5 Best Uses of Google Hangouts!

Now this is next level engagement!!
           
    No matter what business your in or whether your just trying to reinforce yourself as a brand or go to source for information the best way to stand out is to STAND OUT! Utilizing Google+ Hangouts is perfect for engaging your followers or your prospecting clients. With Hangouts your able to conduct live conversations with yourself and up to 9 people which you could use to show off your expertise and/or demo your product all the while getting real-time input from the rest of your group, the video can be broadcasted live or posted later to be shared to the masses! Using Meta Tags you can make the content searchable and in turn engage a new audience with fresh information, giving them the opportunity ask questions about the video in the comments and if they love what they see they will share it too!

Google+ Hangout Features!

1. Video Chat with up to 9 People!

       *Establish yourself and others in your business as the go to source for information by scheduling public conversations about different aspects of your expertise. Appoint a moderator and make sure you begin with an arranged agenda and then provide the added value of the Hangout by allowing the audience to chime in with questions and let the audience steer the conversation with the information they are looking for and they will come back for more!
       *You can schedule your Hangout with a Q & A session for example and engage directly with your core audience or conduct a conversation with other experts to convey your message with in depth analysis.
       *Brainstorm publicly or privately about potential new services or products and get an immediate market response to what the public would like to see in such a product or service and even how they would like it marketed!


HINT:      ITS NOT A VIDEO- IT'S A CONVERSATION! Engage the audience for input on the topic. The end goal is to get engagement by making it fun, informative and appealing!

2. Demo your Product and/or Share documents, media or other files with members of the group!

         *We all know that some products are simply better demonstrated than explained.  Schedule a

"workshop" or demonstration of your product/expertise or both to add value to yourself and the brand or product! Show the many uses of the product beyond the typical ones that most would not think of to add even more value to the broadcast, your product, your brand and yourself.
          *Use Give-A-Ways to promote your Hangouts! I'm sure you can think of something! If your in business you surely have some overstock, if your an expert in a field you can generate some useful memes or info-graphics, etc.

HINT: Run a graphic to announce the Hangout instead of simply just announcing it on your blog or other social media. Its ok to to be personable and make small mistakes during the broadcast, your viewers will appreciate an honest representation.

3. Watch Videos on YouTube or other mediums together and chat about it!

        *It's a great idea to engage your clients with a tour your YouTube videos and other media with the client to add another level of engagement to videos and media you have already created.


4. Share your Screen with the others in the group!
   
          *Demonstrate your technical expertise by showing off! Allow the viewer to see your screen as you navigate menus, create files and graphics, or answer technical questions through demonstration. Add value by showing your audience everything that you can and will do for them!

HINT:  Build trust by pulling back the curtain! When can you really show off your skills to the client? its a lot easier to appreciate the final product when they can see all of the hard work they usually couldn't see!

5. Broadcast your chat live or record it for later! 


       *If your going to do a LIVE Q & A, post the topic nice and early this way the viewers can post questions regarding the topic and you can be more prepared to give a well thought out and detailed response.
       *Those watching your broadcast live can post comments and feedback, use this opportunity to engage the audience by replying as they come in.

HINT: After the conclusion of the broadcast be sure to post a summary of the conversation on your thread in case someone misses it. They can see in your thread if you touched on the topic they are interested in and add value to the missed broadcast by engaging someone new to be sure to catch the next one!

   

Your Primary Strategy in Branding is Engagement

       Social Media is NOT about likes and shares, well not totally, its about ENGAGEMENT and BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS! Whether its within social circles, drumming up new clientele or for billion dollar corporations, the goal is to brand yourself with what is called a Social Media Profile.  Your Social Media Profile (SMP) is essential in differentiating yourself from your competitors, it is the 21st century hand shake, introduction and interview all at once and in turn will be the gateway to engagement. You would be very surprised to see how many corporations neglect their web pages but still have a strong engagement with their customers through their SMP. Typically your SMP will be the determining factor in getting you in the door for any opportunity; it will make or break you and your brand so it must be given the utmost respect.

5 ways to establish your Social Media Profile

1. Develop Yourself as a Brand -
          Who are you? Who is your intended audience? How do you want them to view you and/or your brand?  What image and/or impression do you want to convey? What separates you from your competitors? Understanding these key components will be essential in developing your brand and creating your SMP. If you don't know who you are, your audience won't. If you can't make yourself stand out from the competition how will the viewer separate you from the competition. You must know who you are, what you do and impress it exactly in every aspect of your brand and in every medium you choose to conquer to show the level of dedication that the viewer can expect. Every aspect of your brand should tell the audience at least a part of your story, take a look at this 9 min webinar video from Vistaprint detailing how to get started creating the one aspect which will most recognizably connect every aspect of your campaign- YOUR LOGO!

HINT: Knowing who you and who your intended audience is critical in developing content that your customers or audience want to talk about. Increase engagement by being the person your audience can relate to. Not everyone will engage you immediately but if you provide answers to commonly asked questions you can be the go-to source your audience comes to for your niche.

2. Assess your Capabilities -
            Keeping up with your SMP is critical to maintaining your image or brand, if your not going to dedicate the proper time and energy to maintain it then do not overextend yourself. Simply putting your name on every available social network thinking your going to reach more or have a better Klout score is far more detrimental than having a single well maintained profile on one of the more popular forums like Facebook or Twitter. The viewer can see how often you post, comment, respond and share; they will not engage you if they think your not going to see, comment, reply or share.

HINT:  If you don't have the means or resources to be everywhere then be where your audience wants to have conversations and interactions about things that correspond to your brand; i.e where they "hang out".


3. Understand your Goal -
             Knowing who you are and what you can do is only half the battle. The typical primary components of any social media strategy are building awareness about your niche or expertise, generating sales of a product of service or simply encouraging brand/product loyalty. Explore the tools/apps and forums of the trade that your audience interacts with and build a presence to accomplish your goal.

HINT: Know exactly what you are trying to accomplish, its not always simply awareness, sales or loyalty. Perhaps your branding yourself as an expert in a certain field, if this is the case you must provide resources to back you up. If its web/graphic design you want to have a web page for sure but more than that it must be impactful to those in the know and you should include in it examples of your other work.

4. Structure your Campaign -
              After you have assessed your capabilities and realize the importance of maintaining your brand you must implement it. Develop your schedule for posting content, for replying to posts or comments, and for engaging others in your niche to generate awareness among those in the know to add value to your content. A schedule for all of your content and where it will be posted must be firm and you must stick to it, you audience will come to expect your content once they realize its value so DO NOT DISAPPOINT THEM or they will move on.

HINT: Maintain your brand identity by using the same graphics for logos and the same color schemes and themes across all apps and pages. Utilize the 1-2-3 strategy to get you used to sticking to your schedule; 1 Blog post weekly, 2 Facebook posts weekly and 3 tweets DAILY. Take a minute to view Coke's video explaining their revolutionary campaign and goals to be realized through Transmedia;connecting each and every medium you use to support your message and introducing your brand to your audience through creative story telling. 

5. Maintain your Campaign-
              Remember to be PROACTIVE and not REACTIVE.  Utilize real time analytics to test your content and its impressions on your audience and tweak your campaign regularly for optimum performance. Always remember there is no such thing as privacy in the digital world-NEVER POST ANYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF that you do not want to DIRECTLY associate with your brand.

HINT: Listen to your audience, if they have suggestions- head them, if they have questions- answer them, if they hate you or post negatively about you or your brand DO NOT DELETE IT- confront them professionally and publicly to see if you can change their mind. Worst case they still hate you but your audience sees that you care and you put in the effort.