Last month, we posted a heads-up in connection with the limited release of Google+, to suggest that B2Bs start thinking about how they’ll make use of this new functionality when it becomes available to them.
Well, time passes, and some of those early adopters are making extensive use of Google+ already …chief among them Ford, as David Amerland points out in his post on Social Media Today. Central to Ford’s approach are Hangouts (the group video conferencing feature of Google+), which the company is using to connect relatively small groups of interested users directly with the people who design and build the cars.
David sees the real value of Google+ Business Pages (which superficially look no different from any other Google+ profile) as what goes on behind the page, where business pages get a very different treatment from personal pages. In particular…
- Integration with Google Analytics-style reporting tools. Business Page users will not only see where their visitors come from, but also get stats showing the degree of interaction.
- Reporting tools on the effectiveness of Hangouts, which are clearly turning into a powerful direct marketing channel for businesses.
- Geolocation reporting. Google+ business accounts come with full geolocation reporting capability today, and (if various tea-leaf readers are correct) there will be a capability for marketing segmentation by location in the future. Geolocation is a core Google concern, which should be no surprise given its mobile platform dominance.
As David sums up, “…the advantages of a Google+ business account lie in the ability to analyze its effectiveness and reach, getting what is probably the clearest return-on-investment (ROI) picture of any social media tool to date …plus the added control this kind of data analysis now gives when it comes to planning content and designing marketing campaigns.”
But wait, there’s more…
According to Shel Holtz – also posting on Social Media Today – it’s only getting better, thanks to Google’s recent announcement of enhancements to Hangouts. Though not usually a prognosticator, Shel says that “today’s announcement from Google, though, has me violating my own rule. The enhancements to Google+ Hangouts make it a genuine, bona fide game-changer …(making) Hangouts an even more compelling resource, one that businesses just can’t ignore.”
Those that Shel discusses include…
- The ability to participate in Hangouts from your phone over a 3G network makes it easy – and free! – for departments to hold meetings, no matter where their people are. (Currently available for phones running Android 2.3, but coming soon for the iPhone)
- Hangouts on Air lets you broadcast a Hangout to as many people as you like …although the limit for actual participation is still 10. Think webinar, think virtual conference: you could have up to 10 panelists discussing a topic in real time, while anyone interested can watch live. And, since you can record a Hangout on Air, you can make it available later to those who were unable to participate at the time.
- Screensharing, which looks like a viable alternative to Citrix’s GoToMeeting; there’s surely no shortage of companies that would sooner host a screensharing Hangout for staffers and clients at no cost, than pay for a GoToMeeting subscription.
- An API which allows development of collaborative apps that run inside of a Google+ Hangout. In addition to enabling sophisticated customers to develop customized apps for internal use, the API will clearly encourage tons of further innovation by third-party vendors.
And there was still more in the announcement; check Google’s post for all the details. Oh, I almost forgot: as their parting shot, Google said it is moving Google+ from field trial to beta, which means open signups …no invite required. So for those who’ve been just waiting for their chance to get in, now’s the time! And based on what we’ve just seen above, you’ll find plenty of things to help your business.
What do you think of the evolving Google+ for business?
