Brands are just beginning to explore new storytelling and engagement opportunities with Google+ and its innovative Hangouts. Benefits of doing so include amplifying core messages, creating an innovative perception among early adopters and achieving specific business goals such as improving customer service. But there are a few established brands who have plugged in to amplify.
With the innovative and widely available videoconferencing feature so new, now would be the time to invest resources into testing the metaphorical waters. Brands that are willing to embrace the new Google+ network and Hangouts feature will set an example for their industry and competitors. This radiates the perception that the brand is accessible and innovative while also supplying consumers with an experience they can brag about to their social nets.
For Those Curious About What It Is
With Google+ Hangouts, brands can speak face to face to their audience members – whether they’re customers with questions or fans seeking fun. From a functional standpoint, it is a free online group videoconferencing application that lives within the Google+ platform, but can be used across multiple Google products such as iGoogle, Gmail and Orkut.
Up to 10 people can join a single Hangout. To improve the reach of that conversation, Google is currently beta testing a live streaming service called Hangouts On Air that broadcasts via YouTube. Once it’s made available to all brand pages, the new feature will expand viewership potential to the size of everyone on the Internet, or the amount of traffic Google’s YouTube servers can manage.
The only necessary item outside of a Google+ brand account, webcam and connected device is a topic that’s interesting enough to garner conversation. That means that anyone connected to the Internet, even through mobile, can participate in Hangouts. This opens up the door to striking up conversations with customers while they’re on the go or, say, comparison shopping.
Three Examples of Brands Learning, Exploring and Doing
Here are a few brands that use the tool to augment their core messages and achieve specific business goals, as well as establish a deeply visual and interactive experience with the audience.
Common themes in branded Hangouts include providing accessibility to top management, telling the story behind the brand in an authentic way and leveraging the viral elements of Hangouts to build buzz or promote a specific event.
Muppets: Host a Themed Hangout and Just Have Fun, But Build Buzz, Too
The creators of the most recent, Academy Award®-winning Muppets movie “hung out” last November to build buzz about the upcoming film. Individual Muppets, like Kermit and Miss Piggy, made appearances along with the movie’s co-writer and actor Jason Segel. They hosted closed and open Hangouts, giving consumers the opportunity to hang out with Kermit or another member of the fuzzy squad.
Overall, the experience gave consumers the opportunity to get to know various Muppet characters on a more personal level, increasing the human element of the brand. And by providing an avenue for consumers to connect with the stars in a new, unexpected way, the brand also provided a story for them to tell. Other brands can conclude from this that consumers want to know you and talk to you on a more personal level.
Bringing Out the Best Memories with Coca-Cola
You may or may not know about the Coca-Cola archives. Inside them are items that tell stories that speak to the heritage of the brand and how it has implanted itself into American culture – at the core of each product is a memory, a nostalgic emotion that transports consumers back in time.
In the past, the brand has worked with various media outlets to give fans and those interested an inside look at what is stored on the archives’ shelves. An interactive website also exists that allows fans to learn about the archives and explore aisle upon aisle of Coke memorabilia.
On February 16, Coca-Cola hosted an interactive video tour of the archives via Hangouts to give fans an insider’s view of the shelves. This provided them a new way to experience the archives by directly talking to the tour guides. So instead of passively watching a produced video or navigating an experiential site with a limited social dynamic, consumers were provided the opportunity to give direct feedback and interact in a way that is closer to what the in-person experience would be like.
Yes, It’s a Customer Service Tool
There are plenty of business cases for brands using Hangouts. From promoting your next movie flick (Muppets) to connecting brand loyalists with nostalgic memories (Coca-Cola), perhaps none stand out more than the ability to directly nurture customer service through face-to-face video chat. It’s a completely unexpected service brands can provide to stand out from the pack. And it’s perhaps the most-talked-about use case for the tool among media types and bloggers, pointing to great press opportunities for brands willing to take the plunge, such as Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, Inc.
Dell has a long history of taking the figurative social media bull by the horns and making itself an example that many of us industry nerds constantly refer to as a model of social success. In this specific case, CEO Michael Dell is often cited in blogs, forums and the media for hosting Hangouts. In them, he typically collaborates with techies, customers and the average consumer to talk about relevant issues and trends within the technology industry and Dell as a company.
By jumping right in, he has positioned himself and his company as comfortable with the hot seat and as more accessible than those without a Google+ Hangouts presence. So far, he has been well received, and it appears that Dell is developing a broader strategy for Hangouts as it sees the feature as a viable communications vehicle for the business, specifically in the customer support category.
Implications
If Google+ Hangouts continues to capture attention and investment from consumers, it will shift consumer expectations in how they communicate with brands on the Web. Instead of submitting an email to a brand’s inbox abyss or listening to a voice from a brand’s call center, they might expect to hear and see you face to face. Because Google has introduced that option to consumers in a very simple, cheap and accessible way, the technology could catch wind and take the social networking and sharing experience to new heights.
Regardless of its magnitude as a trend, the implication of connecting with consumers in a more human way is the beneficial gem of Hangouts. That human element is what drives most relationships, and this tool nurtures true, accurate and authentic communications online. Brands that identify a strategic alignment between their business and those benefits have one simple question to answer.
Will you dip your toes in, make a splash or sit and stand by as others have all the fun?
Third time’s the charm. Well, only if you’re just taking into consideration the past two failed attempts at social media from Google. First came Google Wave in March 2009, whose initial hype far exceeded its actual adoption. Next was Google Buzz, which wasn’t a wholehearted failure, but lacked enough widespread support and functionality to really stick around as a competitor. Now Google has introduced the latest and greatest social media platform: Google+ (and not to worry iPhone users – yes, there is already an app for it).
Launched on June 28, Google+ gained 10 million users in 16 days. Pretty impressive considering the launch was a “field trial” where users were, and still are, able to join by invite only. By comparison, both Twitter and Facebook took over two years to achieve the same number of users. LinkedIn took just under four years to reach 10 million fans.
It only took one more week for Google+ to double its number of users from 10 million to 20 million users. And all without marketing Google+ to any of its search engine users. Granted, Google did have a head start over both Facebook and Twitter. Not only is it one of the most recognizable brands, but it also has a significant user base over all of its different products.
Features
Now, before you write off Google+ as yet another social media site that will inevitably do nothing more than occupy all of your nonexistent free time, at least learn about its most notable features:
Stream
Stream is the Google+ equivalent of a newsfeed.
Sparks
Sparks is a content-recommendation engine that finds the most relevant articles and videos on almost any subject you can think of.
Huddle
Huddle is a group texting service.
Circles
Circles allow users to manage their friends in a much more convenient manner than Twitter lists or Facebook privacy settings. Users can use the drag-and-drop feature to add friends to different friend groups. You can create as many circles as you like and can add friends to as many different circles as you like. However, since circles are meant as a way to easily share information to different groups of people, you might want to limit the number of circles created.
Hangout
Hangout, a video chat service, is one of the more interesting features. Users are able to choose who can join the hangout based on individual invitations or sharing it with their circles. The hangout invitation will show up as a prompt in their streams and up to 10 people can join the hangout at one time.
What’s to Come
More features are expected to launch soon, along with the much-anticipated Google+ business pages. So far only Ford has been allowed to keep its page for testing purposes, while everyone else will have to wait. With an already positive response to just the beta version, can’t wait to see where the loyalties change among Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn users.
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Last week, Facebook introduced Facebook Questions, a new feature that allows users to pose questions to both their friends and the Facebook community at large. At first glance, it looks like it could have been called Facebook Polls. When a user asks a question through their profile, the multiple choice question shows up in his friends’ news feeds, where they vote on the choices available. Once a question is asked, it can be passed around to other networks of friends.
Here’s an example of a question that recently appeared in my news feed from someone who is a friend of a friend of a friend (12 times removed):
The launch of this new feature from Facebook is the social network’s response to a growing trend of online Q&A services. Yahoo! Answers was one of the first, where users posted questions anonymously and were answered by anyone who was following the topic. More recently, however, start-ups like Quora have attracted millions in venture capital funding for putting their own twists on the concept.
What Facebook offers that these services cannot is a place where everyone’s friends are already registered. While third-party poll applications have been common long before last week, many users have been hung up on the “permission box” that requires them to give the apps an all-access pass to their information. Questions, however, is fully integrated with Facebook, and no permission boxes are needed.
So what does this mean for brands? So far, we’ve heard of three different ways that brands can utilize the new feature:
Learn from Your Current Fan Base
The Questions feature presents brands with the opportunity to gain instant feedback from their fans. While, of course, it would not constitute official quantitative results, using Questions on Facebook is a great way to get a quick gut check on their efforts. Here are some examples from a recent Mashable article of ways brands and organizations can use Questions:
Ice cream parlors can find out what the flavor of the week should be.
A gym can find out what time is best for its new hip-hop yoga class.
Radio stations can determine the hottest concerts for the summer.
Manufacturers can do a pulse check on fans’ holiday shopping plans.
Increase Engagement with Current Fans
Questions is also a great way to engage with your current fans when you’re looking for more likes and comments. If the question is interesting enough, you may attract a larger percentage of your fan base. And it’s easier than ever to interact with your fans now, since no additional applications or permission boxes are needed.
Promote Brand Awareness among Friends of Fans
The Questions feature can also be useful beyond your brand’s page itself. When a fan votes on an answer, it is sent out to his whole network of friends, who can then pass it on by voting themselves. As people continue to vote, your brand impressions continue to multiply.
As with any social media execution, there are best practices on how to achieve your brand’s goals.
Tips for Brands Using Facebook Questions
Be General When Trying to Reach Mass Audiences
What types of questions resonate most with mass audiences? Questions that anyone can respond to, where people are curious to compare their opinions with those of their friends. These questions are the most likely to go viral through friends’ news feeds and increase your brand’s online impressions.
Be Specific When Trying to Learn
On the other hand, when your goal is to learn about your fans as a form of market research, be more specific with your questions to get the most useful responses. For example, if a brand asks its fans how often they want to receive updates, it would be best served by listing a specific number of times a week, instead of “a lot” or “every once in a while.”
Don’t Make It Too Serious
Don’t solicit feedback that will be too serious or negative in nature. A question like “What can we be doing better as a company” is an invitation for detracting comments. While the answers could be useful, remember that this is a public forum, not a focus group. Honest answers may come with bad publicity.
Monitor Write-In Options
As with any ongoing social networking strategy, brands should be proactive in monitoring negative and obscene comments. While Facebook Questions lets brands choose which possible answers to include in the multiple choice questions, fans do have the option to write in their own answers. This option can be disabled easily, but at the expense of limiting your fans’ input.
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The most important Internet-capable device in your life may very soon be your television. The Web is poised to invade your living room and revolutionize the way we consume media. Companies like Apple and Google have introduced products this year that transform the way we watch television. What these Internet-capable set-top boxes provide is what has always been the promise of the Internet, convenience. Traditional television is clunky and difficult to manage. It requires users to conform to the rules of the content providers. Who today has time to plan their lives around an 8:30 p.m. time slot on Thursday nights? Streaming video allows users control over their television viewing. People want to watch what they want and when they want it. People also want choice. Online video gives viewers this freedom in ways that traditional media can’t. Devices such as Apple TV allow users to stream online video instantly and on their own terms.
The company known primarily for search announced Google TV at this year’s Google I/O. It promises to be a very interesting addition to your living room media cabinet. As with their Android mobile operating system, Google has chosen to focus on the platform while allowing others to create hardware to run its new TV-centric software. Google TV provides streaming services such as Netflix and Pandora along with a TV-friendly Internet browser. You can already purchase devices running Google TV, such as the Logitech Revue or Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player, or even built into a standalone TV, such as the Sony Internet TV.
Apple, on the other hand, prefers to be the master of its own hardware with Apple TV. The Cupertino-based computer giant launched the second generation of its set-top box at their September Keynote. The software/hardware integration allows virtually flawless syncing with iTunes along with your iPhone or iPad. Also, Apple TV is running a version of Apple’s mobile iOS, which means we could be seeing an iPhone-like app store for the set-top box in the near future. This is a long way from the device that Steve Jobs originally called just a “hobby” for Apple.
Apple is in a slightly better position than Google to take advantage of this new streaming video reality. Beyond the obvious advantage of hardware compatibility, they have a history of working with content providers with products such as iTunes and iBooks. Networks are less skittish when dealing with Apple’s closed and controlled ecosystem than they are with Google’s open platform, with its promise of free online use. But Apple and Google aren’t the only players in this market. The Roku Player, while still relatively unknown, beat both of the Internet giants into the market and has a very loyal, if small, following. It also features extremely competitive pricing and a tiered system of hardware choices. And let’s not forget about the stealthy Internet-capable devices that you likely already have connected to your television. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have very quietly positioned themselves to compete in this new space with their gaming consoles. Reports show as many as 21% of Americans already use their video game console to watch television and movies, including streaming online content from providers such as Netflix. In fact, Nintendo has admitted that it sees Apple as its main competitor in the coming years.
With the ever-increasing availability of broadband connectivity, online streaming video has become more and more prevalent. Yet, major networks are already fighting to prevent these new devices from distributing their content. ABC, NBC and CBS have all made moves to block their otherwise free online content from being distributed over devices such as Google TV. However, if we have learned one thing from similar attempts by the record industry and publishers, it’s that the people’s will will be done. Apple and Google have both recognized the need for Internet platforms attached to your television. These channels will reach users across millions of devices that are not traditional computers or laptops as any of us currently know them. Picture a person browsing the Web while sitting on their couch. Perhaps they use a tablet to read online articles, search for the latest episode of their favorite television show from their phone and then use the phone or tablet as a remote to watch the video on the living room TV set. That day is already here and, as always, the technology is simply waiting on the content providers to catch up.
Despite hesitancy from some, it is a fact that streaming Internet video is the future of television. All that remains to be seen is how content providers react to the current trends. The smart ones will embrace the new shift in viewing habits and find ways to extend advertising and other revenue-generating models to online. In this sort of race, it’s very frequently those who act fastest that thrive. It’s also likely that we will see fresh and new content providers that are built on a sleek, low-budget model that is designed specifically for this type of environment. These newcomers will likely thrive in the new world of streaming video. Because of this drastic change in media consumption, marketers will have to act quickly to make sure their brands stay relevant in this space. Without a comprehensive digital strategy, it will be easy to get lost in the noise. Because if there is one thing that the freedom of the Internet also delivers, it’s parity. When everyone’s voice is heard equally, it’s much harder to stand out. Digital presence no longer just means a website, but exposure across multiple web platforms: blogs, social media, search, display ads, podcasting and, yes, online video.
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If you’re in advertising, Apple has always been a bit out of reach. Unless you were one of the lucky brands to have an app featured in one of their commercials, you’ve probably given up on ever getting a sales call from an Apple. But that all changed last month, when Steve Jobs announced iAd, Apple’s first ad network. Since the announcement, there have been a number of great articles written providing more details into the new offering. Here are a few of the things you should know…
What is iAd?
Quite simply, iAd is an ad network for “in-app” advertising. The format of these ads isn’t standard, it’s a new format designed to offer richer interaction… without flash, of course. Here’s a video of iAd in action:
How much does it cost?
Apple has taken an unorthodox approach, charging a reported $10 cost-per-thousand impressions AND a $2 cost-per-click. The cost-per-click in particular is very high, and the charge for both impressions and clicks isn’t standard. This combination also makes the overall cost of the ad placement very high.
How can I participate?
Well, according to the folks Apple has already reached out to, you’ll need a hefty spend of 1 million to be one of the first advertisers. In addition, it appears that because Apple bought Quattro Wireless, some of the first brands being contacted are those Quattro already has a relationship with.
From an Advertiser’s Perspective… what’s great?
One of the best things about iAd is the rich ad format. It makes me think about what ABC did with their “Ad Pods” for full-episode online viewing: while most advertisers were running pre-roll video ads, ABC created a rich format that allowed for much more than just watching a commercial, but providing an interactive experience. As a result, brand recall is higher, engagement metrics are higher… I would expect the same thing with this new format. According to Wired, however, Apple won’t even let advertisers design their own ads, and will eventually release their own advertising SDK.
It is an untapped market. Steve Jobs mentioned a potential of 1 billion in ad impressions daily. We’re talking about a market that isn’t just untapped, but extremely engaged with their devices.
Finally, this will advance mobile advertising forward. Apple’s reputation as a harbinger of the future will be enough for folks to pay attention to mobile advertising. Brands have been dabbling for years in mobile ads, but this will represent a tipping point. It will also set a benchmark for other mobile ad networks to offer richer ad experiences.
From an Advertiser’s Perspective… what’s not so great?
There are a few concerns any advertiser should have with what we know…
According to the Wall Street Journal, antitrust enforcers are taking an interest in Apple’s changes to the developer agreement, which forbids developers from selling any third-party advertising through their apps. Many developers are currently making revenue through the sale of advertising. Apple will provide ads under the new agreement, and ask for a 40% cut.
What’s shocking for those buying advertising is that changes to this developer agreement would suggest that the use of third-party tracking like DoubleClick and Atlas may not be allowed. There aren’t many advertisers today that would entrust reporting solely to the company selling them the ads, that’s why the industry developed third-party tracking in the first place.
Even if tracking were to work, the pricing model calls into question the ultimate effectiveness of the ads. Some advertisers will pay a premium just to be associated with Apple at this early stage. However, most brands have a finite budget, and will want these ads to show a positive financial return. Such high initial costs will make it much harder for these ads to perform. Of course, if we can’t track how they perform, it won’t really matter, will it?
The Final Word
In the iAd announcement, Steve Jobs says that online ads right now have interactivity, but lack emotion. This is something he cites as the strength of television. If this new ad network and format are to be a bridge between the two, the real test will be how they perform for the advertisers.
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Twitter has finally completely rolled out their new “Twitter List” feature. This might leave many of our readers wondering: What exactly is a Twitter List… and how could I be using it for my clients or my brand? We’ve included below an introduction that will get you pointed in the right direction.
What are Twitter Lists?
Quite simply, they’re a way for anyone to “group” feeds together.
How are Twitter Lists Used?
There are several ways that Twitter Lists are being used. We’ll look at two very important differences in how people can utilize Twitter Lists, private and public.
Private Twitter Lists
Private Twitter Lists are used to organize the people you’re already following. For many people, this may be as simple as dividing up co-workers and personal contacts. However, lists can be as granular as you’d like them to be. Perhaps you’d like to split your followers into west-coast and east-coast co-workers, or family, friends, co-workers and celebrities. Quite simply, lists allow you to organize these folks in any way you wish. Once you’ve organized them, you will see tweets from all the folks in the list on one page.
Public Twitter Lists
Public Twitter Lists are more about shaping how others follow groups on Twitter. We’ve only just scratched the surface of how these public Twitter Lists can be used, but here are several key uses we’ve seen so far:
1. Experts
Want to follow only the most influential in tech? You don’t need to spend countless hours digging for them, just look to Robert Scoble’s Twitter List of the most influential in tech: @scobleizer/most-influential-in-tech, or follow Danny Sullivan’s list of influential search engine marketers: @dannysullivan/searchmarketing, or Maria Popova’s list of TEDsters: @brainpicker/TEDsters.
2. Brand Consolidation
Many companies now have multiple Twitter accounts. Wired, for example, has 12 blogs currently, and each has a Twitter account. They’ve consolidated the ability to follow all 12 with a single Twitter List: @wired/wiredblogs. Our Home Depot client is another great example, as they have created one location where multiple International Twitter accounts, such as Canada and Mexico can be found, along with deals and customer service: @homedepot/homedepot.
3. Employee Lists
For those few brands who have really embraced social media and are willing to let their employees speak on their behalf, Twitter Lists are a great way to aggregate the true footprint of a brand in Twitter by linking to employee accounts. The New York Times is a great example, having used one of the 18 lists they’ve created to be a “staff” list: @nytimes/staff. Zappos, who have been encouraging employees to be active in social media, have also created an employees list: @zappos/employees.
While it’s a very simple idea, there are quite a few interesting possibilities that haven’t been explored yet. I’ve heard great suggestions about using Twitter Lists to aggregate people attending events, or Twitter Lists to create a more local experience on Twitter. The folks at Mashable have a great “How To” guide if you’re interested in learning more about using Twitter Lists.
If you’d like to explore some of the best Twitter Lists currently out, there’s already a website aggregating Twitter Lists, which you can find at Listorious.com.
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