Small Business | Forum « Google Hangouts and Small Business

Google Hangouts and Small Business (17 posts)

Topic tags: google hangouts, Google+, small business

Bradford Shimp said
1 year, 5 months ago:
I am really intrigued by the possibilities for Google Hangouts to connect with customers to answer questions and share ideas. However, I am an obsessive planner and don’t see a way to dry run Hangouts and test strategies before just diving in.
Any thoughts on using Hangouts and how to best prepare for them?
@bradfordshimp | # | Top
Eugen Oprea said
1 year, 5 months ago:
@bradfordshimp I tried Google Hangouts and all you have to do is juts have your mic and camera ready and your speech.
You need to make sure that you install that required piece of software 5 minutes before your scheduled meeting and you are all set.
Oh and make sure that you have some water handy if the conversation becomes longer.
@eugenoprea | # | Top
Rich Brooks said
1 year, 5 months ago:
@bradfordshimp I might also consider doing a dry run with a few “friendly” customers first that will be more sympathetic to any learning curve.
Do you know that your customers are using G+?
@rich-brooks | # | Top
Michael Stelzner said
1 year, 5 months ago:
@bradfordshimp See this article on our site about Google Hangouts…
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-hold-your-own-google-hangout-and-why-you-should/
@mike-stelzner | # | Top
Bradford Shimp said
1 year, 5 months ago:
One of my nagging questions is whether people who come to the hangout can be muted, moderator style. We do have customers using it, and I am sure that just doing it is the best bet. I will check out that article. I get the sense that a Hangout is a lot less formal than a webinar, so maybe I am over-worrying about it!
@bradfordshimp | # | Top
Apryl Parcher said
1 year, 5 months ago:
We mostly use hangouts for inter-agency meetings or meetings with clients, but haven’t done it much. Need to jump back in and feel out the possibilities. Thanks, Mike, for re-posting the article on SME!
So much to learn…so little time…
@aprylparcher | # | Top
Leila Jones said
1 year, 5 months ago:
Love the idea. I have used Skype but it’s limiting and can get confusing with who is talking. Can you record the session there? I can with Skype calls.
I agree @Apryl Parcher so much to learn…so little time.
That’s why I appreciate the community where we can share! Thanks Michael for the link.
@leilajones | # | Top
Tim Southernwood said
1 year, 5 months ago:
I can see some potential with using hangouts for customer service..and because Google is working to expand the “googlesphere” as all encompassing to Google products users.. I can see having a link in your customer service area that shows when a hangout is available for customers to access a services representative in real life.. real time.
Real time chat customer services became quite popular because the clients felt much more important and responded to.. than if they were to fill in a form and wait for a response to arrive… particularly if the problem was immediate.We all know.. the longer a client with a problem waits.. the bigger the problem seems to get.So.. rather than run the hangout as a “scheduled” thing and trying to bring many clients in at once (problematic) I would say to schedule a service rep to man the hangout.. or share the duties between a few reps.. and use it to augment the regular customer services that you already use.
I can see it working very well to quickly deal with small issues.. and I would put a LOT of value on that kind of face to face.. real live customer service!
@timsouthernwood | # | Top
Tim Southernwood said
1 year, 5 months ago:
I meant to add.. that because so many people already use Google products.. that eventually for them to join a hangout will be like picking up the phone..
@timsouthernwood | # | Top
Mike Delgado said
1 year, 5 months ago:
@bradfordshimp I recently asked that very question to Chris Brogan a few weeks ago during an interview. Here was his response:
“Hangouts are live video events. You can have up to 10 people in a hangout (the host +9). To me, they are a great way to handle customer service issues, a wonderful way to do training/education, a great method by which to share business advice, to have meetings, to consult, and more. Hangouts are one of the best features of Google+. YouTube videos shared on Google+ get a lot more engagement by a higher caliber of person. I find that comments on YouTube itself are useless. On Google+, I have the exact opposite experience.”
Personally, I’m excited that Google will add more features to hangouts — so that it becomes easier to meet with larger groups. I’ve encountered a lot of problems with hangouts, so there is still a lot more work to get done to make communication more smooth. I also think that as hangouts improve, Google could make money allowing businesses to host actual webinars and/or classes with big groups. We shall see.

@mikedelgadodigitalmarketer | # | Top
Jim Fierce said
1 year, 5 months ago:
Google Hangouts are an awesome way to connect. Consider using them for the following:
1. Business meetings. Hangouts with extras allow you to access Google Docs right in the hangout. This is “Killer” because you can follow an agenda, give a presentation, share screen, use the sketchpad for brainstorming…
2. Meet with vendors, customers, potential customers, etc
3. Use hangouts as a venue to train vendors, train clients, teach classes, lectures and more.
4. Have casual hangouts where you get to know your customers better and learn more about them.
5. Focus groups
The uses are only limited by your imagination. The really cool thing is you can livestream the hangout so many people can watch and participate that way.
They are extremely user friendly so I recommend hanging out with friends at first just to get a feel for how they work.
People can be muted and blocked but everyone in the hangout must block them before they are booted. There is no “Moderator” tool yet but I hear it’s coming.
@fierce_living | # | Top
Rich Brooks said
1 year, 5 months ago:
@leilajones, According to the official Google blog, they have built a feature where you have the option to broadcast and record your hangouts, called “Hangouts on Air.” However, only a limited number of people have this feature available to them at this point. Here’s a link to an article I found with 5 Free Tools for Recording Google+ Hangouts.
@rich-brooks | # | Top
Leila Jones said
1 year, 5 months ago:
@rich-brooks thanks answer I was looking for! I have run mentoring groups via Skype. The recordings are some of the best part for going over some of the deep conversations and “hearing”. With my work it’s sometimes more effective to take notice of the way it’s said or discovered vs a spreadsheet or outline.
Thanks again! Learning quick answers to so many questions that I typically spend a lot of time researching!
@leilajones | # | Top
Nancy Smyth said
1 year, 5 months ago:
I’ve been involved in a weekly Accountants & Bookkeepers {QuickBooks focused} Google hangout for the last couple of months – just starting to get QuickBooks users joining. If we have users we help them with QB related issues, if it’s just us bookkeeper types we discuss networking, running a business, social media, you name it.
Somewhere I saw a post that you can now schedule the hangout in advance, here’s a link for more info – http://www.schedulehangout.com/
We’ve recorded a few using Camtasia Studio.
@nancysmyth | # | Top
James Ball said
1 year, 5 months ago:
New here…this is the first thread that I looked into. I am pleased to see exactly this type of depth and dialog going on here. So far, and already, I am excited about the Network Clubs here!
@jamesball | # | Top
Mike Sansone said
1 year, 5 months ago:
If you use Google Hangouts w/Extras, you can “name” the Hangout.
By naming it, a URL is created that can be saved, bookmarked, or linked via email or a button/banner.
One idea could be
- Create a Hangout w/ Extras and as you name it, copy the URL
- Make a button or banner to use on your site’s sidebar – or create a page with a schedule and link to that Hangout.
Almost like having “office hours” on Google+.
When I do this, I usually “seed” with a few invites that I know are engaging and smart. Then after a few people have entered, I’ll invite the “public”. Almost like a velvet rope for G+.
@mikesansone | # | Top
Jim Fierce said
1 year, 5 months ago:
If anyone is interested I will do a hangout tutorial in a hangout, of course. I have used both hangouts and hangouts with extras for business purposes and for fun. If any of you are interested let me know and I’ll put together an agenda and set up a convenient time to do it.
@fierce_living | # | Top