How Yelp Can Help Make or Break Your Business

October 9, 2011 By 2 Comments

Yelp and Your BusinessWould you like to attract new customers to your business? If you’re like most businesses, your answer is a resounding, “Yes”. You certainly don’t want to scare aware potential new customers either.

However, either of this things could be happening based on your business’s reviews on Yelp, Google Places, and other review sites.

With mobile phones becoming commonplace, more and more people are using these review tools in deciding where to do business. Before people try a new restaurant, hair salon, or mechanic, there’s a good chance they are reading the reviews of that business on their mobile phone or computer.

Monitoring your online reviews will allow you to quickly identify potential product or service issues, and hopefully correct them. If someone took the time to leave a negative or low rating, it’s likely that others may have had a similar experience. Low ratings hurt your overall rating and will, over time, result in fewer new customers. Identifying and correcting product or service issues quickly can only help with the long-term viability of your business and reputation, both on and offline.

You can help increase your ratings, of course, by providing a quality product or service, and encouraging loyal customers to report their experiences with your business on review sites. Increased reviews will help your overall rating and balance out any potential low ratings.

If you are in a personal service business where you know the individual who reported a bad experience, you may consider sending them a personal note apologizing for their experience and offering a free or discounted service upon their return.

Attention to your business’s online reviews can help differentiate you from your competition, attract new customers and build existing customer loyalty. How does your business rate online? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Filed Under: Reputation Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

You Have Facebook and Twitter Accounts – So You’re Using Social Media, Right?

August 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Social MediaYou Have  Facebook and Twitter Accounts – So You’re Using Social Media, Right?

Maybe, but maybe not. The questions becomes – are you getting results? How you use social media is almost as important as whether or not you sign up for an account.

I’ve heard Social Media being compared to having a gym membership. Once you have a membership you’ve taken the first step to getting fit. But if you don’t work out on a regular basis, you won’t see the benefits. There are also strategies you can use to maximize your time at the gym and improve your results.

The same is true for social media.

Social media isn’t a magic bullet and having profiles on all the sites won’t make you an overnight success. The value of social media comes over time as you engage people who are interested in your message.

Here are some ways to improve your results with social media:

1.) Have a strategy that includes what you want to achieve with social media, what tools you will use, and how you will measure results. Make adjustments as necessary. Social media is more of an art than a science and each industry, business, and individual are different. You may need to make more than a few tweaks to find your stride.

2.) Choose the Right Tools - Do your research and determine which tools will work best for you and your business. Where are your customers online? You might not want or need to be on every site out there. Focus your efforts where you will get the best results.

3.)Listen First before you jump into any site, this will let you get a feel for what’s acceptable and what’s not, every community is different. Also, make sure you understand a site’s Terms of Service as some have restrictions on how you can promote your business.

4.) Personalize and Humanize - No one wants to talk to a logo, social media is about people and interactions. Don’t be afraid to share information that shows you are human, it will make you more approachable to your follows.

5.) Engage - Provide value and don’t be spammy! You might be excited about your product or service but no one likes a non-stop sales ad. Provide relevant information but more importantly, interact and engage with your followers. Make sure your social media conversations are a Dialogue, and not a Monologue!

The main thing is to just get out there, ease into it if you need to but start working that social media muscle.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Is It Ok to “Like” Your Own Facebook Status Updates?

February 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In February of 2009, Facebook launched the “Like” feature for it’s users and people have been “liking away” every since. Some people and businesses even “Like” their own status updates. We recently posed this question to our Facebook fans and got mixed results and looked at what others had to say on the topic.

Those that were thought it was ok to “Like” your own Facebook status updates said:

  • It helps bring your posts higher in your friends’ feed
  • The “average” Facebook user probably doesn’t notice one way or the other
  • It shows additional enthusiasm about your post and is ok as long as you don’t do it all the time
  • Yes if others “Like” it as well, otherwise it looks weird
  • It shows you are proud of your work,

If you agree, there’s even a Facebook page you can like called “Liking Your Own Post”.

Those that thought it wasn’t ok to “Like” your own Facebook status updates said:

On his blog, Noisy, Noisy Man! Ade Magnaye, expresses very clearly his distaste of people “Liking” their own posts with Moratorium: Liking Your Own Facebook Status.

The field of social media is still evolving and so are the new social norms. Emily Post didn’t write a book on the proper way to “Like” on Facebook (although she is on Facebook) and it’s not addressed in the Facebook terms of service. So, that leaves it open for interpretation.

For me it goes back to, “What are you trying to achieve with social media?” For some individuals, it’s just a fun way to reconnect. If you are a business especially, however, there should be a strategy and an understanding about how your online activities may be perceived by current and potential customers. After this review of the topic, for my business, I will use “liking” my own updates sparingly, if at all.

Give us your thoughts on Quora or by commenting below.

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