Technology has brought us tons of new ways to communicate within our businesses. Whether half the staff are stuck in the office and the other half are scattered around the country, keeping the communication going throughout your company, community and audience is key to creating a great relationship through out your business. Google+ gave Skype a run for its money with its awesome video chat function – Google+ Hangouts. Google+ Hangouts lets you connect with multiple people via video chat and comes with a whole host of awesome features and benefits that other video chat programs like Skype don’t necessarily offer, or aren’t specifically designed for.
Features and Benefits
Hangouts lets you add up to 9 people on one video chat session and its interface is set up so that no one gets left out. You can also choose to make your conversation invite-only or open to the public. Unlike Skype, Google+ Hangouts lets you add multiple cameras to your PC and allows you to switch between cameras while you chat, so you can show your fellow chat members a range of items and then revert back to face-to-face chat without having to manually move one webcam around. Hangouts can also be accessed from your Android or iPhone, although it only allows you to join chats and not start your own one from your phone. Share documents through Hangouts and it will automatically create a shared Google doc with everyone in the chat. You can even partake in group activities, like watching a YouTube video at the same time, which is great for sharing presentations or brainstorming. If you opt for the Hangouts with extras chat, you’ll even be able to create a shared whiteboard presentation and call outside individuals from inside your current Hangout. You can also give your Hangout a title with the extras version, which is very useful for creating a central theme and letting people know what the chat is going to be about. Hangouts on Air allows you to broadcast a live video to an unlimited audience and then save the recording as a video and share it with people for later viewing.
Setting Up Google+ Hangouts
If you’ve got a Google+ profile, setting up a Hangout is easy. If you don’t, you’ll need to get someone who already has a Google+ profile to send you an invite, then sign up for a profile and get started! Go to your profile, click “more” and then click “Hangouts”. There you’ll find the Hangouts main page which you should browse around to find more ideas to use for your business. You’ll also find the “Start a Hangout” button, click that and you’re on your way to experiencing everything there is to experience about Hangouts. Follow the steps and start taking advantage of Google’s clever little program.
Way to Use Google+ Hangouts in your Business?
Google+ Hangouts is all about connecting with an audience or group and creating an atmosphere of togetherness, which can be beneficial in a lot of cases. Whether you’re announcing news, brainstorming a new idea, catching up with freelancers or traveling reps, conducting an interview or creating a video blog for your business, the uses for this great little piece of Google heaven are endless! If you’ve got a website, embed your hangout on the main page so people can catch up on all your latest video news. With Hangouts on Air you’ll be able to communicate with your entire database of staff and fans. Record live chats, interviews and interesting videos, then send it out in a newsletter, post it straight to your website or use your social media pages to send it out to your community.
Verdict
No matter how you’re looking to connect with your coworkers, audience or community, Google+ Hangouts is a great way that other a wide variety of options to share, communicate and work together. It’s also free, so don’t let this one slip and start making use of Google+ Hangouts today. A little trial and error won’t hurt, so if you’re nervous about using it for your business just yet, start using it with friends and family and then move on to setting up a business Hangout.
About the Author: Dmitri Blackthorn is a tech-savvy writer on technology, computers, SEO and social media. He also maintains IQmango.com, a free media software website. Follow Dmitri on Facebook.
