Exciting news from Google: their latest update for Local Search, Google Posts, is open to everyone!
But wait; what are Google Posts, and more importantly, why are
they such a big deal, especially for businesses that rely on organic clicks?
Stick around as we explore what just might be the key to unlimited visibility
for your business no matter how small it is.
Google Posts: What Is It?
Google Posts (not its official name) is a useful little feature
that lets both individuals and organizations create and post content directly
on Google. According to Search Engine Land, content created using Google Posts
gets ranked highly in the search results.
Brief History
Ostersund, Sweden – Feb 2, 2015: Google My Business website on a computer screen. Google My Business helps you build a loyal fan base. Your customers can show their appreciation with ratings and reviews.
Google’s nifty new feature was first launched in January 2016
with the aim of providing a platform for US presidential candidates to relay
real-time updates to their supporters. Content posted by the presidential
candidates appeared in a card-like format, and for this reason, the feature was
initially known as “candidate cards.”
Two months later, the Google Posts feature was finally extended
to small businesses, albeit on an invite-only basis. As a result, it was only
available to a select few number of local businesses from around the world.
A year later, the program was extended to sports teams, museums,
movies, and musicians in the US and Brazil. It was not until June 2017 that the
feature was finally rolled out to small businesses that were using the Google
My Business platform (GMB).
Features of Google Posts
1. Content is posted directly to Google. As a result, it appears
on both Google Search and Google Maps results.
2. For promotional content, a 7-day limit is imposed after which
it is removed from the default view. Event-based posts are removed after the
event date passes. Posts that are removed from the default view can still be
accessed in the historical view under the Posts Tab.
3. Content appears in a carousel format that is positioned just
below the paid ads but on top of the organic search listings.
4. The feature is strongly integrated with social media. Social
share buttons and a shareable link are available at a click.
5. Each carousel can contain up to 10 posts. However, only
two-and-a-half can be viewed on the search results without scrolling.
6. Google does not index the URLs on Google Posts.
7. Businesses under the “hotel” category currently do not have
the “post” option enabled.
8. Only the first 100 characters appear in the Knowledge Panel.
9. The feature currently does not support the use of videos and
animated GIFs. Pictures smaller than 250 x 250 are also not accepted.
10. One-click call-to-action links can be created to allow
customers to perform actions such as “Buy Now,” “Make a Reservation,” “Sign
Up,” and “Learn More.”
11. Google Posts don’t integrate automatically with Google
Analytics. If you want insight beyond what is provided on the GMB dashboard,
you need to create a custom URL for your call-to-action link.
How to Create a Google Post
Google My Business connects you directly with customers, whether they’re looking for you on Search, Maps or Google+.
Google Posts can be accessed via the Google My Business
platform, which is available for PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. Alternatively, you
can click here.
To create a post, first log into
your GMB account, then on the left-side menu, click on “Posts.” An interface
with a blank text pad will appear.
On the interface, you can to type
up to 300 words max and upload an image. For event-based posts, you are allowed
to add an event title complete with the relevant dates and times. On this
screen, you will also be able to add call-to-action buttons such as “Buy,”
“Sign Up,” “Reserve,” and “Get Offer.”
Once you submit, the post appears
on searches performed on your business’ name.
Using Google Posts: 3 Useful Tips
#1 Don’t stuff keywords
If you’re a serial keyword-stuffer, this is a habit that you
will have to let go of when using Google Posts simply because they will not
have any impact on your rankings whatsoever. Use the platform to highlight new
products, offers, and promotions only.
#2 Make the first 100 characters count
To avoid being cut off mid-sentence, ensure your first 100
characters form a coherent compelling and complete sentence that will make
people want to click on the call-to-action button.
#3 Ensure you use appropriately-sized images
Anything smaller than 250 x 250 won’t work; the best image size
to use is 750 x 750. Also, ensure that the picture you choose is
center-weighted to avoid having the top part chopped off on the results page.
As we wrap things up, we can conclude that Google Posts can be a
vital small business marketing tool for you simply because:
They allow you to create and share
daily promotions, specials, and offers that will attract more customers;
They let you share the arrival of
new products and keep your existing customers updated, and lastly;
They allow you to integrate
call-to-action buttons in your posts, making it easier for your customers to
connect with you.
Google Posts is still a relatively new feature, but it is on
track to becoming one of the most valuable small business marketing tools for
business owners like you.
Take a look at your business. What is it that determines whether you stay afloat or go under? Is it the same thing that motivates you to do better every day? To phrase it simply, what is it that drives your entire operation? The answer is simple and quite obvious: customers.
Every auto repair and auto body shop owner out there will tell you the same thing: getting customers is not easy. Obviously, that isn’t something you want to hear when starting your own auto repair business.
Unfortunately for many of these auto repair and body shop owners, the importance of digital marketing strategies, especially in a world where the internet exists, is either lost on them or entirely unacknowledged. Fortunately for you, however, you are about to learn the three essential auto repair shop marketing strategies and how they can help you gain more customers no matter how big or small your business is.
1. Reputation Management
What is it?
When a customer searches for your business online, the results will include every bit of information that Google considers relevant to the search(SEO). This includes websites with positive and negative reviews about your company, forum posts, articles, and blog posts.
Reputation management, or online reputation management(ORM), is what businesses do to control what their customers see first when they search for their company online. The most efficient way to achieve this is by boosting the positive search results so that they are ranked higher than the negative results, giving the company lots of good publicity.
In as much as reputation management revolves around publicizing good news about your company, it is also about learning how to respond to criticism swiftly and appropriately.
How it will help your business
So how will reputation management help you gain more customers?
a) By giving your business an online presence – some of the key components to online management such as keeping your websites updated (or creating one for those who haven’t), posting articles and media, and publishing to your social media pages can make your business an authoritative presence online. This means new customers will find it easier to trust you.
b) By making your business easier to find – very few people go past the first page of the search results. If your company has established a good online presence, Google will rank it higher on the first page and make it a lot easier to find.
Reputation management allows you to present the most relevant or accurate information about your business first, giving you the chance to put your best foot forward and become more visible on the internet. Neat, isn’t it?
2. SMS Marketing
What is it?
Short Message Service (SMS) marketing is a permission-based marketing technique that businesses use to distribute promotional messages to their customers. This strategy requires your customers to opt into an automated texting service, usually by sending a text to a predetermined shortcode. Customers who opt in receive a confirmation message alongside instructions on how to opt out of the service.
The scale of your operations will determine whether you will need SMS marketing software for this strategy. However, it is a lot less labor-intensive to automate the process.
How it will help your business
SMS marketing plays a massive role in many business’ marketing campaigns for one particular reason: it is a fantastic close range marketing tactic. When it comes to increasing customer loyalty and growing your database, it is a very potent marketing technique.
Because many of these consumers feel that text messages:
· Are more likely to grab their attention sooner (98% of SMS messages are opened and read within the first 3 minutes);
· Are easier to read and respond to;
· Make it easier to communicate with businesses like yours, and most importantly;
· Do not make them feel like their identity and personal data is at risk of being exposed.
A general rule of thumb to be observed when implementing this tactic is that the platform should primarily be used to serve your customers and not to promote your business.
What does this mean?
Simply put, you should use the SMS communication channel to relay information such as appointments, service reminders, and important events. Promoting your business using SMS marketing, while still allowed, should be done with tact. The last thing you want is your customers to feel pestered or annoyed by incessant text messages about discounted auto servicing rates. A general rule of thumb is to keep the total number of messages to less than 5 per month.
Keep it short and straightforward, and most importantly, keep it relevant.
3. Promotional Marketing
What is it?
This kind of marketing involves the use of promotional tools such as contests, raffles, and sweepstakes to create awareness about a brand/company and to attract customers. This tactic is usually deployed with one primary goal in mind: to create a buzz.
How it will help your business
Promotional marketing can help your business in the following ways:
a) Creating awareness about your company – everybody loves to win, which is why promotions get a lot of attention from consumers. You don’t have to bend over backward to get your customers interested either; a prize as simple as free service or repairs for a specified period is enough to get everyone in a competitive mood. The more competition there is, the bigger the buzz generated.
b) Providing a platform to conduct market research – Contests and promotions are also crucial for market research. You can use them as a platform to carry out short but useful surveys on your existing customer base. For example, a series of brief questions on the participants’ registration forms can give you crucial insight into your clients’ driving habits, their preferred type of engine oil, and various other pertinent things that you can use to better your services or to promote your products.
If organizing promotional events sounds too hectic for you, worry not. Online contest management software such as the one offered here (https://www.jvimobile.com) not only lessens the load for you, it also encourages your customers to share the contest on social media by rewarding them with more entries for every person that enters the contest through their recommendation.
Remember, you don’t have to go over your budget when organizing contests, sweepstakes, and other promotional tools. A single prize is usually enough to attract several participants. However, if you can afford it, there is no harm in offering multiple prizes, especially when you’re promoting a new product.
Thus far, here is what we have learned:
· Reputation management is all about making your business more authoritative and easier to find online;
· If you can help it, don’t bother with email marketing or push-notifications; SMS marketing is the way to go, and last but not least;
· Promotional marketing is a double-edged sword that can be very useful when used correctly.
Now that you’re armed with three vital digital marketing strategies, you’re probably wondering how to implement all of them at once. To be honest, it can be quite a task to juggle the three strategies on your own, especially if you run a small business.
Can it be done?
Fortunately, the answer to that question is a resounding YES! Thanks to the innovative and easy to use software that you can find here, you can take care of your company’s reputation management, SMS marketing, and promotional marketing needs in an easy and highly efficient manner.
Why Do I Need Reputation Management & Text Marketing? My Marketing is just fine. Wrong.
As a Business Owner, you’ve established a Facebook page for your products and/or services. Great! You’ve also launched a Twitter page so you can tweet your followers once a month and even share pictures of your cluttered office every few weeks on your Instagram. Your website gets a few clicks every so often. Marketing all set! Wrong. That’s awesome, but not enough. In today’s busy and competitive world, your business will not survive without reputation management and text messaging marketing.
“More than 80% of all consumers say that they read online reviews before making a purchase or visiting a business.”
Wouldn’t you like to know what people are saying about you and your business? What about knowing what happens every time someone puts your business name into Google or Facebook? It’s great to have an online presence when operating a business, but these same outlets can easily damage your reputation through negative blogs and reviews. Did you know that more than 80% of all consumers read online reviews before making a purchase or getting services at a business? What is said about you and your business can affect your company as a whole and can eventually determine the amount of revenue you have coming in. The internet has given a powerful voice to consumers and their opinion carries a lot of weight. It’s one thing to manage an online business, but it’s another thing to manage your company’s online reputation. Reputation Management will keep you aware of looming threats and reputation attacks. We’ll provide tools to track and monitor your brand so it’s always in a positive light.
What Kind of Action Should I take regarding Reputation Management?
Ready to take charge of your online reputation? There are plenty of things you can do right now. Begin by optimizing your profiles on popular review sites. Some are auto-generated and others you can create yourself. If you see any negative reviews, respond to them ASAP and use them to your advantage. This lets consumers know that you genuinely care and are willing to go to whatever extent necessary to make the customer happy by fixing the situation. You also let consumers know that your business is relevant and not outdated or unpopular by engaging with online reviews. Also, consider adding review forms to your website. Encourage customers to rate your products and/or services with a star system along with a written review. Offer a discount on a future purchase if they agree to leave feedback within a certain time frame. If you don’t want to do this via your website, you can always use the built-in rating system on your Facebook business page, which is a great option as well. You can also incorporate a points reward system and offer them a certain amount of points towards a reward once they leave feedback. Another great idea is to send an automated email to customers after they’ve made an online purchase. The email can include a link to a review form on your website or Facebook page. If you sell products or offer services in an actual storefront, consider including a review link on your printed receipts. I’m sure you’ve seen major fast-food chains, grocery stores and even retail stores offering free items or discounts on their receipts upon completion of an online survey, rating or review. Overall, this will eventually get you more positive online reviews and increase your visibility and attract more customers.
What Ways Can I Introduce Text Message Marketing to my Business?
Did you know that 98% of text messages are read immediately? Literally, within three minutes of receipt, mobile users all over the world are communicating via text.
Text messaging is fast, easily accessible and multi-functional.
As a business owner, you can attract more customers while generating more revenue by making text messaging a big part of your marketing efforts. Instant offers, discounts, digital coupons and location-based amenities are all benefits that consumers are constantly searching for. Making these benefits easily accessible via text is the perfect way to grab the attention of your consumers and also allows you to stand out from your competition. This will prompt them to make a quick decision to purchase your products and/or use your services because ultimately, everyone is simply looking for the hottest deals. We live in an instant-gratifying society, so what better way to connect with new and existing consumers than to exceed their expectations via text. You can start a text messaging campaign by signing up subscribers then automate messages based on subscriber actions or send scheduled messages based on promotions.
Now It All Makes Sense
Reputation Management will shine a bright light on your online presence. The internet is already saturated with so much noise and various opinions so you want to be sure everything said about you and your business is positive. Being involved and relevant will get your more positive reviews and will increase your overall visibility. You will begin to attract more customers because so many people check reviews before trying out a new business. Also, you can increase customer loyalty, drive demand, and stay connected by adding text messaging to your marketing strategy. It’s simple, affordable and effective. If you’re not quite sure what platform to rely on for these marketing strategies or would like to take your reputation management or SMS marketing to the next level, leave it to the Certified Digital Marketing Professionals at JVI Mobile Marketing!
July 2017 Special Pricing is underway. Contact us today!
Ways to Get More Positive Online Reviews of Your Business
At this point, you probably know all of the statistics about online reviews. More than 80% of all consumers say that they read online reviews before making a purchase or visiting a business.
In fact, as a savvy business owner, you’ve undoubtedly heeded the advice about claiming your listings, optimizing your profiles on review sites, and using negative reviews to your advantage.
That’s good – but is it enough?
Claiming your profiles is only a small part of the game when it comes to using online reviews to grow your business. If you rest on your laurels and don’t take action to attract new and positive reviews, you risk having people view your business as outdated or unpopular. Negative reviews can kill your business faster than anything in 2017.
Here are some statistics we’ve pulled together:
Between one and three bad online reviews would be enough to deter the majority (67%) of shoppers from purchasing a product or service
86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business that has negative online reviews
Number of reviews posted every minute by Yelp users is 26,380
If a business resolves its issue quickly and efficiently, 95% of unhappy customers returns back to your business
Use an automated Reputation Management Software Platform
This is hands down, the easiest and best way to manage your entire online reputation. However, it isn’t free like the other methods in this list. The way it works is simple:
You collect an email address by asking your customer if it would be ok to email them requesting some feedback.
You watch tons of online reviews come into the system. The positive ones get published to online review sites. The negative ones staying sent directly and privately to the owner or manager.
With an online tool like this, you also get a micro-site published online for the purpose of SEO and reviews, a website widget so you can collect reviews from website visitors while showing off all of your 4 and 5 star ratings, and the option to keep your business listings up-to-date with all of the major online directories and search engines.
Add Review Options to Your Website
When was the last time you made a purchase from Amazon? Every product they list on their site has a review option so you can enter a review. They distinguish between verified purchases and stand-alone reviews. There’s no question that the accessibility of reviews helps Amazon’s customers to make informed buying decisions.
Consider adding review forms to your website. You can encourage customers who have tried your products to rate them using a star system (or whatever symbol you like) and leave a written review as well. It’s an easy and relatively low-key way to accumulate reviews.
If you are using an automated software tool, you can embed a widget on your site as mentioned earlier, to show off your positive reviews and solicit new ones.
Email Customers Who Make a Purchase
Another way to encourage reviews is to send an automated email to customers after they make a purchase from you. The email can include a link to a review form on your website.
If you decide to use this option, make sure not to send the email until after the customer has the product. That means if you’re emailing people who made an online purchase, you’ll need to wait until several days have passed to send the email.
You have two options.
One is to embed the review form in the email itself, and the other is to link back to the review form on your website.
Whichever option you choose, make sure that the review is just as easy to complete on a mobile device as it is on a computer.
Promote Products That You Want to Be Reviewed
Every company has products that get reviewed all the time as well as products that get little attention. As a general rule, more expensive products tend to get the most reviews while basic or inexpensive products get ignored.
There are some things you can try to encourage more reviews of particular products. For example:
Use follow-up emails to promote those products and then, when you make a sale, ask for a review as you would with any other product.
Create special packages that pair a frequently-reviewed product with one that doesn’t get many reviews. Then ask for a review for the package.
Instead of requesting individual reviews, create a survey about a particular product and post it on social media. You can tally the results and post them as part of your review page.
These techniques can help you build up some positive reviews for products that typically don’t get many – while increasing your sales at the same time.
Incentivize Reviews
It’s not a good idea to pay for reviews (or to order reviews from people who have never tried your products), but you can find subtle ways to incentivize customers to write reviews.
One thing that a lot of companies do is offer a points system. You might have a points program that rewards points for purchases made. Then, you can award bonus points each time a customer reviews a product that they bought.
Another option is to offer additional points for customers who review a product and then share their review on social media. This technique provides you with a way to amplify the effectiveness of each review you get by introducing it to new people.
If a points system doesn’t appeal to you, then you could try offering a free download to people who review a product on your site. The freebie could be a template, an image, a short eBook, or even just a list of resources.
For example, a clothing boutique might offer a downloadable infographic that shows ways to tie a scarf, or how to accessorize a plain white blouse.
Whichever option you choose, the goal is to provide some customer appreciation for the people who take the time to leave reviews of your products.
Use Offline Techniques to Get Reviews
How can you get customers to leave reviews if you don’t have an online store? It might not be as easy as emailing them a link, but here are ways you can try to get more positive feedback:
Include a link to your product review page on your printed receipts.
Print excerpts from some of your reviews on your menu or display them in your store.
Ask customers to review you on Yelp or other review sites by printing the request on a menu or on your comment cards.
These ideas won’t work with everybody, but they can help you increase the percentage of customers who take the time to write a review.
Leverage Your Reviews
The final thing you can do is to take your existing reviews and leverage them into more of them. When a customer completes a review on your site, send them a thank you email. In the email, you may want to:
Upsell them on additional products (which you can then ask them to review); or
Ask them to review other purchases they have made
Customers want to feel that you appreciate them. Even the act of sending a thank you email can be enough to incentivize them to review additional products.
Conclusion
It’s not difficult to get customers to review your products. You just can’t expect them to do it without a bit of encouragement from you. The techniques outlined here can help you get positive reviews for your website or review pages – and attract new customers as a result.
JVI Mobile, an online marketing company based in South Boston, Virginia, launched a wide spectrum of SEO and other internet marketing services for small companies throughout Virginia. The company provides SEO, web design and local social media campaigns for restaurants, clubs and other local businesses.
South Boston, United States – December 29, 2016 /PressCable/ —
JVI Mobile, a digital marketing company based in South Boston, Virginia, launched a wide range of SEO and other internet marketing services for small companies throughout Virginia.
Online marketing has grown tremendously over the past years, as more and more people turn to the internet in search for the most reliable online and offline services. Recent surveys show that up to 90% of all clients have used online reviews or Google searches to find local service providers, thereby making online visibility a key focus of overall business investment.
The stakes are extremely high for small businesses without an online presence, with a possible doubling of clients in case the digital marketing campaign is successful. In other words, online marketing can play a huge role in overall business success.
One of the most important factors for online visibility is Google ranking. Most potential clients use Google to find businesses, so ranking high for target keywords is essential. Traffic studies show that roughly two-thirds of all keyword-specific traffic go to the top three search results, thereby creating intense competition for high ranking.
JVI Mobile launched a wide range of digital marketing services aimed at helping small local Virginia businesses increase their online presence and reach more clients. The company strives to help local restaurants, bowling centers, and other small businesses create responsive, user-friendly websites and leverage the potential of search engines and social media to increase their brand credibility and improve their reputation.
The company provides thorough local SEO services in an effort to optimize the client’s website to match the targeted keywords. If the business does not have a website at all, or if the website needs cross-platform optimization, JVI Mobile provides full web design and mobile optimization services.
The Virginia SEO company also provides video production and social media marketing services, as well as e-mail marketing and pay-per-click campaigns.
Interested parties can find more information by visiting the above-mentioned website.
Reputation management may sound like something that only applies to large companies or requires deep pockets. In fact, neither of the above is true. Though all small business owners are busy from dawn until well into the night just making a profit, ignoring your online reputation can cause major damage to your prime objective- maximizing your profit!
To help you succeed, we’ve collected four of the best articles on reputation management for you and included a fifth which you can’t miss!
1. Online Reputation Management: How to Counteract Bad Feedback
Start with Virtual Social Media’s summary on why businesses of all sizes can’t ignore their online reputations.
2. 5 Ways to Take Control Over Your Startup’s Public Image
Luis Gallardo provides great insight on how to gauge and measure your audience’s response to your next big product launch. Though geared for startups, it’s a must-read for all small business owners.
3. 6 Keys to a Positive Online Presence and Reputation
Starting with the basics, Martin Zwilling gives you six simple steps to improve how others view you online.
4. 4 Key Metrics In Repairing Your Reputation Online
If you’re coming here because you’ve gotten sideways, you’ll definitely want to start here, with four ways to start fixing it fast!
And our bonus to you: Reputation Management for Local Small Businesses: Ten Professional Tips
You can check out our reputation management offerings here.
Know that you’re not alone out there! The JVI Mobile team has the resources and know-how to begin or expand on your current reputation management programs.
Let us help you find out how you are doing now and take your results to new highs! At JVI Mobile, we are passionate about creating and growing awesome social relationships. We are happy to help guide you on your way!
As a Business Owner, you’ve established a Facebook page for your products and/or services. Great! You’ve also launched a 
This is hands down, the easiest and best way to manage your entire online reputation. However, it isn’t free like the other methods in this list. The way it works is simple:
