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August 24, 2010
Take Control of Your Yelp Presence!!!
Facts about Yelp for Small Business
Whether you know it or not, your small business may already have a presence on Yelp. The question is – are you in control of it? Yelp is a social networking site that all
ows consumers to learn about – and rate – their favorite (and not-so-favorite) places to eat, shop, play, and spend their hard-earned dollars.
Ignoring social sites like Yelp isn’t going to make them go away or prevent negative reviews. Remember the golden rule of Social Media Marketing? SOCIAL MEDIA IS AT LEAST 51% LISTENING. And if you haven’t set up your listening station to be notified when people are talking about you (using Google Alerts, for example) on the web, you are missing a huge opportunity – and you could be responsible for sabotaging your own business.
Some Yelp Basics:
- You don’t have to claim your page or set up an account for people to be able to post reviews- That’s right- anyone can add your business and review it. You may already be there and not even know it. This could be extremely damaging to your business.
- Claim/unlock your business page- go to yelp.com to claim your business page and unlock all the tools that are available to business owners. Like tracking number of visitors, demographic info of reviewers so you can learn more about your target market and how they found you, you can post hours, specials, photos, or anything else you want your potential customers to know about your business – and of course the ability to respond to reviews.
- Respond to negative reviews – either publicly or privately – what a great way to turn a negative into a positive! We all make mistakes and most consumers will forgive a mistake if it’s handled appropriately.
How to handle a negative review:
Respond privately: If someone leaves a bad review you now have the option of communicating with them privately to work it out. I recommend doing so – immediately. Do what you can to resolve the issue- this is an awesome opportunity to create goodwill, save a customer, and perhaps generate awesome word-of-mouth marketing.
Once the customer is happy ask them, “Have we satisfactorily resolved your complaint?” “Would you recommend us to a friend?” If the answer is yes, ask them if they would either revise or amend their Yelp review to let people know how your resolved the issue. If the customer doesn’t do it- you can then go to a public response – see below.
Respond publicly: You can also respond publicly and I’ve seen this done extremely well. You can tactfully state your case. Did you try unsuccessfully to resolve the issue? Tell people! Did you go out of your way to try to make it right? Tell people! Did you respond to the customer privately and rectify the situation? Talk about it! Also keep in mind – there will always be complainers- and the Yelp community can spot one a mile away (anyone can access all of a person’s reviews and if they’re chronic complainers their opinion will most likely be ignored by potential customers).
3 Questions I Get Asked Most About Social Media
April 18, 2010
I participated on a Social Media Expert Panel at CAL NARPM (California Association of Rental Property Managers) State Conference in Concord, CA this week. It was a great panel with representatives from Oodle, Rental Homes Plus and Appfolio. I was honored to be a part of such a dynamic panel. I wanted to share with you three questions we got, because these are the questions I get asked every day and thought you might have them too.
Q: What is Social Media going to do for me? How is it going to change my life?
A: Social media is not the end all and be all of marketing. As John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing says, “Social Media is a tool, not a religion”. Yes, Social Media is all the buzz, because it’s new, it’s exciting and it’s growing like wild fire. But that doesn’t mean it’s the “Magic Pill” of marketing. Social media, like direct mail, email marketing, referral marketing and PR should simply be another tool in your tool box to help people get to know, like and trust you so that when they need what you offer, they come to you!
So what am I saying? Well I’m saying if you’re using it, great, but I hope it’s just one part of your overall marketing strategy. If you aren’t using it you should probably invest some time in figuring it out – but don’t stress over it! Start small. Choose one platform a month – maybe Facebook – and devote an hour a week to building your fan page. Then move on to LinkedIn, Twitter, or some of the local search profiles.
Marketing is a system made up of many pieces – Social Media is not going to “cure” all of your marketing woes. So take it one step at a time and keep it in perspective! The only “Magic Pill” to effective marketing is a Marketing system.
Q: What’s all the hype? Do I really need Social Media?
A: Think of it this way, your customers are participating in Social Media, even if you aren’t. Like restaurant owners, Property Managers know all too well that their customers and tenants are using social media even if they are not. As I heard in the discussion on Thursday, people seem much more motivated to leave bad reviews than good ones! Sites like Yelp, Insider Pages, Yahoo Local and more make it easy for customers to broadcast their views to the world. So, if you aren’t claiming your brand and controlling your messaging online then you could be allowing the masses to run amok and smear your name – and your reputation.
Participating in Social Media allows you to keep a pulse on what is being said about your company and positons you to react to it quickly and appropriately. Remember – you can’t erase bad reviews- but you can bury them by asking happy customers to post positive reviews and by taking charge of your company’s online content and learning some basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies.
Q: Isn’t Social Networking so impersonal? I prefer to do my networking the old fashioned way – face to face.
A: I challenge the idea that Social Networking is wiping out face-to-face relationships. I believe that Social media is bringing communities together – maybe in a different way – or maybe not so different. We no longer live in “Little House on the Prairie” type communities where everyone knows everyone else by name and meets up at the church/schoolhouse on Sunday to catch up with one another. We live in large cities; we may not even know our neighbors’ names. We work long hours, we commute, we don’t have the time to invest in our physical communities like our society used to.
To me, Social Media is changing that a bit. We can now meet people who share our ideas, interests, and beliefs through social networking that we may never have met otherwise- and the beauty of it is- those relationships don’t have to exist solely online! Many of us take at least some of these online relationships off line – and actually meet in person, face-to-face! I now have several people in my offline circle of friends, colleagues and acquaintances that I would never have met in the offline world. Social Media is a bit of a contradiction – it allows us to connect with people all over the world; yet I feel it makes our own personal worlds smaller again. Social Media gives us the opportunity to connect in ways we would otherwise not connect, with people we’d otherwise not meet but with whom we share very real commonalities.
What do you think?! Please click here to leave your comments. (And then scroll down to the comments section on the bottom of the page)
How Small-Town (Local) Businesses can Benefit from Twitter
March 7, 2010
This is a guest post by Greg Elwell of Zephyr Marketing LLC located in Benicia, CA. Greg blogs on topics involving personal branding and how local businesses can use social media to become more visible, credible and remarkable. He’s @gregelwell and @ZephyrMarketing on Twitter.
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Twitter is a big deal. The Global Language Monitor declared “Twitter” the most popular English word of 2009. With 75 million users as of January 2010, the 140 character micro-blogging and communications platform has proven its popularity among the followers of big brands like @zappos, personal brands like @APlusK (Ashton Kutcher), and media stalwarts the likes of @CNN.
If you’re a local business in a small town none of the above matters too much. But if you could use Twitter to engage with the 100 to 200 or more Twitter users in and around your marketplace in a way that translates into business value, well that just might get you tweeting.
You may, for example be able to generate greater awareness and find ways to better serve your customers which in turn can lead to increased business by effectively using Twitter.
That’s exactly what a modest, Houston, TX based independent coffee shop called Coffee Groundz did. After trying print ads, radio spots and other forms of traditional advertising (and finding nothing seemed to work), J.R. Cohen, managing partner of the coffee shop started using Twitter in an informal way to interact with friends and customers.
One tweet led to another and it wasn’t terribly long before the word spread and the local @coffeegroundz business was “taking their orders (via Twitter), posting tweets about the local music scene and giving tips on how to make better coffee at home,” according to a Twitter success story published by MarketingProfs.
As of this writing, the @coffegroundz Twitter account has over 9,700 followers and J.R. reported business had increased 20 to 30 percent since using Twitter. The Coffee Groundz case study story is also available online in a free guide provided by Twitter: The Twitter 101 Guide for Business. Also check out the Teusner Wines case study along with others that will give you more insights and ideas on how you can benefit from Twitter.
Taking the example of the Coffee Groundz successful use of Twitter to benefit their business, there are several key ways you too can use Twitter to benefit your local, small-town business:
1. Get connected with local people. When Cohen first started using Twitter he connected with friends and current customers. This shouldn’t be hard for you to do. There are free online tools like TweepSearch (http://tweepsearch.com) or TwitSeeker (http://twitseeker.com) you can use that will search bio’s and location profile settings of users in your city and state. Click to follow them and there’s a good chance they’ll follow you back. Also, be sure to fill out your Twitter profile completely and enter your city and state in the location field – this will aid in helping you be found and followed by others in your vicinity.
Do a Google search on “find local twitter users” and you’ll find a ton of ideas and tools to help you build your local following. Here’s one from the Mashable site called, “Local Tweets: 9 Ways to Find Twitter Users in Your Town.”
Tell everyone who does business with you you’re on Twitter and ask them to follow you. Put your Twitter handle (@username) on give-away items, on your business cards and other collateral – just as you do your address and phone number. Put a link to your Twitter page in your email signature. Add a “Follow me on Twitter” link to your website or blog that will take folks to your Twitter page.
Also, log in to your Twitter account, go to the “Profile” tab and be sure to add the URL to your website or blog. Now, when Twitter users check out your Twitter page they may click the “Web” link to visit your site and check out what you have going on. Consider having a custom landing page on your website or blog that links from the Web URL on your Twitter profile page. Then, when people click on your Twitter Web link they are taken to your landing page and presented with more info about you and what you may offer them through your Twitter activity.
2. Engage with your followers. Please note, I didn’t say, “Start spreading the word about your business deals!” This is the biggest mistake I see twitterers’ doing: A constant barrage of tweets broadcasting information about their business – and little or nothing else. Start tweeting like you’d chat with others at a cocktail party or networking event. You can’t overly promote yourself – that’s viewed as being rude and self-serving. Instead, share a mix of personal stuff with interesting and helpful information your followers would find interesting and useful.
Cohen, for example, shared insights on the local music scene and tips on how to make a great cup of coffee at home. Your local followers must get to know, like and trust you before they’ll be receptive to your business info. Remember, Twitter is a “social networking” tool. It’s not a broadcast advertising platform.
Part of engagement is to first listen. Recently, I heard the Maestro of the Vallejo Symphony, David Ramadanoff say, “The first job of the director is to listen.” And here we thought it was all about waving that wand all around! Get on Twitter, spend some time there, and scan the tweets as a conductor would his sheet of music. Listen to what’s being played out in the Twitter stream and then jump in to engage someone in friendly conversation.
And, as you do listen and engage, like J.R. Cohen at the Coffee Groundz, you’ll discover more ways to meet the needs of your customers than you can possibly imagine. As an example, one of the things Cohen started doing was to take orders via Twitter’s Direct Message feature for people who were running late, or were sitting outside the shop with their dog. “I’ll even bring my customer’s dog a bowl of water,” remarked Cohen.
3. Use reverse-marketing techniques. By this I mean when you do tweet information about your business, some promotion, special deal, discount, 2-for, or exclusive offer, make it seem like it’s not a direct, in your face marketing pitch. Instead, make it fun, make a game out of it, do it in a soft-sell way.
Check out the Twitter for Business 101 Guide. Under “best practices” it says, “Think about Twitter as a place to build relationships…Instead of approaching Twitter as a place to broadcast information about your company, think of it as a place to build relationships.”
Market like Sprinkles Cupcakes (@sprinkles). Every day they send out a tweet something like this: “Super rich! The first 25 people to whisper ‘ganache’ at each Sprinkles receive a free triple chocolate cupcake!” (Granted, they’re not really doing step 2, engaging with their followers in conversation, but they’re connecting with them in a way that is fun and meaningful.) The big idea here is to be creative, experiment, have fun with it and keep the focus on benefiting your followers – not you!
“My advice to businesses (using Twitter) is to just be yourself. That will take you farther than you could ever imagine.” – J.R. Cohen, Coffee Groundz
4. Attend or organize a Tweetup. Tweetups are a gathering of people in a local community using Twitter. The common ground is a desire to network offline with others who believe in the power of Twitter to build community and as a social media marketing tool.
Cohen started hosting tweetups at the Coffee Groundz too. His biggest event was the Obama inauguration organized just 24 hours before the event. According to the MarketingProfs case study: “More than 250 people showed up to drink coffee, nosh on sandwiches and watch history being made.”
Be on the lookout for a Tweetup coming to your town soon! You can use a free service like MeetUp to find or start a MeetUp/TweetUp event near you. And, here’s information on “HOW TO: Organize a Successful Tweetup” on Mashable.
So, there are 4 keys to get you and your local business better engaged with using Twitter. Used thoughtfully, Twitter can help build relationships, generate awareness and become a big deal for local businesses, even in a small town.
Please click here to leave your comments. (And then scroll down to the comments section on the bottom of the page)
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+Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company
- Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses get the customers they need to sell more, increase profits and achieve all of their business and personal goals. We do this by implementing and managing marketing systems based on data and strategy - there is no guess work. For more information visit us at: FortuneMarketingCompany.com. We'd be glad to help!
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