Keeping up with your online exposure is vital to your business. Even though it’s a huge benefit, it doesn’t have to be a huge task!
Here are some things to do that will go a long way for your business’ reputation online:
- Optimize your Google+ page.
Make sure you have updated hours, photos and posts. Update your page regularly, and have a relevant description and list of services offered.
- Let’s start with hours. It’s important for customers and potential customers to know your hours. They need to know when to contact you and when you can complete a service for them.
- Photos should be up-to-date and relevant. Make your business more personable by posting photos of yourself or your co-workers completing work for someone. Post before and after photos of your work to showcase what a great job you do! It’s important to post photos that have to do with the business itself, including your logo so it becomes recognizable to people.
- Posts on your page should be relevant, but they don’t always have to be about your business specifically. Even if you just post articles that pertain to what you do, or funny memes or videos that relate to your industry, that still keeps visitors engaged. Of course, if you are running a special or you have a new service, or it’s the perfect time of year for your services, let your posts revolve around that! You don’t want to post too much, but enough to keep your page relevant online. Typically about once a week is best practice.
- Have an updated description on your page that includes a list of the services you offer. Make sure customers know everything that you specialize in and all that you can help them with. Give a little background about your business, include the year the business was founded and what certifications you have. This doesn’t need to be too long, because you want to keep the customer’s attention. Give them the facts and a brief overview, and then tell them to call for more information!
- Respond to posts & reviews on your social pages.
Respond professionally and in a helpful manner to all posts and reviews left of your social pages. It’s just as important to thank a happy customer for giving you feedback, as it is to address an issue or complaint that somebody has. Respond to questions in a timely manner and use more than just one-word answers!
- When someone leaves a positive review or comment, make sure you thank him or her. This doesn’t have to be a big post, just a simple, “Thanks for your kind words!” or, “Thanks for the feedback!” will do. Don’t let a happy customer go unnoticed and unacknowledged.
- Respond to negative posts and reviews professionally and calmly. Your business is extremely important to you, but it’s vital that you come across as kind, understanding and calm. Be helpful and give the upset customer a way to contact you to fix the issue! Make the response short and sweet, something like, “We apologize for the issues and we’d love to make it right! Please give us a call at (555) 555-5555 so we can help.” Remember, everyone who views your online reviews can see your response, not just the upset customer; don’t go too much into detail in the response.
- If a customer leaves a question as a post on your social page, or sends you a message, respond quickly and efficiently. For example, if the customer asks, “Are you open on President’s Day?” Instead of just responding with, “Yes.” Respond with more information, something like, “Yes, we are. We are open from 10-8. Thank you!” It really doesn’t take much extra time, but it shows that you care about their question and you are doing your best to address it and answer it completely.
- Make your business information available on as many platforms as possible.
While Facebook and Google are the most popular social pages, they’re not the only place customers will look. Make sure you are showing up on as many online directories and search engines as possible. You want to be visible to all customers, at all times, no matter where they search. Create aesthetically pleasing listings, full of information, on as many online platforms as possible. - Include your logo on all listings.You want to make sure your logo is showing up frequently, to ensure people remember it. When they think of your line of business, you want your logo to be the first thing that pops into their mind! Your logo needs to be recognizable so your business becomes something people feel that they can trust. The best way to accomplish this is to make sure your logo is visible online, and in as many places as possible. Have an image of your logo uploaded to all of the online listings you create for your business.
Remember, this can all be done over time and doesn’t have to be completed today! These are important tips to keep in mind when creating your online exposure, and as long as you’re increasing and optimizing, you are progressing!
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter.