Google+ Brings A New And Effective Hangout On Air Feature For Marketers

By Author: Mark Royson
Total Articles: 136
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Google+ announced on May 7, 2012 that its new upgraded feature Hangouts on Air will start rolling out to Google+ users worldwide. Also, Google announced that Hangouts on Air is totally not a new feature but it was unavailable for most of the users previously.

This feature allows users to launch their Hangouts - live video sessions for all to view. This means other users can join the hangout and view others Hangouts on Air. For a time being, Google+ has given the authority to use this feature to only some selected group of beta test users.

With Hangouts on Air, now users can broadcast their live video sessions for the world to see thru their Google+ page, or their company's YouTube channel. During broadcasting the Hangout, the host of the specific hangout can see that how many users are viewing the video session live. The host also has the authority to mute people on the hangout or click on a particular participant's video screen to show as the main video. As soon as the Hangout ends, Google+ uploads the recording on the host's YouTube channel and on the Google+ post so that it can be then shared easily even after ...
... the live hangout ends. At the time of sharing, the host will be given an option of editing the recording if required.

This feature by Google+ can be very useful for business marketers to advertise about some specific product or a service.

- For Press conferences or for some news/announcements, businesses can utilize this feature by virtually broadcasting the conference hosted by the business Executives or some other relevant person.
- For some products or services, a group-style live demonstration can be given. The video of the demo can be then shared worldwide.
- Presentations can be marketed thru this feature and also industry expert's roundtable discussions can be made live.
- The hangout sessions showing the most successful customers of the business can be made live and shared. This will help to get more new customers or at least queries will be received.

By using this feature strategically, it can be very effective for marketing purposes. This feature can be used as one of the method of Social Media Marketing. Also, this can be more effective for the purpose of promoting the brand name or some business product/service.

Some things that should be considered while using Google Hangouts for web promotion are -

- While making the video live or sharing it, the best video marketing practices should be followed like use of high quality video cameras, perfect lighting, sound, and location should be adjusted, etc.
- Different page dedicated to the live stream should be created on the business website to embed the hangout, and link should be promoted to that page and not on the Google+ page.
- If the marketer thinks of embedding the Hangout video on the website, then it should be taken care that the page is optimized properly so that it supports lead generation. This is necessary because it will help to convert the hangout viewers into actual leads.

With some new social media coming up with new concept like Pinterest, it has become necessary for Google+ to launch some innovative and useful features that attracts more users globally. This feature will be very useful for performing Social Media Marketing activities in a more enhanced way.

If you want to know more about different marketing strategies or you want to market your product and/or service successfully, contact a social media marketing expert at info@softwebsolutions.com.