Imagine you’re consulting with a potential client or customer or holding an impromptu discussion with several prospects in your area via the Google Hangout app for Android. Maybe you’re about to be a panel speaker at a local conference and want to encourage your Google Plus following to attend.
At the end of the conversation, you want to quickly share your location with other participants so they can drop by your office with any extra questions or drop by the conference for a chat.
Sharing Your Location with Others
Previously you might have had to email them an address or a link to the location on Google Maps.
No longer, said Google Senior Vice President, Vic Gundotra, during a recent official announcement about updates to Google Plus and Google Plus Hangouts specifically. Gundotra explained:
“How many times have you been in a conversation with a friend and the question has come up. Where are you? Well, starting today you can answer that question with a single tap.”
When a user hits the new place button at the bottom of the app, Google will fetch his or her location from Google Maps and share it with Hangout participants.
On the official Google Blog, Gundotra wrote that Google had also integrated its SMS text messaging service into the Android Hangout app to further centralize communication.
Other ways to use Google Plus for marketing include recording webinars and tutorials or holding regularly scheduled question and answer sessions with clients, customers or colleagues. You could also consider holding regular consulting hours online, giving people with questions about your products and services the opportunity to drop by.
Image: Google
Aira Bongco
That’s pretty neat provided that they have a strict security feature. After all, sharing your location should be limited to the people that matters to you. If your location is exposed to people outside your inner circle, then it can be dangerous. I agree with the convenience. It is just that I want it to be safer.