NG Farrell Marketing

We at NG Farrell don't generally offer free advertising for big global coporations. Nor do we think there's a cheque with our name on it coming for the plug we're about to give.

But we know what we like when we see it, and we like Google Sites - a lot!

Our team uses many, if not most, of the free services, products and platforms in the Google family.

At last count, everyone in our office uses:

• Gmail - to manage a wide range of email accounts
• Chrome - a great browser with intuitive keyword search right in your browser navigation window (and a ton of super cool extensions)
• Calendar
• Documents
• Google+ -   a profile and networking tool that helps you enhance your online presence
• Voice - convenienty make free calls to any telephone number in North America - right from your Gmail window (holding a phone to your ear feels so 20th century once you start making telephone calls from your computer)
• Chat
• Hangouts - a really fun way to run way to host and run multi-party video conferencing, with the added convenience of being able to simultaneously take notes, access Google docs,  and, if you're bored, watch a YouTube video, all within one browser window.
• Fusion Tables - still in BETA this tool allows you to visualize data in a few simple steps

But the Google product we're most excited about lately is Sites. With a free Google Apps account, you can start building and sharing a group website in minutes. With a wide range of easy- to-use templates, and some uber-fun plugins such as chat, forums, news etc, Google Sites are a great way to help run projects, especially for project teams that are multi-organizational or have members working from various locations. Not only can you easily add your Google Calendars and Docs, you can use Sites as a central, private repository for those very important project-related files that normally end up as cumbersome email attachments, desktop clutter, and trashbin fillers.

We have been using Sites to help manage projects with our clients for the past half year. They are a great way to keep everyone on the same page, in real time, and (this is big) we have found that they really help mobilize a team and provide an additional level of inspiration and creativity. So many of our client-side users have indicated to us that they learn so much from the experience of using a Google Site with our projects. The site can also be a great, low-pressure training ground for people who are interested in improving their skills and confidence in the area of website management.  Most of the templates are very light on design. We tend to use the most basic templates for our group project sites, so that people don't have to worry about "breaking" the site when they are adding content or making updates. Again, the point of these intranet sites is to provide an easy-to-use, central repository of information, news, documents and communications. Accessibility is key for a team that may include users with diverse levels of experience in web publishing.

So check out Google Sites - or - contact us for some free tips and advice on how you can integrate a Google Site into your own marketing or communications project.