brand management

How to Make Local Search Work for Multi-Location Brands

by SEO Savvy August 26th, 2014

Multi-location brands that integrate local focused marketing into their existing marketing strategy may enjoy a 10-15% revenue increase, according to a new report released by Local Vox. The report also cautions that pay-per-click (PPC) ads alone may not get the job done. In fact, only 2% of local businesses found PPC ads to be effective on the local level, behind even radio and TV advertising. Multi-location brands should integrate local SEO best practices with localized content marketing and mobile optimization in order to directly connect with target customers on a local level.

Is your business prepared to use a local marketing strategy to drive traffic and brand awareness at individual store locations? Here’s how to make local search work for your business:

 #1: Build awareness with localized content marketing.

Localizing content so that it is authentic and relevant is the primary challenge for multi-location businesses. Managing manual content production on a localized basis can be a daunting task. Successfully doing so, however, is key to standing out from the competition. Sending blast emails or using your local Facebook page to only promote in-store sales is short selling the potential of real localized content marketing. Instead, start by building a narrative and genuine dialogue with consumers in the local community by understanding and connecting with their wants and needs.

#2: Drive new customers with local search optimization.

Local search requires a different approach than national search optimization. The local SEO approach should be focused around location-based pages on your site and include external sites like Google+, Yelp, Facebook, and other online business directory pages that support location tagging. If you have not done so already, claim your Google+ location listing. While 88% of local mobile searches convert to a phone call or visit within 24 hours, 70% of Google+ Local pages are unclaimed, according to Local Vox. Worse, over half of all business listings have Name, Address and Phone errors across their business pages, a sure-fire way to hurt your local search presence. Once you have claimed your company pages on the top local business directory sites, confirm that all the listing information is correct down the last computer character.

#3: Prioritize location pages on your website.

Optimize your website for local search by creating location-specific pages with location-specific keywords and schema markup. Monitor analytics to see how your location-based pages are performing in different search results. Understanding this data will help your business better identify opportunities for improved engagement through localized content marketing and social media. The right data enables your business to effectively execute a local focused marketing strategy.

#4: Mobile friendly web design.

Finally, don’t forget to have a mobile-friendly website! Don’t force your customers to pinch and zoom on a smartphone in order to find the information they need about your business. A responsive or mobile version of your website is important for user experience and driving organic mobile search traffic.

 

The Awkward Auto Respond: How To Avoid a Twitter Slip-Up

by Rebecca Bleznak July 31st, 2014

Automated social media tools can take the guesswork out of your social media strategy and save you time to focus on the big picture, right? This is certainly true, but it’s important to make sure a dedicated human being is still monitoring your automated social media processes. Even big name brands goof up from time to time, and sometimes these errors come from an over reliance on apps and the lack of a dedicated staffer to provide a human touch to your digital footprint.

Tools You Can Use…With Caution

Using apps to stay on top of your Twitter notifications can seem like the perfect time-saving solution, but keep in mind that using this can open a Pandora’s box of reputation management concerns. Many users report that automated direct messages (DMs) can feel like spam, so limit your messages to friendly greetings with no sales language at all. If you can, avoid mentioning the product or service altogether and stick with a simple “Hello and thank you!”

If you need to keep up with a high volume of followers and decide to use a tool to automate your responses, ShoutMELoud offers a round up of 4 social media tools. Of the 4 tools they cover, Twitter DMer may be your best bet, because it will customize your automatic DM to include a few details from the person’s account to give the message a more personalized feel.

Beware the Robot Reply

When it comes to interacting outside of private messages however, use caution when allowing an auto responder to do your social media marketing work for you. Several high profile companies have given us all a master class in what not to do when using social media tools. Media Bistro reports major snafus from Oreo, Bank of America, and, in one of the most infamous cases, insurance giant Progressive, who coldly auto responded nearly 20 times to users expressing concern over the way the company handled a claim following someone’s death. In addition, your auto responder likely won’t be able to weed out legitimate customers from “trolls,” so if you leave your replies in the hands of a machine, you may find your account responding to parody accounts and users with offensive usernames which can affect your brand identity.

As a general rule of thumb, avoid auto replies. Always keep a live person responsible for monitoring Twitter, especially during high traffic or high stress moments. A real person on the end of that tweet might take more time, but it can make a world of difference in preserving your online reputation. And, after all, customers are more likely to trust a brand that personalizes their content for authentic communication. Stick to scheduling your tweets, following a pre-approved list of responses and content calendar, and ask for advice when you’re unsure of how to reply to a particular customer or situation.

Reviews, Comments, and Tweets: Managing Your Online Brand

by SEO Savvy July 22nd, 2014

The opportunities for online engagement between customers and companies has opened up within the last decade, which means the work of reputation management has become more complicated. Review sites, blogs, and social media platforms allow customers to amplify their opinions far and wide. Great reviews and feedback can mean a major boost in sales, but bad press doesn’t have to be a death sentence. If you play your cards right, a savvy response to a customer’s complaint can get more mileage than even the most carefully planned SEO or social marketing campaign.

Review Dos and Don’ts

While reviews appear on various online business profile sites like Angie’s List and Google Plus Local, Yelp is the most trusted authority in the customer review world. They recommend that business owners maintain and improve their online reputation by responding to customer complaints and regularly updating their content. Keep your comments positive and solution-oriented, and strive to maintain a consistent voice in your response to each and every customer. This may mean having a dedicated person on staff to manage your account, or simply creating clear, well crafted, consistent “template(s)” for responding to reviews.

Though it may be tempting – especially if you’re just getting started – to fudge the truth, you should always avoid soliciting positive reviews. Yelp works hard to make sure that all reviews are genuine. But feel free to display your Yelp badge and offer Yelp-approved incentives, including deals and discounts for customers who find your business through Yelp.

Selectively Social: Managing Tweets, Blogs, and Facebook Feedback

Customer feedback and online interaction can be great for improving your business and online rep, but be sure to heed the hard lessons learned from businesses who were a bit too upfront on social media. Forbes Magazine notes the many missteps made by Amy’s Baking Company, the small business that achieved their 15 minutes of fame after a brief and vicious turn on a reality TV show. Viewers took to the company’s social media platform to offer commentary on their rude business practices, and instead of using the opportunity to do damage control, the company continued to “feed the trolls.” Where they could have simply responded calmly and apologetically, or just walked away for a little while until their tempers cooled, employees from Amy’s Baking Company lashed out with insults, effectively placing the nail in their reputation’s coffin.

While this was a particularly extreme situation, it’s not uncommon to be faced with rude or otherwise negative comments online. The key is to stay on top of your notifications for Twitter, Facebook, and your company’s blog. Respond quickly and professionally to legitimate complaints, but refrain from engaging publicly with those who are clearly determined to find something wrong wherever they go (see this infographic from Smart Insights on how to identify the kind of customer you’re dealing with).

A recent survey from Sprout Social reports that business respond on average only 11% to 28% of the time they received a notification. Remember that managing your brand through reviews and comments is a customer service role. By working to respond more frequently, you can pull ahead of the pack and stop negative online attacks in their tracks.

 

 

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