certified agency with Google, Yahoo, Bing and is also part of the Google Adwords advisory council.