Google announced on its official blog that it has partnered with the National Football League to allow people to conduct Google+ Hangouts while preparing their teams for fantasy football. The deal will allow people all over the world to conduct their drafts with Hangouts. The move also demonstrates one of the premier benefits of social media marketing with Google+, as companies can offer similar Hangouts with their own followers.
According to Google, the feature will be available to those playing fantasy football on NFL.com throughout the season, so users can connect with others in their league easily. Moreover, fantasy football experts will be available to participate so users can get advice when selecting their teams and setting their rosters throughout the year. Marketers might be inspired to create Hangouts with their audiences around hot industry events or during prime shopping seasons for their businesses. Employees and in-house experts can serve as the “professionals” (or webinar leaders) who build community engagement around brand offerings in Google+.
The NFL has been especially active with Google+, using the platform to share highlights, images and other content with its followers. Additionally, the NFL will amass weekly Hangout highlights to show users in moments of triumph over their friends and others in their leagues.
Sporting events have become one of the most popular topics on most social networks in 2012, and these organizations are actively working with social platforms to make the experience better for fans. Brafton recently highlighted a partnership between NBC Olympics and Twitter. This included the launch of a dedicated Twitter page for users to monitor the social buzz around the ongoing games in London, which also give marketers the chance to significantly boost the reach of their related Tweets.
