Overcome Negative Reviews: The Review Response Formula

Online Reviews have become a core component of the digital profile for local businesses. Potential customers will read, on average, 10 online reviews for an individual local business before making a decision to become a patron. Many businesses, however, fear opening themselves up to online reviews due to concerns about negative reviews. It may seem like not listing your business would prevent receiving reviews online, but not being part of the process will actually put your local business at a disadvantage.

Negative reviews will happen for any business, but they don’t need to be the downfall of a business online. Instead, take control of the process, by actively managing and responding to them. There are a few basic steps to handling negative reviews so that your business may receive to get the best outcome from it every time – just follow LocalVox’s Review Response Formula.

Claim your profiles or listings

Before you can start responding to reviews, you have to claim your business listing. Even if you have not created the listing, your business has probably already be added to major platforms (often by a customer). Therefore, claiming your profiles and listings is critical in order to take control of your social reputation. If you are a new business, and your business location has yet to be listed, it’s also easy to set up your new profiles.

Major platforms that your business needs to be listed on, and monitored, include Yelp, Google (through Google My Business) and Facebook. Beyond searches directly within the networks, listings within these top platforms appear in search engine results, where consumers are regularly looking for review and business information.

Once your listings are claimed, you can then take control of your profile, and begin to actively respond to all reviews, directly influencing consumer opinions about your business.

Step 1: Recognize the issue

Negative reviews almost always follow a negative experience, but are not written out of spite, but rather because these customers do not feel they were heard by the local business. Even if you do not feel your business did anything wrong in the interaction, you first step is to acknowledge that the customer did not have a satisfactory experience and that you are sorry for that.

This does not mean you are admitting any particular fault, but that you empathize with their experience. Beginning every response to a negative review with an apology and a recognition of the issue often goes a long way in helping to overcome it.

Take a look at how Chop Shop Casual Urban Eatery, a 4 1/2 Yelp star rated restaurant in Denver (with over 323 reviews after having been in business for a year and a half) responds to a negative review. They immediately apologize and show empathy for the customer:

Step 2: Respond succinctly and politely

The second part of a negative review response is being straightforward, yet polite in your response. While it might be difficult to keep a level head about your reply, because it feels like your business is being attacked, the last thing you want to do is exacerbate the issue, especially in a public forum.  The more defensive you are in a response, the less likely any response will appear sincere and you further limit the likelihood that negative review could become a positive one.

Therefore, after your acknowledgment and apology, you want to politely address the specific issue and, if possible, offer any resolution you are able to.

Honda of Thousand Oaks’ (California) Facebook Page has 452 likes and has received a 4.4 out of 5 stars from 31 reviews on the social network. They aim to resolve every issue they receive, like this one:

Step 3: Move the conversation offline

The last part of the equation is to take the conversation offline to resolve the issue. Give each reviewer the ability to contact you further about a situation that’s not in the public eye. This may be a Facebook message, Yelp message or an email to a stated email address.

By taking the conversation offline you can find out more details and most importantly take any heated public forum out of the equation. An offline conversation also gives you a direct access line to correct and further resolve the issues.  Offline resolutions are often then reflected online – and the negative review could even become a positive one! 33% of negative reviews that are responded to turn positive.

Edgar Snyder & Associates, located in Pittsburgh, PA, has 16 reviews on Google with a 4.6 out of 5-star rating, they recently responded to a review, quickly sharing information on how they can resolve the situation offline:

Follow our formula

Take a look a LocalVox’s Review Response Formula for all local businesses to keep in mind when managing their social reputation.

Review Response Formula for Negative Reviews from LocalVox

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Consumers will be looking at your online reviews, it’s just a part of not only online marketing, but an aspect of being in business in this day and age. With 79% of consumers trusting online reviews as much as a personal recommendation it’s important that your local business is taking negative reviews seriously and responding to them quickly and appropriately.

It’s important to take the time to not only reach out to negative reviewers but all reviewers and additionally, every comment on social networks (an extension of reviews and customer communication). By using a tool like LocalVox Social, you can have one easy to manage to-do list of social tasks to tackle every day, never letting a review or social comment slip through the cracks again.

How do you tackle negative reviews? Let us know how our Review Response Formula will affect your strategy in the comments below.

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The post Overcome Negative Reviews: The Review Response Formula appeared first on LocalVox.

from LocalVox » Local Marketing Blog http://localvox.com/blog/review-response-formula-for-negative-reviews/
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Understanding Twitter Analytics

For many local businesses, Twitter has quickly become a foundational component of your social media marketing strategy, as it’s a great way to connect and engage directly with your local customers. For just over a year, Twitter has provided users the ability to dig deeper into their profiles, and gain a greater understanding of their audience, but it’s a feature that many businesses are still not aware of.

Start learning more about your Twitter profile through data provided directly from the source: Twitter Analytics. From Top Tweets to engagement rates, link clicks and retweet statistics, all the way to demographic information about your followers, the analytical dashboard offers a variety of information to help you better refine your twitter message and follower engagement strategy.

To get to Twitter Analytics you can go to analytics.twitter.com or to your Twitter homepage and click on your profile picture on the upper right-hand side. A drop down will give you some options, select “Analytics” and it will open up your Twitter analytics in another window.

Now that you found Twitter Analytics, learn how to use this data to inform you your Twitter social media strategy:

Understanding Twitter Analytics from LocalVox

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The New Customer Journey: Think Local, Act Mobile

As widely predicted, mobile took 2015 by storm, with mobile searches surpassing desktop search on Google for the first time. It’s now more important than ever for local businesses to make mobile marketing a top priority in your 2016 online marketing strategy.

The more you can connect with consumers where they are looking, the more opportunities you have to capture their business. When crafting your 2016 local business marketing strategy, you need to keep the customer journey in mind, and make it as easy as possible for them to discover and connect with your local business, and the place to do this is mobile. According to Google’s “Mobile Path to Purchase” study, 93% of people who use a mobile device for research go on to make a purchase.

We’ve outlined the top 3 strategies your local business should consider to connect and engage with consumers through mobile devices in the coming year.

Local Business Mobile Marketing Tactic 1: Utilize text message marketing

SMS messaging / text messaging is becoming an increasingly common and effective way for small businesses to connect with consumers. Whether it is sending out promotions, special offers, or reminders and confirmations for appointments, SMS is a great tool to quickly and easily connect you with consumers and give them an immediate reason to head to your location.

Text messaging is also a great way to help supplement your normal call-to-action. For example, if you have trouble getting customers to show up for appointments, send a reminder;  if in-store promotions are your most effective marketing tactic to drive business, send out a message that highlights your in-store special.

One thing to remember is that customers must “opt-in” to receive SMS marketing messages, but with a good enrollment strategy, and a mindful plan to use the channel effectively (and most critically, to resist the temptation to overuse it), SMS can be a strong additional to your overall mobile engagement plan.

AMC Theaters is a great example of a company who uses text message marketing effectively, starting with double checks on consent.

Local Business Mobile Marketing Tactic 2: Optimize for the mobile inbox

Ever since Blackberry made email on your smartphone mainstream, the inbox had moved outside of the desktop experience, and continues to be one of the most widely used features of every mobile phone user.  With this popularity, it’s important that your local business mobile marketing strategy includes responsive emails that can easily be read both on the desktop and a smart device.

Elements of a mobile-friendly email are:

• Responsive design
• 35-character limit on subject lines
• Alt attributes for images
• Single-column layout
• Call-to-action (CTA) buttons are finger-friendly (for clumsy thumbs)

Keep your message focused and your emails uncluttered with unnecessary links, images or additional CTAs.

Local Business Mobile Marketing Tactic 3: Be found in local search

Of all the mobile marketing strategies for local businesses, the most critical is discovery through local search. Local searches on a mobile device drive customers directly to your business. There are a number of tactics to ensure discovery through mobile searches, including proper business listing management and Google Maps optimization – but the most important is to ensure your website is mobile friendly. Google shared their guidelines for a mobile-optimized site, putting special emphasis on videos and redirects for mobile websites. Putting these tactics to use will drive you higher in local search rankings.

Not only will a mobile-optimized site help you in mobile search, but for desktop search as well, getting you in front of consumers no matter where they are searching.

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To learn more about local business mobile marketing:

Join our webinar Thursday, December 17th and discover how to create and implement a 2016 online marketing strategy, which will include additional mobile marketing tips. Register today!

By creating a strong local business mobile marketing strategy for 2016, you set your business up for success, as mobile continues to grow as the top source of contact for consumers.

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The post The New Customer Journey: Think Local, Act Mobile appeared first on LocalVox.

from LocalVox » Local Marketing Blog http://localvox.com/blog/customer-journey-local-business-mobile-marketing/
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Live Streaming for Business: How to Use Meerkat and Periscope

The latest social media networks — Periscope and Meerkat — take video to the next level with live streaming services. Many business owners and managers initially think, “it’s cool, but I can’t use this for my business’s online marketing.” However, in reality live streaming video services are a great way for businesses to reach an audience that is unable to interact with you in person.

While video marketing is often intimidating for small businesses, live streaming for business is a good way to dip your toes in the water before jumping in. Live streaming video networks don’t require you to have any professional filming equipment to create interesting videos that others find interesting — all you need is a smartphone or tablet.

Keep reading for ideas and easy ways to market your business to online consumers by using live streaming.

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LIVE STREAMING FOR BUSINESS IDEA

Share events in real-time

Sharing events in real-time with your online community will increase the connection they feel to your business. The ability to attend a live event that your business video streams adds a human element to your brand and makes people feel like they are actually part of the event. Yes, you read that right, using live video streaming services will make your online community a part of your event!

Live streaming video services have a similar effect as live tweeting at an event, except your audience can ask questions and make comments throughout the video (and you can respond to them).

Rick Hernandez, a realtor for Bohemian Realty in New York City, is a great example of how a business can use live streaming video services for an event and connect with a larger audience. Hernadez has seen great results using Periscope for business because it helps him reach buyers and renters by hosting virtual open houses, or “ScOpen Houses” as he likes to call them.

The New York City real estate market is very competitive, both for residents and real estate companies. To give his real estate company and listings a competitive edge, Hernandez’s ScOpen House brings his product (an apartment) to clients so that they don’t have to physically be at the apartment to take a tour. He walks through different aspects of the homes and answers questions along the way.

Hernandez’s Periscope videos are a shining example of how to make a simple Periscope that gets results. Using live streaming videos has opened up Hernandez’s real estate business to a larger audience who might not be able to take time off work or who live out of town and are looking to move to New York City.

What’s even better is that once Hernadez’s ScOpen House is over, the content of the video doesn’t just disappear — he can continue sharing his ScOpen House, garnering even more interest in his properties. Hernandez also uses hashtags very effectively, amplifying his Periscope marketing strategy by reaching people searching on those keywords.

You don’t have to be a real estate company to use live streaming video for your local business. A hairdresser may show a cutting or dying technique on a client (with their permission), answering questions and giving tips along the way. A car dealership could show the latest cars on their lot, talking about the features of each and including a deal they are running.

Whatever type of event you choose, the fact remains that live streaming businesses reach more people online and create stronger connections by humanizing a business.

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LIVE STREAMING FOR BUSINESS IDEA

Go behind the scenes

Don’t have an “event” to share?

Show people things they never get to see — something behind the scenes!

There is a reason why the TV show “How It’s Made?” is so popular: people are fascinated by going behind the scenes (where they aren’t normally allowed) and learning what goes into the creation of a product/service. Using live streaming video is your chance to show them.

For example, a local retailer could show all the work that goes into creating floor displays or what the back room actually looks like (versus what customers think is back there). A restaurant could show all the before preparation that is done before they actually open for the day — or what is done before one plate is served.

Live streaming is a great way to give customers a behind the scene look at something they normally wouldn’t be able to access, while also adding another item you can recycle on your social media content calendar.

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LIVE STREAMING FOR BUSINESS IDEA

Drive repeat views with “How to’s”

If you’re still not sure how a business can use Periscope and Meerkat, remember that every business has an area of expertise and is the master of a product/service. A “How to” guide is a great place to start for your first video when using Periscope or Meerkat for business.

Unlike a YouTube video that may require extra production help to create and market online, live video streaming makes your business more accessible to consumers so you can create more personal relationships. Live streaming videos put less value on a fantastically produced video and more value on your actual knowledge, making it one of the best ways to grow a small business.

Any local business can share their knowledge in a “How to” video that is live streamed on social media networks. A bar can share a tip on how to make a specialty drink, a general contractor can give a quick tutorial on how to put a shelf up by yourself and, if you don’t have an office, “homepreneurs” can add a little fun to their social media voice by showcasing their coworkers (the kiddos or fido).

While certain activities may seem minor to you, consumers will find them valuable. If someone has plans to do a live streaming video of how to replace a dryer belt, I would definitely join because I need to do that — and I have no idea how!

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LIVE STREAMING FOR BUSINESS IDEA

Product demos and tutorials

Along the same lines as “How to” videos, giving your audience a demo of your product is a great way to draw in viewers who need more guidance than just a the standard tutorial photo and website copy.

By giving a demo of your product on a real-time video broadcast, you will show customers exactly how to use it correctly. In addition, the unrehearsed and “real” aspect of Periscope and Meerkat will give viewers the impression that your product is really easy to use.

For high tech and niche businesses, showing potential clients how easy your product is to use is an important part of the sales process. By using live streaming video services, you can demonstrate the product’s ease of use and let your client witness how the technology works in real-time via a product demo.

For example, a software startup that creates technology for oil and gas companies to optimize energy production can use live streaming video services to give potential clients live tutorials or even hold training sessions for existing ones. Teaching someone something of value is a sure-fire way to position your business as an industry expert.

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LIVE STREAMING FOR BUSINESS IDEA

Live Q&A sessions

Periscope and Meerkat both offer businesses a convenient and simple way to talk to customers by hosting live Q&A sessions — while also positioning your company as an expert.

The ability to think quickly on your feet, a fundamental aspect of live streaming videos, will show customers that your knowledge is better than any customer support webpage or pre-recorded video. If your pre-recorded videos get a lot of traction on sites like Facebook and YouTube, you can always break down your live streaming video into chunks and upload them to different sites.

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Expand your local business to a new social network and start sharing your expertise (and content) in a slightly different way, by live video streaming your business events, background or expertise. Not only will this help you connect with a community online, it gives you a chance to have continued visual content available online to share on social media and on your website.

Start integrating Periscope or Meerkat into your social media strategy by scheduling campaigns around each video before and after they are live-streamed through LocalVox Social. Be able to not only schedule articles by respond to comments and replies easily and quickly–no matter the social network. Check out LocalVox Social today.

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from LocalVox » Local Marketing Blog http://localvox.com/blog/live-streaming-for-business/
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Why Your Local Business Needs Online Listings

The easiest and most effective way to dip your toe into the waters of online marketing is by using the basic marketing tactic — online listings!

The phrase “online directory listings” may give you flashbacks to receiving a Yellow Pages or White Pages phone book on your doorstep (which you still keep in your kitchen drawer — just in case) and, while it does provide you with the same information, the digital version is a great way for online consumers to find your local business and take action.

Online listings make local businesses more visible on the Internet — if all the information is correct — by feeding the information to major search engines, like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Every online listing gives your local business the opportunity to:

1. Be found by customers
2. Increase your search optimization by giving you a credibility on search engines

With 59% of consumers using Google every month to locate a local business, it is crucial that all your directory listings have consistent and accurate information on online directories so you can increase your search ranking. An increased search ranking will lead to more clicks from customers.

Online listings help your local business stand out from the crowd and compete with eCommerce businesses and big box stores by boosting your SEO and increasing your visibility.

Online listings help you compete

Local businesses compete with other companies of all shapes and sizes and they have to do it all with a tight budget. By claiming and optimizing your online listings you not only control the content (such as address, phone and hours), but you also guarantee that each of your listings are consistent (giving you more power with search engine algorithms vs. your competitors).

But search engines aren’t always the only place people search for businesses.

Remember that phone book you have?

When you can’t find a business online, you might turn to that phone book. Others will look there first, simply out of habit. People already have a go-to place they look for businesses, such as their local Chamber of Commerce, specific directories or popular ones, such as Yelp.

All of these different directories and online listings provide a plethora of places your business can be found by consumers.

Be found on search engines

Over time, every online directory listing your business has will culminate in powerful search engine optimization (SEO) juice.

Consistently writing each online listing is like hearing raving reviews about the latest movie from friends: the more positive reviews you hear, the more you want to see that movie.

Search engine algorithms act the same way with business listings: the more they see consistent business information, the more value they put into it, and the higher it ranks on the results page.

Online listings are simple

The best part about online listings is how simple it is to get started with them. If you haven’t listed your business anywhere online, start with our top online directories to get started with and spend a few minutes inputting information.

If you already have local listings, get a free SEO report for your business so you can know which listings need to be updated or not.

Taking this first step in online marketing will help your local business start being found by local consumers online, slowly starting to grow your business with this new strategy.

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Start converting 2-3x as many new web searchers all through simple online listings! Get listed and seen on even more online directories with the help of LocalVox, which can list and then continue to update your local businesses online listings with the click of a button.

What directories do you find more valuable for local business? Let us know in the comments below.

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from LocalVox » Local Marketing Blog http://localvox.com/blog/why-your-local-business-needs-online-listings/
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Local Business Marketing Campaign Learnings

Tips to Improve Your Digital Marketing: Football Edition

Football season is in full swing; high school football is winding down, college football is in conference playoffs and professional football is working towards playoffs. I will admit, I am not a football fan, but I do live in the same town as the Patriots and when they have gone 10-0 the fan spirit catches on. 

To keep the exciting football spirit in motion, even while you’re executing seemingly mundane tasks, we’re taking football tactics and turning them into ways to improve your digital marketing. Digital marketing seems like an entirely different ballpark (Get it? Cheesy ‘I don’t know sports’ joke?) from football, many of the tactics in football actually apply outside the game and even to digital marketing.

We’ll walk you through the offensive and defensive strategies your digital marketing should be taking advantage of.

The Wildcat offense

The Wildcat offense capitalizes on mismatches of players skills by shifting offensive players around. In the Wildcat formation, the quarterback (usually the strongest player) is generally replaced by a running back, this creates a different threat for the defense to focus on, opening up the offense to a few different strategies to move ahead and get a touchdown. All the action that this one tactic provides creates a variety of options for the offense, creating a tougher play to defend against.

You can use this same strategy in your digital marketing by providing more reasons a consumer should use your local business. An example of this would be promoting a new product or service you’re selling in an email (being the main CTA, the equivalent to giving your quarterback the ball to throw down field) and adding a secondary CTA that would include a coupon for $10 off your next purchase (this being your running back running the ball down the field instead).

Your marketing offense isn’t limited to one message, but a few different messages that consumers can’t resist. That doesn’t mean giving too many options. You’ll notice the Wildcat offense gives two main options for the play (but there can be some variety in how it is executed), if it provided unlimited outcomes for the play then the team executing it could easily get confused and mess it up, making it easy for the defense to defeat. You can find this same mistake in digital marketing strategies. If you go in with too many offers, then consumers will deflect your marketing and it won’t be effective.

Focus your marketing offense on providing a few clear offers to consumers, giving them many reasons to purchase from your business.

The Westcoast offense

The Westcoast offense is the opposite of the traditional offensive play, it sets up a quick horizontal pass (not one down the field) to set up a running game. It consists of snap motions designed to confused defenders.

The objective of the Westcoast offense is two-fold: to spread the defense out, forcing a delayed reaction for coverage and to maintain possession of the ball through short attacks that aid the running game.

So instead of doing traditional marketing that focusing on consumers in one channel of marketing at a time, have a strategy that includes all marketing channels working together for constant “attacks” of your messaging. This isn’t a one and done deal, through a thorough understanding of your buyer personas you can know how each channel can feed into your ‘running game’ strategy.

Taking a holistic approach to digital marketing, especially with your buyer personas at the heart of your strategy, will create a play that will grab consumers attentions and turn them into customers.

Disguising coverage

Football is not just about offense, any successful team has a well thought-out defensive strategy to aid the offensive strategy. Disguising coverage allows a team to give the impression they are running a different defense than they actually are. For example, they may line up like they are covering man-to-man, but as the ball moves into play, they also move to a zone coverage.

Every football team has a different offensive strategy and likelihood is they will execute different plays throughout a game. If you go into each game with the same strategy, you’re not going to come out a winner. But if you adapt your game plan to how your opposing team plays you increase your likelihood to succeed.

As a small business, while you want to be actively marketing to consumers through digital channels, you need to be actively responding to consumers through those same channels. One of the biggest things you need to cover is your ratings and reviews, considering a consumer will read over 10 reviews before making a decision on a purchase means you can’t just let reviews come in and be ignored–you must respond.

But you also run into this same issue on social media, consumers expect a response on Twitter in an hour or less, but they regularly don’t receive a response for two days. How can you stay on top of all of this communication quickly? By having a disguised defense, such as LocalVox Social that can connect top social networks and review sites, you can easily tackle a to-do list of social and review responses. Be alerted to reviews and social comments while on the go through the mobile features of LocalVox Social and never let your defense be caught unaware.

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Your digital marketing isn’t one channel, working on its own, but a team of channels working for the same goal-to win you sales! Take the role of coach and create strategies that can improve your digital marketing reach and effectiveness by employing some football tactics.

Whether it’s playing offense or defense, you can create a strategy that works for your business and LocalVox can help. Streamline your marketing players to start working together by managing them all from one place with the click of a button. Find out how LocalVox can help you manage your digital marketing from SEO to coupons and deals, getting more consumers to your business.

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from LocalVox » Local Marketing Blog http://localvox.com/blog/tips-to-improve-your-digital-marketing-football-edition/
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Last Minute Small Business Black Friday Prep List [+ Free Download]

Black Friday is a big consumer buying day whether you’re a large national brand or a small local business. While local businesses do have Small Business Saturday to help drive holiday sales, Black Friday overshadows it with its media attention and mass consumer appeal.

While you should still promote your business for Small Business Saturday, but you can also take advantage of the mass amount of consumer shopping traffic on Black Friday.

Keep reading for an organized, last minute prep list that you can use for your small business Black Friday preparations. Plan accordingly and you can take home a piece of the pie on the biggest shopping day of the year, too. We’ll walk you through how to prepare — and have even included a free downloadable prep list for your small business Black Friday efforts — so you won’t miss any opportunity.

Define your promotion strategy

Before you can start checking off your prep list, you need to know what you’re prepping for. A big shopping day, yes, but what specifically do you need to include on your small business Black Friday plan?

41% of consumers prefer storewide discounts vs. other types of holiday promotions.The first place to start is with your promotion — what will bring consumers into your store that day? You want an irresistible offer to make each customer feel like they are getting the maximum value for their dollar.

Here’s some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• A gift guide to help customers decide on gifts for family, friends and co-workers
• Bundled offers for your most popular items (tip: you might want to bundle with products that didn’t sell throughout the year to reduce inventory)
• Reward early-birds with special discounts and giveaways
• Value-add to certain products or purchase amounts

Once you decide on the businesses promotion that works best for your business, you can start designing and planning your marketing plan so that all goes smoothly on Black Friday.

Check your inventory

Before you start a marketing strategy for your promotion, double-check the inventory of any product you feature or highlight. Nothing would put a damper on your Black Friday sales like running out of your featured product.

If you need to order more, make sure your new stock will be in-store with ample time for you to organize it and get it ready for sale on Black Friday.

Check mobile

Consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to shop, whether it’s to get directions to a location, compare prices or reference a promotion email.

Guarantee mobile consumers can find your business by running our free SEO report and updating your directory listings on top directories (especially Google My Business).

After fixing any errors, make sure your website and emails are both responsively designed so that consumers can read them on any device.

Don’t have time to update your website? LocalVox can create a responsively designed modern website for your business — in time for the holiday shopping rush!

Build anticipation

Once you’ve established your promotion and double-checked that your inventory is ready, you need to start generating momentum that leads up to Black Friday. There’s a lot of noise about Black Friday, so use multiple platforms to reach consumers and stand out from the crowd.

A few ways to do this are:

1. Create a social media campaign that counts down to Black Friday — and shares your local business’s irresistible offer
2. Send an a few email blasts out with messaging from your social media campaign
3. Share your small business Black Friday offer on coupon sites (take advantage of “Deals” in LocalVox and push your offer out to many different sources simultaneously)
4. Write a couple articles for your blog:
   • Promote your business’s offer
   • Share how excited you are for Black Friday and why people should visit your business vs. others

Not only will this small business Black Friday strategy build anticipation and interest, it will make consumers feel as if they are missing out if they don’t make it to your local business on Black Friday. The earlier you start teasing out your Black Friday offers and deals, the more interest you’ll receive.

Check on staffing

While staffing doesn’t fall under digital marketing (unless Siri is your assistant), it can affect how smoothly Black Friday goes overall. Make sure your location is adequately staffed for the busier hours and be prepared to restock, check out customers and answer questions.

A team that is prepared for this notoriously hectic shopping day will make your business stand out in the minds of customers.

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Don’t leave your Black Friday planning to the last minute, but do start now! It’s not too late to get a small business Black Friday promotion in place and in the marketplace with consumers.

Ready to get an offer out to consumers and your location prepped? Download our free Black Friday Prep List so you don’t miss an opportunity to connect with consumers online or in store this Black Friday!

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A Recipe for Success: Local Online Marketing for Restaurants

5 Copywriting Tips for Effective Marketing

Copywriting is a skill that all types of businesses require. Whether you are revamping your website and need a new product description page, or you’re revising your advertising and promotional materials to reflect your current services, copywriting is an essential skill that will help you convey your message to a customer.

Effective copywriting follows a few rules, especially when it comes to digital marketing and social media. For example, customers prefer a more conversational tone on social media vs. a hard sales pitch.

Below you’ll find our top 5 copywriting tips that will turn your writing skills from average to expert.

5 copy writing tips from LocalVox

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Social Media Mistakes to Avoid

As a small business owner, no matter the industry, location or ownership (franchise vs. independent), there are many things you are expected to be an expert at  — one of which is social media. To successfully use social media, local business owners and managers are often required to be experts (something that is very difficult, seeing as you have a business to run!).

The good news?

LocalVox is always trying to find ways to make your life easier. Below you’ll find a collection of the top social media mistakes that small businesses make — and how you can avoid them.

If you read these mistakes and realize you are guilty of a few, don’t be upset! Social media is constantly evolving and so are the audiences who use it; your faux pas will most likely be forgotten once you hit your stride on social media. Not to mention the fact that the social media mistakes you made in the past can help you refine your strategy moving forward.

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Mistake: One-way conversations

Many social media novices see networks as just another way to broadcast their sales promotions, products and services to customers. They don’t have two-way conversations that social media audiences are accustomed to, rather they replicate what would be a headline in an ad and speak at the customer.

Social media users don’t engage with businesses who speak at them, they engage with ones that have a conversation with them.

Solution: Go to the cocktail party

Social media gives you the opportunity to connect in real-time with potential consumers or current customers. If one of these people came up to you at your business you wouldn’t just talk to them about current sales and offerings, you would try to understand their needs so you can provide the best product and service for them. You should replicate this same mindset on social media.

Treat social networks as a cocktail party: connect with people in an easy-going manner where you talk more informally (and can subtly brag about your amazing business, too).

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Mistake: Not posting consistently 

Posting and monitoring social networks when it comes across your mind, which could be daily, weekly or once a month.

Solution: Create a posting plan

As the social media manager for LocalVox, I can attest that if I didn’t have a schedule, our social media marketing would be a mess!

Creating a posting plan will keep you social accounts active, your business open to conversations with consumers and remind you to monitor your social accounts.

The easiest way to do this is with LocalVox Social (part of the LocalVox platform). In addition to letting you schedule social posts to all the major social networks, it also helps you monitor engagement and reviews in an easy-to-use “to-do” list — so you always know what needs to be tackled.

Not sure how often to post?

We have the best practices for small business to give you a place to start.

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Mistake: Not having a strategy for social media

Creating social media profiles without tactics or goals that support your larger marketing strategy.

Solution: Spend 15 minutes on a strategy

You know your small business should be on social media, great start!

The next step is to create a small social media strategy, which consists of:

1. A mission
2. Goals
3. Tactics to fulfill your strategy

You already have an idea of what you want to accomplish on social media or you wouldn’t have created profiles at all. In just 15 minutes you can establish your mission, goals and tactics to create an actionable social media strategy. If you need extra guidance, check out our article How to Create a Social Media Strategy Template.

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Mistake: Not responding kindly to negative reviews/posts

When negative reviews / posts show up about your business online, most people either choose to ignore them or respond with the same negativity and emotion as the original poster.

Solution: Create a review response guide

When negative comments are said about your small business it’s easy to react in kind, using that same emotion to defend your business as it was seemingly attacked with. However, negative emotion doesn’t help attract more people to your business in a good way — it simply triggers a ripple effect and increases the likelihood that others will share them.

While positive reviews are essential, customers actually trust businesses that have a few negative reviews more because it brings credibility to the reviews. After all, nobody’s perfect.

There is no winner if you choose to argue with the reviewer. Knowing how to handle negative reviews and posts before they occur is key. Reading negative comments with a rational mindset will help you respond in a respectful manner and minimize any damage that the reviewer has done.

We recommend our review response formula which walks through the actions you need to take to have a positive outcome from a negative review:

1. Acknowledge the review and the feelings of the customer. Don’t be dismissive of their experience, but rather apologize for it.
2. Ask to discuss things further away from the public eye (in email or on the phone).
3. Resolve the case which may entail just apologizing or offering a reimbursement in some way (we don’t recommend this most of the time, but some cases it may be warranted).

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Mistake: Ignoring hashtag trends

You don’t use any hashtags — or use them for everything — on of your social networks.

Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks (except LinkedIn) use hashtags and keywords to compile thoughts on the same subject. If you’re confused about hashtags, think about them as the equivalent of a keyword search.

Hashtags trends are often linked to news and high-profile events. For instance, hashtags like #blacklivesmatter recently drew attention to questions of racism and police brutality in the United States. In 2014, the hashtag #WhyIStayed highlighted the reasons why women stayed in domestic abuse situations.

Never jump on a hashtag simply because it’s trending.

Solution: Do some (quick) hashtag research

Hashtags are used as a way to connect using certain terms on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

By not using hashtags, your business isn’t connecting with others on social media networks. Use too many hashtags and your social posts are labeled as spam and are difficult to read.

But you don’t need to just know how to use hashtags, but which hashtags are appropriate to your message.

You may want to jump onto a trending hashtag (which is a great idea to gain more exposure), but if you don’t do a quick search to see what that topic is actually about, you could be directing the wrong type of attention to your business.

You need to be aware of hashtag trends and use them appropriately, as DiGiorno Pizza learned when it saw the hashtag #WhyIStayed trending and decided to use it to sell pizza. DiGiorno quickly realized their mistake and pulled down the tweet, but many people on social media still have a bad taste in their mouth (no pun intended) about the brand because they tried to make light of a serious issue.

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The social media mistakes that we’ve listed out are faux pas that any business — large or small — could make. All it takes are a few minor changes to your social media plan and your business will see a big impact in how your followers engage with you.

If your biggest “mistake” is writer’s block, download our Social Cheat Sheet for 14 social post ideas you can use over and over again on any social network!

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Rank on Google Maps [The Latest Updates]

Google regularly updates their map algorithms so that they can provide the most relevant information to consumers and businesses alike. While it may seem like these updates are done simply to make ranking more difficult, in actuality these updates make it easier for you to reach your ideal customer.

51% of local searches result in a store visit. Google is focused on increasing that number by providing searchers with the most relevant information possible.

Keep reading for updates on the Google Map algorithm and ensure your business’s strategy to rank on Google Maps is in sync. As with anything local business-related on Google, the best place when trying to rank on Google Maps is to set up your free Google My Business account. If you’ve already done that, we’ve detailed the latest Google Map updates below so that you show up when customers are searching for products and services that your business offers.

“Add a missing business” in the Navigation Drawer

Google Maps recently made a change to the navigation drawer: searchers are now able to “add a missing business.” This seemingly small change is actually very significant for businesses that aren’t using Google My Business because searchers can add places to the Map that aren’t listed or discoverable online.

With searchers given the ability to add in businesses that aren’t discoverable, Google has upped the ante for local businesses and made it even more important that they correct and update their information. If a searcher adds in your business’s information for you, you run the risk of it being incorrect — which will hurt your discoverability in Google Search.

In addition to using Google My Business, you need to make sure your business is listed in top local directories. If you have multiple locations, each of them needs to be optimized for Google Maps and Search, as well. However, directory listings aren’t a one-and-done deal; you need regularly update and de-dupe them or you’ll run the risk of giving Google Maps and Search (and customers) with incorrect information.

For example, if your business has had more than one address during it’s lifetime (i.e.: you moved, etc.), most likely directories have you listed twice. Since the Google Maps algorithm can’t distinguish which is the correct address, it will opt to move your ranking down in its results pages so that it doesn’t run the risk of giving searchers the wrong information.

Direct calls via the Knowledge Panel

Keeping your business’s information up-to-date is even more important now that Google has given searchers the ability to place phone calls to businesses directly from the Knowledge Panel.

The Google Knowledge Panel will display in both Maps and Search and is dependent on the device you are using, your search terms and location.

If you decide to provide searchers using the Knowledge Panel with the bare minimum information they need to take an action, you’ll need to update your business’s name, address and phone number. To go above and beyond (and increase your rank on Google Maps), you should include photos, hours of operation, a link to your website and how your business is classified — to name a few.

If you use Google My Business, the Knowledge Panel will pull your business’s information from there.

By including even just the minimum information you can not only increase your rank on Google Maps but increase the likelihood that a consumer will call your business.

Refined local pack in browser Search and Maps app

The most significant Google Maps algorithm update is around the “local pack” on Search.

Previously, a local search would result in 7 businesses being shown. However, Google dropped that number to include only the top 3 — frustrating anyone in spots 4 – 7.

So what can you do if you’ve been ousted from the local pack results? Ranking on Google Maps is all about providing the algorithm with the most accurate information possible, so the tech giant can use it to give searchers exactly what he/she is looking for.

The more active and specific your Google My Business profile is, the higher Google will rank it on the local pack and on the map. The best place to start is by taking a look at your Google My Business profile and figuring out where you can embellish and expand on.

Areas you should try to build out:

• Reviews
• Photos
• Hours of operation
• Website
• Local phone number

In addition, you should also post regularly on Google+. While many argue that Google+ is a “failure” from a social media network perspective, nobody will deny that it is significant in helping local businesses rank on Google Maps and Search.

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Start to rank on Google Maps, in the local search pack and in organic search results by refining and actively updating your Google My Business account. By providing Google with updated information and showing them that your business is active, you’ll be rewarded with a higher ranking.

However, don’t let one profile be the only influence in the equation. Google’s Map and Search algorithms use 200+ different ranking factors, so it’s important you give them the information they’re searching for — all available in our SEO cheat sheet.

Download your free copy of the SEO cheat sheet right now! 

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Important Holiday Deadlines

FACT: The holiday season can account for 20-40% of annual sales for small and mid-sized retailers.

No business wants to wait until the end of the year to meet their sales goals, but it’s difficult to not rely on holiday sales with so much consumer purchasing momentum residing in the last few months of the year.

To stay on top of the important holidays deadlines, we’ve gathered the list of top holidays you need to keep in mind. Remember, your marketing activities should reflect the type of shopper most likely to visit your business throughout the season. “Planners” like to take advantage of getting their shopping done early and expect good deals. “Procrastinators” are more likely to spend more at your business and be swayed by deals and specials.

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Important Holiday Dates

Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving

Friday, November 27: Black Friday

Saturday, November 28: Small Business Saturday

Monday, November 30: Cyber Monday

Tuesday, December 1: Giving Tuesday

Sunday, December 6 – Monday, December 14: Hanukkah

Monday, December 14: Green Monday

Saturday, December 19: Super Saturday

Thursday, December 24: Christmas Eve

Friday, December 25: Christmas

Saturday, December 26: Kwanzaa

Thursday, December 31: New Years Eve

Friday, January 1: New Years Day

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If you missed our holiday marketing webinar, you can still download it. Click here to download and you’ll also get a copy of the important holiday deadlines in 2015.

With November here email, social media and deal campaigns need to start going out to all your potential customers! Make sure you don’t miss any important holiday deadlines and risk sales with the help of LocalVox. LocalVox can help grow your email list, distribute your social posts to top social networks and get your coupons or deals to local consumers. Organize your holiday marketing today with the help of LocalVox.

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Car Dealership Online Marketing Strategies

Has anyone ever said they enjoyed the car buying process? A year ago I went and bought my first car (2011 VW Golf TDI…I may be shopping for my second car soon) and, boy, was it a process, not one that I would enter again lightly. I know I am not a normal car buyer, I started researching various cars months in advance of buying, shopping around for the best value for me. But, while I may not be normal, I am also a marketer and throughout this process I got to see the car dealerships that were truly reaching consumers through digital marketing. 

Another thing that helps me stand out from the crowd is that I am a millennial, therefore the internet is the first (and sometimes only) place I go to find information about my potential car purchase. While millennials may not make up the majority of your customers, they are changing how your customers are buying cars.

We have the car dealership online marketing strategies you need to reach the growing online consumer and build your sales.

Have a customer relationship management system

As a car dealership you have a different relationship with your customers as opposed to a local retail store. You aren’t hoping a customer will buy a couple hundred dollars worth of clothes but a multi-thousand dollar car. You can’t get by with just an email subscriber list like a retail store, you need to be able to keep track of your customers to give them a quality experience, with marketing material specific to them.

Chances are your brand or regional dealer network provides a tool or may subsidize the cost of one, take advantage of it. The simple effect of a customized email or deal can mean the difference between a sale or not.

Below is an example of an email I got from Seacoast Volkswagen when I was looking to buy. I had already filled out a form on their site saying I was interested in one of their TDI’s and asked for more information, a week or two later I received this email about the deals they were currently having on their TDIs. This email, while simple, prompted me to go visit and look into this dealership even more.

Be prepared for mobile

A Cars.com survey found 43% of car buyers use their mobile devices on the lot to access pricing information, features and look at a dealers website. Another survey of 500 car buyers found 100% of smartphone owners used their mobile device to perform car-shopping research.

Mobile allows you to connect with consumers on the go, when they are in another dealership or in yours, make sure that your emails and website are responsive to the device being used to view them.

A responsive design will ensure that your content will be resized to fit any screen: desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. LocalVox provides marketing enabled, responsive websites that won’t break the bank and will help you reach consumers on any device.

Connect with online leads

One aspect I really liked when searching for my next car was being able to easily fill out information and have someone get back to me. I am a typical millennial in regards to the fact that I will use a phone for just about anything than make a phone call, I will certainly answer a phone call, but I won’t make it.

Take advantage of the traffic to your website by adding in calls to actions that lead to forms. Including a simple “Find out more about this car” button can not only connect you directly with a lead, but gives you information on what type of car they are interested in, so you can market to them appropriately (like with the email earlier).

Provide useful auto-related content

You don’t have to try to actively pull in new leads, you can let them come to you with content. Consumers like myself know what they want in a car, but they don’t know how to care for it. For example, I have no idea why my car needs synthetic oil and only gets it’s oil changed about once a year. By writing content, in layman’s terms, you can help people not only decide what car they want to buy and how to care for it, but you are becoming a reputable source of information for them.

If you provide car maintenance, then sharing articles about certain aspects of car maintenance, why they are necessary and how frequently to do them you are opening up your shop to consumers. The car mechanics at your dealer are no longer trying to nickel and dime consumers but are there to provide the best maintenance that is necessary.

Respond to online feedback promptly

When consumers are shopping online for cars, they will find your local business listing as one of their top search results. This is fantastic if you have great reviews, a consumer won’t hesitate to look into your dealership further, but if your rating is low, they’ll think twice. 44% of consumers make their decision after reading reviews (and after the working with the dealership I bought my car from, I certainly wished I had looked at online reviews). 44% of consumers make their decision after reading reviews

Guarantee that you always have good reviews by providing great customer service online and off. Offline is on the phone and in your dealership but online is harder to track and respond to. Use a tool like LocalVox Social to keep all of your business reviews in one place, making it easier to see and respond to reviews to turn a negative review into a positive one.

Have special promotions

Engage consumers and get them to move on a purchase by regularly having promotions and providing deals. A difficult factor for auto dealerships is that, most likely, you aren’t the only location with the product a consumer is looking for. A special deal can be just the leverage to get consumers to buy from your location instead of your competitors.

Create videos

Videos are increasingly becoming the most engaging thing you can put on your website or social media profiles. They not only share information, but tend to the consumer who doesn’t want to just read about features but see them. Not only can videos advertise your latest vehicles, but they can share your latest promotion or be informative “how-tos.” On top of all of that, videos are easily shared on all social channels and in email, exposing your content to a larger audience.

This Ford dealership in Birmingham, Alabama provides a very informative video on what to look for and how to buy a used car. It’s a long video, so they also have it split into chunks which will open up their content to even more consumers.

Vehicle display

Every major dealership displays their best vehicles right in front for everyone driving by to see, you can achieve that same exposure online.

Dealerships can have a high turnover rate on cars that make search engine optimization (SEO) for certain pages and cars nearly impossible, but you can easily direct traffic to a specific page and car through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Add PPC ads into your auto dealership online marketing strategy for individual cars and they’ll show up in search results immediately.

Go one step further, and use PPC ads on social networks, like Facebook, too. Your vehicles will get guaranteed exposure — for minimal investment — with Facebook ads and boosted posts.

What makes PPC ads stand out even further on search engines and social networks is that you can choose different parameters to target different audiences. For example, if you’re selling a 2015 Subaru Impreza WRX in the Denver area, you can make sure only people interested in that type of vehicle, in the specified area, will receive the message

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By implementing these online marketing strategies specific to auto dealerships you can guarantee consumers will become customers, increasing sales and driving even more cars off your lot.

Start managing your digital presence with the help of LocalVox, the all in one digital marketing platform that can help you manage your social reputation and profiles to your search engine rankings and directory listings. Find out how you can get started.

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Choosing the Right Small Business Marketing Platform

There are a plethora of small business marketing platforms on the market; many say that they can work for any type of business and help you connect with local customers — whether you want to boost search engine rankings or connect with local customers on social media.

Many of these marketing platforms require large upfront monetary commitments, without any guarantee that they will help you get the results you want. This begs the question: is online marketing worth it for small business?

Easily reaching all digital channels — without a huge price tag — is important for small businesses, but is a marketing platform the answer?

Reach your target audience

70% of U.S. households now use the Internet when shopping for local products and services. Is your business being discovered by these online researchers? With the shift to digital getting stronger every year, it’s crucial for the livelihood of your small business that you reach local customers online.

The Internet is a vast place and reaching local customers can require a lot of work across many different channels, such as social media, search engines, directory sites, email, online coupons and so much more. If your local business wants to have a successful digital marketing strategy, it needs to include all of these channels.

How can you manage your small business’s digital marketing on your own?

The simple answer is you can’t — not without an inordinate amount of time and expertise. However, you can’t just ignore digital marketing.

This is where a small business marketing platform can become your lifeline. The right marketing platform will help you reach all digital channels and if created specifically for small, local businesses, it can jumpstart your digital marketing strategy without the time and expertise previously required.

The problem then becomes: where can you find a small business marketing platform that will work for your local business?

Success for any type of local business

Paramount Roofing & Siding, LLC are expert roofers and siders and service the Madison, Wisconsin area. Customers rely on Paramount for their expertise in helping them make informed decisions about their homes.

Paramount wanted to reach new customers and realized that they needed to build a strong digital presence to a highly engaged audience — all without breaking the bank. They began asking the question: what small business marketing platform can provide the services we need at an affordable price?

Paramount began using the LocalVox platform in June of 2015, looking to grow their audience and their industry expertise online. In just two months, following the direction of their dedicated account manager, the local roofing and siding business had reached nearly 6,000 customers and distributed 11 posts to local audiences.

By using a small business marketing platform, Paramount’s online marketing goals were met and quickly exceeded because they chose to use a platform that was created to get results for local businesses.

The right choice with LocalVox

With so many online marketing channels and so many platforms to choose from, it’s hard to know which one is the right choice for your small business and that’s where LocalVox can help.

LocalVox puts you in front of local consumers everywhere online — social media, search engines, directories, email lists, local publishers and more — all with the click of a button.

Start getting the results you’re looking for with one small business marketing platform that was designed to promote your business to local customers.

Learn more about how you can start growing your business with online marketing today.

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Brand Marketing Trivia

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Join LocalVox at the New York Business Conference and Expo

On Tuesday, October 27, LocalVox will be attending the annual New York Business Expo and Conference at the Jacob Javits Center (655 West 34th Street).

The New York Business Conference and Expo will give small business owners and executives the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage, network with peers, purchase discounted products, engage with vendors and deepen their overall education by attending in-depth business training. Join us for only one day and take your company to the next level.

LocalVox will be at booth #315 on the trade show floor all day — stop by and say hello!

In addition, our own Trevor Sumner will discuss how the different facets of online marketing attract new customers.

Trevor will be presenting in Room #7 (Target Marketing Track) from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm.

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