Tag: Google+

Your Listing May Not Show in Google Search Results

How often do you get a call on any of your phone numbers about your Google Listing?

Today was the freakiest of the calls that I have ever gotten about my Google listing. I got one of “those” phone calls from a 708 area code about my listing on Google may not show up if my address and phone are not verified etc. I was working on some data entry for a project on which I am working, so I thought I would hold and see what they say.

I waited about 4 minutes listening to the repeating messages that they have. They didn’t even have a person come onto the line.

Suddenly, the line clicked over and it sounded like the person was in a room full of customer service operators. I started to say hello, is someone there and a voice on the other end of the phone said that they were there and didn’t want to talk to me. They were in a hospital recuperating from major surgery. I told the guy I wasn’t with Google and I wanted to tell them I didn’t want to talk to them either. I would say that the two of us spoke for about 30 seconds and then all of a sudden, there was a message that I was being disconnected from this group call. What the $&LL?

Here is my lesson, if you need to create or update your listing with Google,Google Listing just go to http://google.com/business or give me a call and I will help you make sure your listing is complete and accurate. Those companies that are calling don’t really care about you or your business. They are just trying to make a fast buck. Contact a reputable local business, or follow the directions on line.

The next time one of them calls, I think I will see if the same thing happens, just like when one of those companies calls telling me they are from “Microsoft” and my computer is throwing off a ton of error messages. Another story for another day!

It’s a Numbers Game

Do the Numbers Add Up?

Recently I was asked by a colleague to help her with a debate she was having with a coworker about posting frequency.  Here is the advice I offered:It's a numbers game
How engaged is your audience? The frequency that you post depends upon the engagement level that you see. It also depends upon the type of post you are making. If you are constantly pushing promotional items, the audience will disengage. For example, if you are a B2C business and you are sharing pictures of people you will probably build your engagement level. Videos these days are the rage on Facebook, especially if they are short and make someone laugh. Use it to your advantage.
My rule of thumb is 70-20-10.
  • 70% content in your industry from other sources
  • 20% content from your industry that you create
  • 10% promotional information
The exception to that rule is if there is an event coming up, that 10% may rise to about 25% especially closer to the deadline for registration or the event itself.
Here is the tricky part – the frequency. Because of the algorithms, the more often you post, especially on Facebook, the higher the likelihood of your audience seeing it. The algorithms have dropped to about 3% of the posts you put out actually make it to a followers news feed. That number, at one time, used to be 16% of your followers would see your posts. If you want higher engagement with fewer posts, you have to make sure that all of your posts hit! This won’t happen. Try to arrange some “ringers” who will like and share your posts. This could drive the engagement rate and up the % of your followers that will see the posts.
Here is what I suggest to the “average” business user:
  • LinkedIn – 3-5 times per business week
  • Google+ – 3-5 times per business week
  • Twitter – as often as you can, link from Facebook, Pinterest, and feeds from other sources
  • Facebook – 1-3 times throughout the day for your business week. If you are a restaurant, that might mean Tuesday -Sunday, for a CPA firm Monday- Friday
If you are following the 70/20/10 rule, you should build the engagement level as well as find out what kinds of posts are drawing the engagement.
If you use a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite, you can use the auto schedule features they offer to pick the best time for follower interaction.  But remember that as frequently as you post, you need to have someone checking to see if people are engaging with you. If they comment, you need to be able to respond, SOOOOO don’t post more frequently than you can manage to check back and follow-up if necessary.
It really is just a numbers game.
This 2014 article from FastCompany sums up more details that you can use as reference.

Write positive reviews, not just negative

Do you take the time to write positive reviews? Or do you just review a place when they don’t meet your standards?

Today peer recommendations seem to be what 90% of people rely on to make a purchase or visit an establishment (Watch this). How do they make the best of a situation when a friend doesn’t suggest an option? People look to reviews.Facebook reviews

Reviews tell readers the good and the bad. If the majority of reviews are positive and there is one lonely negative review, people will often discount the validity of the negative review. My suggestion would be to launch a campaign to increase your reviews on sites where people go to look for your business. Yelp is a huge player in this arena. Google+ for all of it’s faults is a major platform to make sure you have good reviews associated with your location on the map. Bing and Yahoo both have similar functions with their mapping programs. What if you are a restaurant? Sites like Urbanspoon and others will help people make a decision about whether they choose your establishment or the one down the street. Are you in the home improvement business? Angie’s List is huge. Medical practitioners have similar sites as well.

When I worked retail, years ago before computers and the internet, the adage was that if you provided great service a customer would tell 2 people. If it was poor, they would tell 10 people. Today with social media, that 10 people turns into millions in some cases. You cannot afford that.

Negative reviews can be detrimental to your business. If they are not responded to in a timely manner they could be devastating. Make sure you are asking for your clients to provide positive reviews. The best time to do that is right after they express how satisfied they are with something you have just completed for them. Maybe you could even hold a contest to reward those who take the time to write a review for your business.

Need to talk more about this opportunity? Give me a call!

Social Media and Recruiting

Do you use social media for your recruiting and hiring efforts?

I recently helped Illinois workNet create a series of recordings and a webinar focusing on recruiting what works for youpractices using social media.  Check out all of the resources on the Social Media Guide.

Here are a few of the tips:

  1. Create a job posting on your website.
  2. Share the job posting link on your social media platforms.
  3. Ask your employees to share it to their network.
  4. Create a discussion in groups about your job posting.
  5. Participate on social media to build your company brand.
  6. Post items that will provide job seekers an idea of your corporate values and culture.
  7. Use social media to “check” applicants work history.

So frequently, we are reticent to implement change. Just one of the platforms could help you find the right person. It may even save you money.

Everyone knows that LinkedIn is the social media tool of choice when it comes to looking for jobs and looking for new employees. The resources I created help you with a few tips for blogging, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube. Also on LinkedIn, if you aren’t making use of the groups including the Illinois Virtual Job Club Network, you may be missing a valuable resource. If you aren’t already using these tools, investigate how you can. If you need more help than the brief tutorials offer, give me a call and I will help you establish a recruiting strategy.

Using a Boolean Search

How can you take advantage of a Boolean Search?

All of the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing let you enter keywords you select to find the topics you are researching. This works the same way in LinkedIn and many other platforms. If someone doesn’t know your name, but enters the words for things you provide, will they find you?

I do a great deal of work with job seekers. Since LinkedIn is my passion, it is only natural to spend time teaching job seekers how to make the most of their profile. One of the suggestions is to make sure that their profile is able to be found when the right string of keywords is entered into the search parameters.What are your keywords?

When teaching hands-on LinkedIn classes, I demonstrate how recruiters may enter six or seven keywords to limit the number of search results they obtain when seeking candidates. The goal the recruiter is seeking is 3-6 people who have all of recruiters keywords entered in their profile. You can use this same technique searching for a recruiter or a potential client.

I recently found this article from Beyond.com about using the various Boolean search patterns. While this article was written for job seekers, it is transferable to business owners to understand how someone may find them when doing a search. I don’t want to start an entire discussion on SEO, but understanding how Boolean search works will help you make sure that the right keywords are listed on your various webpages and social media profiles.

Please contact me if I can assist you with your LinkedIn personal or company profile. I am happy to consult with you in-person or through a webinar to help you optimize your LinkedIn or social media presence.

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