Get More Google Reviews to Grow Your Online Presence

Positive Google Reviews can really impact your business.  These independent ratings of your business can increase your credibility and pique the interest of Google searchers when they see your high marks online. Research shows that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation (Bright Local 2018). Because Google is one of the most utilized and trusted search engines, it’s more important than ever to utilize their Reviews.

As you probably know, when you perform a search in Google, the results page will show any businesses that have a Google My Business listing. In this listing, you can profile your contact information, photos, news and gather customer reviews.

One of the greatest benefits of Google Reviews is how they can boost your local search engine ranking. Google favors businesses that have frequent and positive reviews on their Google My Business listing. Additionally, there are no fees associated with leaving or responding to a Google Review.  Great reviews are positive endorsements or free advertising for your business.

How to Get Great Reviews

Come up with a strategy for collecting positive Google Reviews. Consider all the ways you create great experiences and outcomes for your clients and how you can be proactive about securing reviews from them.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Personally Request the Review

Did you just have a great client interaction in your store? Or maybe you’ve spent months on a client project that surpassed its goals? These are great opportunities to personally ask (in person or by phone) for a Google Review. 

2. Add a Google Review Link in Your Email Signature

If you regularly communicate with clients via email and feel confident that your reviews will be positive, add a request and link in your email signature. 

3. Ask Partners and Vendors for Reviews

Business partners and established vendors can attest to what it’s like to work with you. Exchange Reviews to help each other’s SEO and visibility.

Create Your Google Review Link

Clients may be willing to give you that great online review, but you need to make it easy for them. Here are the steps to create a direct link to your Google Review form:

1. Search for your business name in Google

2. Find your Business Listing on the right-hand side of the Google search results page and click on ‘Write a Review’

3. Once the Google Review box pops us, copy the url from the address bar.

4. This is most likely a very long url. Go to www.tinyurl.com to shorten it into a concise link.

Make it a strategic part of your sales and marketing processes to ask happy customers to review your business. Great Google ratings will go a long way in improving your digital presence.

Have questions or need help with your Google My Business Listing or Reviews? Contact Jocelyn Murray for help today. 

Grand Opening Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business

When done right, grand openings can be big attention-getters and can properly introduce your business to the community. A successful grand opening event can effectively launch your company and positively impact your bottom line.

But it takes hard work, preparation and strategic promotions to make a grand opening work.  Here are some marketing activities and ideas to help you make that happen:

Local PR

Write and distribute a press release to the local media to announce your new business and the grand opening event.  Can you put a unique spin on your business and grand opening to get the attention of the press? What will be happening at your launch that will make it an event to remember?

If a celebrity appearance, flash mob, a parade or something really unique is part of your event, let your local radio and TV stations know. A remote broadcast could happen!

In addition to a press release, send media alerts to local reporters inviting them to come to the grand opening. Let them know the day’s schedule of events and which key people (owners, managers, chefs, celebrities, etc.) they can interview. Have media kits including copies of your press release, brochures, bios, etc. available for distribution.

Your Online Presence 

It’s a given that your business’ new website should be up and running well in advance of the grand opening with all the event details posted on the homepage.

Set up your business’ social media pages in advance of your grand opening to build the online buzz early. Develop a hashtag campaign on Twitter and Instagram to draw some attention to your event.  If you have Facebook followers, create an event and use FB’s paid advertising to promote it to a targeted local audience.  Remember to engage and interact with your social followers too.

Are there adjacent businesses, business partners or social media influencers who can promote your event to their followers? Connect with them early on to build mutually beneficial relationships.

Flyers, Postcards etc.

Even in this digital age, printed promotional materials are still a smart way to promote your event. Custom designed grand opening flyers can help you brand and advertise your new business the right way. In advance of your event, post flyers locally, hand them out or leave them behind at local businesses and residences.

Haven’t build up your local email list yet? Send oversize grand opening postcard mailers to businesses and residents in your zip code without purchasing a mailing list. The United States Post Office’s Every Door Direct Mail program lets you send a mailer to any targeted geographical area at postage prices as low as .18 cents per piece. In addition to geographic location, you can target audiences by age and income too.

Promoting your grand opening is a huge opportunity but it's a big undertaking. If it seems like more than you can take on with the launching of your new business, consider hiring a professional!

5 Tips for Managing Social Media When You Have Limited Time

With the massive number of people actively participating in online social media platforms, it's become a necessity for your business to get organized with your social media marketing.  As social media continues to change the way people communicate, it is an increasingly important tool for small businesses.

But where does a small business owner or manager find the time to create and post content and keep multiple social media profiles active?

Keeping up with social media for your businesses doesn’t have to mean a heavy time commitment.  Here are some tips to help:

1. What’s the Plan?

Every action you take on your social media platforms should be part of a larger strategy and plan. Define what you want to achieve on social media (ex: build your brand, increase sales through offers, drive traffic to a landing page, promote a new product line, etc.) and develop a strategy to get there.  If you map out a plan, the more effective you’ll be in its implementation.

2.  Create Content in Bulk

Set aside time once or twice a month to create your content. Follow industry keywords, relevant people in your industry or trending hashtags to keep up on the latest news.  Create your social posts from all the info you collect.  In addition to info and news about your products and services, offer valuable industry info to keep readers coming back.

3. Advanced Scheduling

Use automation to make your life easier. Who has time to post on multiple social sites daily? Schedule the bulk of your social posts in advance.  Facebook has a built-in scheduler. Just click the drop down button next to the Publish button to select the exact date and time when you want your post to publish.

Tools like Hootsuite and Buffer can connect to all your social media accounts so you can create and schedule posts for future dates. 

4. Share and Repost

Sharing, retweeting and reposting content from others will save time while providing strong content. But be sure that the content is related to your brand, products or services in some way and be sure that it offers value to your target audience/followers.

And save time by reposting some of your old content. Not all posts get read the first time around republish your evergreen content.

5. Hire an Expert

If you find that you just can’t keep up with social media, it might be time to hire a professional. Depending on your budget and goals, a freelancer or a marketing agency may help you better leverage social media to grow your business.

Email Marketing: The Top Marketing Tool for Small Businesses

Why Email is the Top Marketing Tool

Although email marketing might not get the praise that the latest social media platform does, it can have a far wider reach than all the social networks combined.  Email generates a significantly higher click-through rate and total return on investment.

If your business or nonprofit isn't emailing your clients, prospects, and donors regularly, you're missing out on an important marketing opportunity. Email is inexpensive, yet effective, simple to execute and ideal for small business marketing. With user-friendly tools like Constant Contact, you can easily develop newsletters, promotions, coupons, invitations, announcements and more.  

Here are some stats to confirm the importance of email in your marketing:

• Email gets delivered 90+% of the time

• For every $1 spent on email, there's a $44.25 average return on investment 

• 91% of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with. 

(sources: Direct Marketing Association, Marketing Sherpa)

The core of your business is about developing relationships with your clients and prospects.  By emailing quality content or emails with a purpose, you can manage and nurture those relationships and build your business too. 

Start working on your email campaigns today!  Or contact me at 203.377.9980 for help in creating and distributing your emails to maximize results.  

10 Twitter Best Practices to Grow your Business

Twitter is a strong social media network for driving traffic to your website and for finding and engaging with key people in your industry or community.  Here are ten easy-to-implement best practices, tactics and ideas to make the most of Twitter for your business.

1. Curate good content through original info and retweets.

2. Tweet or retweet 2-6 times daily, throughout the entire day.

3. Tweet outside business hours-- on weekends and in the evenings.

4. Include links in most tweets (to drive traffic to your website). Check to be sure the links aren't broken.

5. Use relevant, researched hashtags (two per tweet).

6. Include images in your tweets to get noticed.

7. Review your new followers regularly. Engage with influential people who have a strong network.

8. Create custom images for important stats and inspirational quotes (Use free tools such as recite.com, quozio.com or quotescover.com).

9. Comment, Retweet or Favorite relevant Tweets  of those who you are most interested in reading and those you want to follow you (create a list of people and organizations you want to interact with).

10. Engage and network with your key influencers (clients, prospects, journalists, community leaders).

Free PR Tools and Tips to Grow Your Business

Publicity is an easy way to expand your business' visibility and drive sales.  For budget-conscious small business owners, here are some free tools and useful tips that can help you implement successful public relations campaigns in no time!

Google Alerts

Google Alerts can be a powerful tool to stay on top of your business' online presence.  Set up Google Alerts to monitor your business, competition, or any industry topic that's important to you.  Google will send you an email when there's any mention of your query in an online news, blogs, discussions, etc. 

HARO

If you want to share your expertise while getting free PR, check out HARO. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) connects journalists with sources or experts for their stories.  Sign up (for free) to receive a daily email with  queries from reporters from all types of media.  Respond promptly to any applicable requests for a possible interview or direct quote. It's an easy way to get PR exposure for your brand or business. 

Twitter

Follow relevant journalists, reporters or bloggers on Twitter.  Put them in a list so you can easily filter them in your Twitter stream.  Check their posts to find out what they're researching or working on.  Alert reporters by sending them a @ message with a link to more information. Or send a Tweet to follow up on emails you've already sent to a particular reporter.  To spread your news, politely ask journalists or key influencers to retweet(RT) your news.

Connect with Reporters

Build a relationship with journalists by engaging with them on social media. Show them you're interested in what they write or publish by commenting or sharing their posts, article links, etc.  Know the topics, industries or geographic areas that each reporter covers.

Build a Plan

Plan our your publicity ideas and pitches for the year.  Look at the holidays, seasons, events and trends that drive your business and create pitches using them.  

Developing and executing your own PR takes time and considerable effort, but the exposure it brings your business will be worthwhile. 

Instagram as a Business Marketing Tool

Instagram is useful for reaching new audiences through images and short messages. It can be particularly helpful for reaching customers who prefer a visual form of communication. Instagram can be leveraged to create significant connections with customers and improve your brand's visibility. As a result, it can transform the interaction between individuals, brands and companies.

Here are some Instagram business tips to keep in mind:

1. Balance fun images with pictures about your business

Pictures on Instagram can give your followers insight into your company. Use Instagram to tell a story through various images and try to keep a similar theme that is consistent with your brand. Take advantage of the various filters and image editing applications to enhance your images so they are appealing to followers. Remember to track the engagement on your images to find what followers respond to the best.

2. Use hashtags   

A hashtag is simply a hash symbol (#) followed by a keyword or phrase, that is incorporated into social media posts. This makes your post available to anyone with the same interests, even if they are not your followers. Using a trending hashtag that goes along with your marketing strategy ensures you reach a larger viewership. A hashtag is a powerful tool to aid you in reaching your target audience and boost your brand awareness. Try to keep them relevant to your content and use branded hashtags to increase loyalty of your followers.  

3. Engage with followers

Engage by following your target audience and liking their photos. Crowdsource images, so your stream is not just of photos you took. These tactics help build meaningful relationships with followers. Also, Instagram should be about connecting with followers on levels beyond just trying to make a sale. Brands shouldn't just engage; they should also inspire.

4. Reward your followers

Give followers a first look or sneak peak preview of an event or product. Also, provide them with special promo codes and discounts for your products or services. Delivering incentives to your followers will make viewing your social media content a priority.

To make the most of Instagram, post consistently and avoid being too pushy with your brand or product. Show what people can do with your product rather than just showing the product itself. The best time to post on Instagram is from 5-6pm on weekdays and 8pm on Mondays with a sweet spot at 6:00 pm (Source: SumAll). According to an article by CyberAlert, the reorganization of Google+ into separate services signals its downfall. Therefore, Instagram can be an alternative marketing tool for Google+ users.
  

Market your Business with Facebook Offers

Businesses can share discounts and coupons with their prospects and customers by posting an Offer on their Facebook Page.  Offers are a great way for small businesses to engage with existing or new audiences to drive sales.  Your Page must have at least 50 Likes in order to create an Offer.

Facebook suggests that you should carefully consider your Offer's value, headline and the image you use. If people don’t understand your offer or think it looks like spam, they might hide it from News Feed, mark it as spam or unlike your Page.

Sample Facebook Offers

Offers used to be only available to brick and mortar businesses but now any business can use them.  Here's a sample discount offer from Macy's that you may have seen in your News Feed:

When someone claims an offer, they'll receive an email in their Inbox about it.

Use an Offer to promote a FREE giveaway in exchange for users’ email address. This offer directs people to a custom landing page that allows users to enter their email in order to get the PDF download.

How to Create a Facebook Offer

Go to the status update box on your Facebook Page and choose Offer.

1. Create a Title and Description for your Offer

2. Add an Image

3. Set the Offer's expiration date and any limit on the number of Offers you want to make available.

4. Choose your audience. Click "Not Now"  and your offer will appear on your Page to your Fans only. Or choose a dollar amount and your Offer will appear to a new custom audience (specify location, gender, age or interests).

The more Likes, Shares and comments your Offer gets, the more likely it is to show up in the News Feed.  Happy "Offer"ing!

Results Marketing: How to Make Your Marketing Materials Work Harder for your Business

Your customers and prospects are savvy buyers but they're bombarded by tons of marketing messages from vendors like you. Your success as a small business can hinge on the quality of your marketing materials (brochures, Web sites, newsletters, blogs, etc.) and how well they communicate the benefits of your products or services.

Mistakes to Avoid

Many marketing pieces don't work well because they are written from the company's perspective and not from the buyer's. Your potential customers are interested in finding out "what's in it for them?". What problem will you be solving, what process will you make easier, or what benefit will the customer derive from doing business with you? Keep it simple, straightforward and avoid industry jargon or overly complicated explanations.

While your marketing materials may be well written, if they're poorly designed, it may render them difficult to read , unattractive and useless. Smart design and good layout can make a positive first impression and make the material easier to read. All materials, from your Web site to sales flyers, should be complimentary in their look and feel and convey that they're part of the same "family". Include the cost of professional design services into your marketing budget.

Never overlook opportunities that allow you to build credibility or to become a source of knowledge in your marketplace. Try writing and submitting articles to an industry magazine on hot topics. Or provide your prospect and client databases with a monthly newsletter of tips, links and useful information. By providing consistent advice or information you'll quickly become an expert in your market.

Tips to Follow

Well written, effective marketing tools that reflect your business' branding can be a big asset. In addition to staying away from the problems listed above, here are a few tips to keep in mind in order to create winning marketing materials:

1) Know your target audience and speak directly to them Have a clear and concise understanding of who your ideal customers are, their likes, dislikes, attitudes and behaviors. This knowledge will help you improve your marketing focus and communication effectiveness.

2) Sell benefits, not features One marketing expert said it best: "Why is it better to offer problem-solving information than a straight sales pitch? Because nobody who bought a drill wanted a drill. They wanted a hole." Selling solutions or ways to solve problems is the key to compelling marketing or sales copy. Put yourself in your clients' shoes and imagine what information they would be interesting in hearing about your products or services. Eliminate the word "we" from your copy and include plenty of "you" and "your".

3) Include a call to action Never assume that prospects will take action without being prompted. Always include a call to action throughout your copy, whether it's on your Web site, in a print ad or brochure. Your call to action can be as simple as "Call today", "Hurry, offer expires soon" or offering a free gift if prospects act by a certain date.

Don't undervalue the power of your marketing materials. When done right, the results can really make a difference for your business.

Create Business Connections on Google+

So you have a Google+ Account? Now what?
Be sure to create a profile including your name, occupation, and education, along with your interests and places you have lived. Having a complete profile will increase interactions for you and will make it much easier for other Google+ users to find you. Use the “Suggestions” found in the right hand column to discover more people you are likely to know or share similar interests with.

Create differentiated content – don’t simply post the same things that you post on Twitter and Facebook. Remember to play to your company’s strengths and do something different to gain the attention of other users

It is important to spend some time commenting and “+’ing” on the streams of people that you would like to create connections with. Become an active member of Google+. The more you partake in Google+, the most other users will “Circle” you and start sharing content with you.

Google+ Local Substitutes Google Places
Google recently announced that it is replacing Google Places with Google+ Local pages. Consumers now have the ability to view more in-depth local business data, along with Zagat ratings, for a richer Google search experience. It will also offer Google+ users the ability to submit their own reviews and view what places their friends are visiting.

This new version allows local businesses to upload photos that will show up on the Map, along with special offers to invite users to visit their company.

5 Tips for Using Google+
1.    Build circles, big and small
2.    Create a memorable “About” Tab (so that more people add you to their circle)
3.    Join as many Hangouts as possible
4.    Give attention-grabbing posts a “+1” (so you can meet new people who share the same interests)
5.    Honor your clients and customers, rather than only promoting your business

Looking for Local Publicity? Check out Patch.com

By now many of you may be getting your local news at Patch.com. Owned by AOL, Patch covers news in almost half the states in the US including Connecticut.

Find out if there's a Patch in your town or in the towns where you do business. They are looking for community news, local events, calendar items and many are soliciting columns written by local residents. They also welcome photos and videos.
Read the news at your Patch site regularly and email your Patch editor when you have information about something going on in your community. Got some exciting business news like the opening of a new store, an upcoming seminar or the launch of a new product? Let your Patch know! Their popularity is growing so much, they're giving the community weeklies and some daily papers a run for their money!

The Marketing Power of Public Speaking for Small Businesses

As a small business, everyone's trying to jump on the social media bandwagon and maximize their online presence. While's it's a smart move, don't forget the value of "in person" connections and presentations. What better way to reach your prospects and customers than to present your knowledge and expertise to them? Giving lectures, talks, seminars and presenting at industry trade shows sounds intimidating but it's one of the more effective ways to build your credibility and market your business.

Choose a topic related to your business or industry that you know your own customers would be interested in learning more about. Provide tips, tricks, "top ten" lists and other useful information on the topic. Position yourself as the expert but avoid turning your presentation into a sales pitch for your product or services.

Now that you know your topic and the benefits it will offer your potential audience, contact your local Chamber of Commerce, industry associations, professional and business groups. These groups are generally open to hearing free speakers who present quality content. Try to assess which groups make up your primary target market and go after them first!

After you've given a confident and informative lecture, always take time to answer questions and network with the people who attend. Connecting with them personally can lead to referrals, news business or simply great feedback.