Are you struggling to cook a specific dish and need urgent cooking advice? Or looking to improve your home but need guidance from someone who knows best? Or are you having computer problems and need help fixing it? Sometimes it’s helpful to speak to someone who has been there and done it before.
That’s why Google have this week introduced Helpouts – a new way to get and give help over live video. Get help and discuss topics such as fashion, fitness, computers and music with proven experts in each field!
Google’s mantra with Helpouts is simple: help people help each other. Users can choose who to get help from based on their qualifications, their availability, their price, their ratings and reviews. Once you have confirmed who you want to speak to and at what time, you can share your computer screen, collaboratively edit a presentation, or record your Helpout.
The main advantage of Helpouts is that it puts you in touch with experts and taps into their in-depth knowledge on specific topics. While Google Hangouts allowed you to speak to and share your screen with multiple people at a time, Helpouts now allow you the access to specific people that you WANT to speak to.
When Hummingbird was launched by Google in September, the search engine was seeking to provide more accurate answers to search queries, using content to answer users’ specific queries around a particular topic. Helpouts is clearly an extension of this, putting you in touch with people in the know, to answer your questions and solve your problems.
So what does this mean for brands? Currently Google are working with a select number of companies, stating that ‘you can get help from individuals or from brands you already know and trust’. Once Google roll this out for any company, the benefits are clear, as Helpouts will allow brands to connect key decision-makers and potential prospects with company subject-matter experts and influencers. Brand ambassadors, celebrities involved in specific campaigns, access to key company figures for live Q&A’s – users will be able and want to pay for access to these specific people to answer their questions.
For more information on Google Helpouts, visit the Helpouts site here.
