Friday, October 28, 2016

Content Marketing: Become The Authority In Your Niche


YEAH! Local (404) 539-6068 https://yeah-local.com/services-we-offer/content-marketing/ Content Mаrkеtіng іѕ thе рrасtісе оf writing аnd рublіѕhіng vаluаblе content оnlіnе wіth thе ultіmаtе gоаl оf acquiring new lеаdѕ аnd сuѕtоmеrѕ. The process іѕ fосuѕеd on targeting a сlеаrlу-dеfіnеd аudіеnсе that hаѕ еxрrеѕѕеd ѕоmе tуре оf іntеrеѕt in уоur particular tуре of рrоduсt, ѕеrvісе, оr business. By publishing уоur оwn engaging аnd uѕеful content оnlіnе, Cоntеnt Marketing hеlрѕ уоu sell уоur рrоduсtѕ аnd services wіthоut асtuаllу “ѕеllіng.” Inѕtеаd of hаrd-ѕеllіng, іt аllоwѕ уоu tо deliver great information tо уоur target mаrkеt thаt naturally рrоgrеѕѕеѕ іntо thеm bесоmіng a рауіng сuѕtоmеr. https://yeah-local.com/services-we-offer/content-marketing/
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Monday, May 16, 2016

Simplifying Social Media Marketing (why NOT to overthink it)

 social media marketing for small business


Simplifying Social Media Marketing & Promotion (why NOT to overthink it)


Social Media Marketing and promotion can be a bit difficult to navigate.


In other areas such as your website, you know you need to put some content up and take care of all of the other necessary AND typical promotional activities.


It's like buying a house, having a house warming party, then letting people know where you live.


It's not rocket science and you can get it figured out pretty quick.


However, when it comes to social media marketing for small businesses, this is where it can get a bit complicated.


At the push of a button on your SmartPhone, you can see what everyone in your network is up to.


People post pictures, videos, quotes and tons of other content to let people know where they are, what they are doing, and what they plan on doing.


It's a living entity for all to see and if you aren't caring for it properly, then it typically fades away into the wild blue yonder of the Internet.


Used correctly, though, and it could drive tons of targeted traffic to your properties, and eventually to your offers.




Here's the social media million dollar question – How do you handle it, where do you post, when do you post, and what do you post?Click To Tweet

Okay…million dollar questions.


Let's break them down one by one.


How Do You Handle It?


There are really no hard and fast rules here.


Some people, some businesses, and some organizations post daily and sometimes multiple times in a day on their platforms.


Some choose to post every few days while others seem to post once a week.


There are three things you need to take into account such as:



  • Your Audience – Whom are you serving?  Is your audience from a generation who is constantly on their phone waiting for status updates, OR is your audience less technologically savvy?  You will find many of the answers in regards to your posting by looking at WHOM you are posting for.



  • Your Platform – This is a VERY important piece of information to consider.  Your Facebook account is much different than your LinkedIn page.  What we mean by that is you may be prone to post pictures of that drunken party you attended this past weekend on Facebook for all of your friends to see, BUT you may not necessarily want that up on your professional pages such as LinkedIn.



  • Your Niche – What niche area are you in?  This goes alongside your audience and should really be taken into consideration.  Is your niche in the product creation area, where you'll most likely be getting visits to your website as opposed to your social media accounts?  Are the individuals in your niche turned off by promotional offers made on your social media platforms?  While there is a possibility you might be over promoting, understanding your niche will help you navigate these waters a little better.


One of the answers to the question of HOW you handle it is to schedule it out.


Take a look at the randomness that happens with some social media accounts.


You'll see that there may be a time where constant posts are made in a day or for a few days in a row, with a long lull afterward.


You'll see that some tend to post in the evening, while others seem to post on the weekends, with yet another group that seems to post anytime they are awake.


Create a schedule of when you will post content and review it often to see how well it is working for you and tweak as necessary.


You may find that you aren't posting enough or perhaps that you need to be posting at a different time of the day, or even day of the week.


The best way to find out is to create some type of posting schedule, just as you do with the other things in your life.


Work it in and put it down on your calendar to see when you can carve out some time to get it done.


CoSchedule posted an interesting infographic on their site outlining the results of an editorial calendar they followed reposting one piece of content.  


Here are the results:


real ife example of social media editorial calendar success


Courtesy of: CoSchedule


If you are adding that up, then that's a total of 9 Tweets in a one-week period that resulted in 5,987 impressions and 65 link clicks.


When you think about it, this is a pretty good return on simply reposting content over the course of a week.  


Not too bad for a few computer mouse (or smartphone) clicks.


Where Do You Post?


Everywhere.


Well, it's social media, which means you SHOULD be social.


All joking aside though, you want to post wherever your audience is hanging out.


Are they on Facebook a lot?  


Is this where your network hangs out the most?  


Well, then you DEFINITELY need to post there.


Does your audience follow you on Instagram?  


Are you unveiling a new product soon and want to give them a sneak peak of what's coming up?  


Then you WANT to post there.


Do they follow your tweets and have a tendency to re-tweet and share?  


This is definitely a place where you need to post.


You can realistically post on ALL of your social media accounts, but keep in mind if you aren't segmenting your audience and network, then perhaps your grandma may not want to learn about the latest car speakers that are coming out.


Which brings up a good point.




You may want to separate your personal social media accounts from your business or organization accounts. Click To Tweet


Why?


Well, again depending on your niche and audience, your personal network of family and friends may not be all that interested in what you have to offer, or may say something to you that you just may not want to hear.


We aren't saying this is going to happen, just saying that it's a possibility.


When Do You Post?


This really goes back to the scheduling that we spoke of earlier.


When do you post?  


Well there are two times that you should:



  1. When you first publish and put up the content

  2. When it's appropriate


Seems simplistic doesn't it?


That's because it is.


When you are all done with a fresh, juicy and entertaining piece of content, don't put it off!  


Let your audience know about it and post it to your Social Media network.


You should also post when it's appropriate.


What does that look like?


share on social media


Well, reposting the opinion piece about the potato festival that happened in 2010 may not make much sense to randomly post.


However, if that time of the year is coming up again for the annual potato festival then it would.


As you can see from the example earlier, multiple postings in the days following the original posting didn't seem to hurt at all.


This goes back to scheduling, tracking, testing and tweaking.


See what is working and what isn't.


Create a schedule of days and times to post to your Social Media sites for business and be sure to stay on schedule.


What Do You Post?


This is really up to you.


You need to post whatever makes sense for your audience.


Is your niche and audience in the personal development area, where people may want to learn about getting rid of limiting beliefs and learning techniques to get motivated?


Well, then posting reviews about the latest humidifiers from Amazon really won't resonate, now will it?


Need some ideas?  Here are two:



  • Educational – If there are some things that your audience may want to learn about, or if your niche is one where you solve a problem for someone such as weight loss, then educational content will really speak to them.  Taking the weight loss niche for example, you could post content on the latest diets and exercise that help people to lose weight quickly.



  • Entertaining – Everyone needs a good laugh now and again.  If your content can evoke emotions such as laughter and joy, and can entertain your audience, then you have a winner that you should be sharing.




Just really take a look at whom you are speaking to on social media and give them what they ask for.Click To Tweet

Again, it isn't rocket science.


You can also bet that if they DON'T want to see it, that they'll let you know about it.


Tools to Use


Here is a list of my favorite tools to start promoting your content quickly



  1. Buffer – Start with this social media posting tool.  Add your accounts and then use the content scheduler to post once to twice a week for the next month.

  2. Quuu.co – Want massive sharing of your content on autopilot? Sign up for Quuu.co and use the promote content feature.

  3. Viral Content Buzz – Share some content and then have influencers share your content for free.  Doesn't get easier than this.


Use these three tools and you will get more shares than you have previously gotten before.


Final Thoughts


As mentioned earlier, there aren't any hard and fast rules when it comes to Social Media Promotion.


It really just comes down to creating a schedule and having a feel on the pulse of your audience.


You know what they want to see, you know the vehicles in which to deliver it and you know how often they would want to see it.


When you have been in a niche for any amount of time, it's just something that you'll pick up.


All you need to do is put yourself in their shoes, and you'll likely find all of the answers that you have been searching for.


Have some great ways you use Social Media to promote your business? Let us know in the comments below and don't forget to share with your social media connections.


The post Simplifying Social Media Marketing (why NOT to overthink it) appeared first on YEAH! Local

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

In A Dull Industry? How Content Marketing Can Still Work

How Content Marketing Can Still Work


In A Dull Industry? How Content Marketing Can Still Work


Regardless of whether you sell leaf blowers online or provide financial planning advice to retirees, your industry is NOT as boring as you think it is.


One of the reasons you may be feeling like this is because you have been in it, AND at it for such a long time that you may feel like you are running out of content marketing ideas.


Content Marketing Ideas


In fact, how many times have you heard someone tell you how funny, witty or interesting one of your loved ones were?


If you are like most, then your reaction may have been – “Really?  I don't think so.”


This has less to do with what they are REALLY like, and more to do with the fact that you probably have been around them the longest.


Perhaps it's because you've just got dirty windows.


Wait, what?



 


Ever heard that joke about the guy that complained constantly day after day about his neighbors' laundry.  It goes a little something like this…


“Meg, can you believe this!  They are hanging out their dirty laundry AGAIN!”


The following day…


“Meg, for crying out loud, they are doing it AGAIN!  Don't they have any pride?  They're hanging out their dirty Laundry AGAIN!”


This happened day after day after day, until one day…


“Meg!  Come quick!  They FINALLY are hanging out some CLEAN laundry!”


“Oh no they aren't, I just cleaned our windows.”




Perhaps you just need to clean your windows and have a look at your content marketing strategy through a different lens.Click To Tweet

Here's a few ways you can jazz up that boring industry.


Switch Up The Delivery


Have you ever tried to read a book when you were already drained and tired?


Not much fun.


If you are like most people then you probably ended up falling face flat into the middle of that book.


Unfortunately, if you work in a so-called boring industry then you will need to utilize another vehicle of delivery when it comes to your content.


Are you selling leaf blowers?


Well, articles of several thousand words on the specs and features of the latest leaf blowers may intrigue some, but may not for most.


In fact, you just may be putting them to sleep quicker.


You can help to make the content more interesting, just in the vehicle you choose for delivery.


For example, a boring article on leaf blowers may not be so interesting, BUT a video on the latest leaf blowers blowing ridiculous things and such showcasing their features…well, now it's getting interesting.


Here's a great example:


YouTube Video


Make Dull Content ACTUALLY Interesting


Please keep in mind that the word interesting is subjective.


What is interesting to some may not necessarily be interesting to other people.


The extent of HOW interesting something can be is only restricted to your imagination.


Think back to some of the earlier commercials on television and you'll see what we mean.


Glue.


Yeah…glue.


How in THE world do you make glue interesting?


When you talk about dull, perhaps it doesn't get any duller than GLUE.


Yet somehow decades later, the one commercial that may stick out in the minds of many is THAT one crazy glue commercial.


Take a trip down memory lane.


To emphasize the strength of the super glue adhesive, they used it to attach a hard hat to a beam on a building way up off the ground.


What was the only thing stopping the person wearing the hard hat from falling?


Yes, you guessed it – the super glue adhesive stuck between the helmet and the beam.


YouTube Video


Dull?


Yes, the product itself may have been dull…the content and delivery?  


Not at all.


You CAN make your content interesting; it's just a matter of how much you want to restrict your imagination.


Here are a few things you can answer when you are creating your content to help it become more interesting.


What Can You Do To Make Your Content Shocking Or Add Shock Value?


Crazy GlueIn the case of the super glue, you can probably see what the thought process could have possibly have been.


Things such as – What are some crazy things we can do to show how tough this glue really is?


What can we glue to emphasize this?Crazy Glue


Not only does gluing a grown man's hardhat to a beam emphasize the strength it is capable of, BUT placing him high up in the air shows the confidence they have in their product.


Weak glue = Injured Dude


What Can You Do To Make Your Content Funny?


Let's go back to the leaf blower.


Leaf blowers are standard fare in yard work.


It makes the difficult task of sweeping up that much easier.


So what can you do to make it interesting?


Well, another thing to try out is humor.  


How can you take your product and utilize humor to drive home your point?


For starters, you can emphasize the strength of the leaf blower.


Picture this:  The video zooms in to show a yard worker with the latest and greatest leaf blower.  


All over the yard you see him blowing and pushing, leaves, grass and other pieces of greenery with the push of a button.


Leaf Blower


The screen pans to a sign that says, “It's so powerful, and it'll dry even the toughest areas!”


The camera then pans to the man walking into a bedroom to dry his wife's wet and frizzy hair.


Okay, perhaps not that funny, but we think you get the picture.


Using humor in your content can go a long way, especially if your topic and industry is not the most interesting.


Take It One Step Further – Do It Bigger And Better


This takes some of the information we discussed earlier and pushes the boundaries and limits.


When you are developing ideas, there are tendencies to think a little smaller.


For example, in the first versions of that commercial, perhaps the creators thought – “Let's just hang the stuntman from the ceiling.”


As the envelope got pushed, because really how could it not have?


The creators probably said “No, higher.”


And…“No, higher.”


Then…“No, higher.”


This probably went on until the poor guy ended up several stories up off of the ground.


When you are looking to make your content marketing interesting, take it a step further, then another and see how much bigger and better you can do it until you start to get the feeling that your content just may be going viral.




There's an old saying that goes, to beat out your competition just do what they are doing, only better.Click To Tweet

Take a look at the content that's out there and take your marketing a step or two further.


Get Some Help


You probably have some GREAT ideas.Get Content Marketing Ideas


However, you are stuck with what you have in your head.


Unfortunately, there are probably others out there with some GREAT content marketing ideas as well, but you won't be able to hear them unless you ask AND listen.


Enlist some of the help of your team or even others in the industry you may know of.


If you are unable to reach out to these types of people, then reach out to others in your network and see what kinds of content ideas you may be able to glean from them.


Another thing that you can do is to take a look at what others in your industry are already doing.


NOTE:  Do Not Copy!  Yes, don't blatantly copy what other people are doing.  However, you can take a look and see what is being done, what is being shared and what others see as interesting AND improve on it.


The saying goes that two heads are better than one, so enlist some help to get your creative juices flowing.


You'll be surprised at the ideas that start to come out on paper and in conversation when you actually START this kind of conversation.


Make It Important


What's important to some may not be important to others.




You can instantly make content important to someone if it's content they need to see right away.Click To Tweet

For example, the cheapest car batteries aren't that important to someone whose car is running just fine.


However, it's VERY important to someone on a budget whose car just died and needs a new car battery.


What's Important and Relevant


Along with the word important should be relevant.


You can make content that's dull, very interesting, and very relevant IF it's done so in a way that meets someone right where they are at, right when they need it.


Closing Thoughts


Your content and your industry are not as dull as you may think.


In fact, with a little cleaning of your windows and a little look through a different lens, you just may find that your industry is actually pretty interesting.


Maybe not as interesting as glue, but you get the picture (sorry to the glue manufacturers out there, we're just kidding).


Honestly, you have all you need to make your content marketing interesting right there between your two ears.


Your content is really only restricted to your own imagination.


Liked this post? Please share on social media with your friends, followers, and connections.


Still want more content marketing help?  Download our Content Marketing Guide Instantly!


Content Marketing Guide


The post In A Dull Industry? How Content Marketing Can Still Work appeared first on YEAH! Local

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

You've Been Branded! How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand

You've Been Branded! How SEO Can Build Your Brand


Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about getting YOUR brand more visibility.


That's really the name of the game.


You are optimizing your online properties such as your social media accounts, website(s) and listings on directory sites to get in front of more eyeballs.


Building your Brand is all about visibility.


This is why it makes complete and total sense that the two go hand in hand.




If used correctly, then brand building is a nice byproduct of your SEO efforts.Click To Tweet

How do these work together you may be wondering?


Glad you asked, let's explore this a little deeper to see just how it's done.


It's A Search Engine World


For starters, a lot of what we do in our world today is based off of the major search engines that we use like Google, Yahoo! Or BingGoogle SEO


We live in a fast paced society that has come to heavily rely on the Internet.


Where we once used libraries, phone books (do those still exist?) and word of mouth recommendations, we now turn to search.


Let's take a look at some everyday common occurrences and you'll see how true this is…


Your Morning Commute


You wake up in the morning and wonder what your commute will be like for the day.


Will you be stuck in traffic? Will you be able to make your train? Are there any road closures?


What do you do?


If you are like most then you probably are going to some website or phone app that can tell you EXACTLY what the traffic looks like in your area.


If you don't have one to speak of, then you likely turn to the…wait for it…


…Search Engines!


Yes, you do a simple search and the first few results get your attention.


Whether these sites are places like TrafficLand.Com or even your local news site, they all have one thing in common – They are all brands.


Even if you have a favorite out of all them, YOUR favorite is also A brand.


Build Your Brand


Think about it.


It became your selection of choice because it was probably one that you found through some venue online – Perhaps an email from a friend, doing an online search or from some review site.


The end all is that it got to your device due to visibility from other sources, which were more than likely gained through some type of search engine optimization.


Okay, let's take a look at another one.


Your Lunch Break


It's lunchtime and unless you packed a lunch or have some place in mind, then you have some choices to make as to a place to have lunch.


So what do you do?


Well, you can ask around the office or think about WHAT you feel like eating.


If you are like many working adults, then the chain of events, or rather the chain of thought processes probably looks a bit like the following:




  1. You start to get hungry and want to try out some place new for lunch. You are really craving some down home spaghetti, but just don't want one of those fast food type places, so you pull up your favorite search engine.




  2. Upon pulling up your favorite search engine, you enter something along the lines of…”Italian Food Atlanta.”




Google Search for Italian Food Atlanta




  1. Based upon your results from the first page, you get some pretty good information and can now narrow down your choices by:




    1. Selection (Menu)




    2. Reviews




    3. Proximity






If you haven't already guessed it, there is A LOT of SEO that was done on a few of those sites that have landed in your potential choices.


Let's look at the first.


Selection. Since the person behind that website probably knew that you would be looking for terms like “Spaghetti” or “Chicken Parmesan” or “Orzo,” along with “Italian Food Atlanta,” then there is a very good chance that the site was optimized with such words.


Can you guess which restaurant may be getting a visit from someone in the area craving Chicken Parmesan for lunch?


Reviews. Yes, reviews play a VERY big role in building your brand. Bad reviews can ruin your brand, while great reviews can do quite the opposite.


Choices Based on Reviews


You can bet that the reputation management for some of these restaurants as well as the optimizing of reviews was also done, in order to help.


Proximity. You can't go to a restaurant you can't find, right? Maps show up in the search engine results and optimizing these maps for the results pages can have a positive effect on your brand.


While it may not appear to play into your building your brand, it truly does.




What you have to offer, what people are saying about your business and your location all say a lot about your brand.Click To Tweet

They say things like:




  • We offer some things that others don't




  • People know, like and trust us and that's why they keep coming back




  • We are in a great location, we are easily accessible and easily found




If that doesn't speak to building your businesses brand, we're not sure what will.


SEO plays a big role in showcasing all of these things properly.


You could have a great website selection, but if your on-page optimization is not done properly OR if those keyword phrases aren't even on there, then how are the search engines supposed to display it?


Much less display them on the first page for potential new clients and customers to see?


You could have great reviews of what people think of your business, but if they aren't being encouraged to post reviews (with the right phrases) OR if they are being posted on low authority sites that aren't on the first page then how are the search engines and searchers supposed to see them?


Can't Find You Online


If you have a great location and haven't even claimed your business in some of the search engine listings and optimized your maps, then how are they…you get the idea, right?


Time To Get Social


Everyone and their dog seems to have a social media account.


You can't seem to get away from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.


Dog has social media account


EVERYONE seems to have one of these kinds of accounts, and yes, they play an EXTREMELY big role in your brand building.


In fact, we may even go as far as saying that they can make or break your branding if you do it incorrectly.




Social Media can make or break your branding if you do it incorrectly.Click To Tweet

The first thing we have to bring up though is the image you want to portray.


Personal Vs. Professional


Now, unless the brand is you, then you will really need to think this one out.


If your business is your brand, then you will probably want to steer away from using your personal social media accounts for your business.


You really shouldn't be mixing the two anyway, as the image you want to portray of your business is likely a professional one.


The How-Tos


Social Media can get used incorrectly, haphazardly and wastefully.


What we mean by incorrectly is that you may find yourself bombarding your audience with self-serving posts.


What does this look like?


Well, it looks a little like this:




  • “Come out to our latest sale this weekend!”




  • “Everything is 20% off on Saturday!”




  • “We've got some great deals at the shop come on by!”




Here's the thing, when all people do is sell to us, we are more than likely to hit that un-follow button.


Do yourself a favor and temper your promotions with some ACTUAL content that people will want to read.


You can use a content curation service like Quuu.co.  They will even post it for you!


Quuu.co Social media marketing


If you own a T-Shirt shop, then don't just tell them about stuff you want to sell them.


Perhaps posting about the differences with different fabrics, and what types of shirts to wear for the different seasons of the year.


Perhaps another post about tips on selecting the right style and cut of shirts for your body type.


Maybe even a post on how to choose shirts as presents for others.


You can't constantly sell to people.


It gets annoying, trust us.


Social Media posting can also become haphazard, which is why you need to have some type of calendar and schedule in place to make your posts.


Buffer has a great social media content calendar built right into their system as you can see below.


Social Media Content Calendar


Sure, if you have a fresh piece of content then definitely post it and promote it, but if you have no schedule in place, then you just may find yourself going days or weeks in between posts.


You would be hard pressed to find someone who would constantly check up on your profile if you weren't posting regularly, why would they?


How often should you post and re-post? Tweet and Retweet?


Well, that's up to you.


The best way to decide and get a handle on it is to set up some type of schedule, then test it out and change it up as you see fit.


Lastly, you do run the risk of being wasteful with your posts.


How?


Just posting to post, that's how – You need to be intentional, you need to be purposeful.




When it comes to building your brand, you need to be smart about it.Click To Tweet

This again is where SEO comes into play.


If you want more visibility on specific posts that you are making, then you will need to use the right keyword phrases, putting them in the right keyword driven categories and adding in the right keyword hashtags.


When you are able to do this, then you are able to get your content in front of the right eyeballs.


Optimizing of your content through SEO methods will ensure that your target audience sees your content FIRST.


Whether that is in the regular search engines, or within the search functions on social media sites.


If you aren't optimizing your content and profiles with the right phrases and keywords and not posting on a regular basis, then it will be difficult to build your brand.


When you are constantly in the public eye for your niche, due to your SEO efforts, then people can't help but think of you when it comes to your industry or time to buy.


Online Marketing


For example, if someone is searching online for a T-Shirt shop to get some shirts for a friend's birthday, and your social media account pops up in the search engines first, guess whose shop may be getting a visit soon?


SEO – Your Brand's Cheerleader


As you can already see, SEO plays a very major role in your branding.




SEO actually acts as your company or business' biggest cheerleader and ultimately helps to build up your brandClick To Tweet

EVEN if you are new to your field or niche.


When SEO can put you in front of people searching for what you offer, and can do so by having you rise to the top of the searches, then you can't help but get a piece of the action.


Your brand can't help but be built up and put up front and center for your target audience to see.


To help illustrate this point, let's take one last look at this idea of a cheerleader, and pull together all of the areas we have already discussed.


SEO is Biggest Cheerleader


Let's say that you own a tire shop and someone online has been searching for a tire shop in his or her city.


When they go to Google and type in “Best Atlanta Tire Shop,” then…




  • Your website shows up at the top of the page




  • Another link pops up showing your wide selection of tires




  • Yelp pulls up as another link showing your rave reviews




  • A pin on a map shows up that you are just a few miles away




  • Your social media post on Facebook shows up on HOW to best select tires




You proactively had all of your web properties SEO'd with the right phrases and now dominate the first page of the results for that keyword phrase.


Your SEO efforts have the search engines cheering and singing your praises and essentially telling the searcher:


“Hey searcher, you should REALLY check out this shop! Can't you see it's one of THE best in Atlanta?”


You've been branded.


You've been branded as one of the BEST in your industry in your area.


You've been branded thanks to your biggest cheerleader – SEO.


Want to Get Branded, But Just Need a Little Help?  Download Our SEO Checklist Instantly!


Atlanta Local SEO Checklist



The post You've Been Branded! How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand appeared first on YEAH! Local

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

How to Get Online Reviews for Your Business (Its not as hard as you think)

How to Get Online Reviews for Your Business


How to Get Online Reviews for Your Business (Its not as hard as you think)


Today’s online reviews were yesterday’s word-of-mouth recommendations.


The only difference?


You can tell millions (literally) of people if you LOVED or HATED a service.



Scary isn’t it?


That old saying about one person having a bad experience, then telling all of their friends who in turn tell all of their friends, really didn’t have that much of an impact.


What if that person had NO friends?


That’s a joke, but perhaps not.


On the internet, even if you don’t have any friends in REAL life, you can have THOUSANDS (See: Facebook).


When one person can wield that kind of power to take down a business with one or two bad reviews, it really puts business owners on high alert.




Getting reviews SHOULD be a part of your marketing plan.Click To Tweet

In fact, when you think about it, reviews are what we typically go to first BEFORE we make a purchase.


Here’s an example.


Finding A Mechanic


When you find a good honest mechanic you want to tell the world.


The same can be said when you find a bad one who rips you off.


Sorry, if you are reading this, are a mechanic and in the second category, there’s hope for you, we can help.


We’re joking of course…or not.


Anyway, what do you typically do?


Well, your first step is to ask friends if they know of any good shops or mechanics in the area (live review).


Your next step is to look online for others OR look online to learn more about the recommendation you got.


Google makes this process EXTREMELY EASY.


What do you usually find on the first page of the results?


Mechanic Online Reviews


You’ll find things like their actual website, you’ll find comments that people have made about them AND you’ll likely find local review sites like Yelp with REAL TIME reviews.


As you browse through the reviews you’ll see comments and ratings. They will typically fall into the following categories:


Bad Ratings


Right off the bat you will see some of these reviews. You’ll be able to tell right away if you need to stay away from this shop.


In some cases you will be able to feel the frustration coming through the computer. If you are a business owner with these types of reviews then there is major work that will need to be done in order to remedy this situation.


Good Ratings


Many will fall into this category. While they aren’t bad, they aren’t outstanding. You’ll see ratings like 3 or 4 out of 5 star ratings.


They’ll like the service, but won’t love it. They will definitely recommend, but if the same kinds of shops in the area offer a lower price, then they may be tempted to go there.


Nothing wrong with these, however they do signal room for improvement.


Great Ratings


Now these are the ones you want. These kinds of ratings are the ones you want all across the board when it comes to your business.


Great Ratings


Well, you’ll still need to do marketing, but we think you get the picture.


This is the equivalent of being the popular kid in school – EVERYONE will be talking about you and EVERYONE will want to hang out with you.




In fact, when you build up enough of these kinds of ratings you won't need to go looking for business, it will come looking for you.Click To Tweet

There’s ONE more category that we will cover here, and it’s…


Bad Ratings With A Response


There may be one or two rogue reviews amongst hundreds of great ones.


If you are not careful and ignore these, then they can do more harm than good to people coming to see what kind of services you have to offer.


These can sometimes be a competitor trying to take you down or even someone who was having a bad day, and regardless of what you did or didn’t do, you were going to get a bad review any way.


So what do you do?


Here is a great video on how to handle it:


YouTube Video


You respond to it right away and address it, ESPECIALLY if it’s incorrect.


There was a business owner a while back who had a terrible review, with the reviewer even going as far as accusing a specific individual of doing things like swearing at them and doing other things.


The reviewer also stated that they were brushed off and the sales people even walked away in the middle of the conversation and sent someone else over.


The owner of the business looked into it, looked at the video tapes and realized three things:




  1. The employee being accused wasn’t even working that day




  2. The reviewer was the aggressor




  3. The sales person walked away in the middle of being attacked for fear of their own safety




In the response to the reviewer, the business owner apologized for the situation, responded to all of the accusations with proof to back it up, and said they reviewed the tapes and if they’d like to come in and discuss it further he’d be more than happy to.


What do you think the reviewer said?


Yes, you guessed it, no response.


No harm done to the business, because people with any sense of reason could see that it wasn’t the business at fault.



Now What?


As you can see, the business reviews for your services will fall into one or more of the following categories:




  1. Bad Ratings




  2. Good Ratings




  3. Great Ratings




  4. Bad Rating With A Response




Reviews are influential


Of course you want all of them to be #3, but you may fall into some of the other categories as well. Just as long as you aren’t floating around #1 and ignoring it, you should be okay.


So what are you to do?


Well, that’s what we are going to explore from here on out – How to get great reviews.


One of the best pieces of advice we can give you when it comes to the work you do and what people think of it is this:


Be Someone WORTHY Of A Five Star Rating


Jim Rohn put it this way when someone asked him how to make more money – “If you want an above average income then you need to become an above average person.”


Ooh, that one may sting a little, BUT we are trying to help.




Be Someone Worthy of a 5 Star Rating! #onlinereviewsClick To Tweet

Put another way, someone once asked WHY they weren’t getting the #1 spot in Google on the search engines.


The response?


Do you deserve to be in the #1 spot?


Good Reviews are Waiting to Happen


Now, please understand that there is a lot more that goes into getting ranked highly in the search engines, but the basis of the statement above just speaks to this point:


Do You Deserve A Great Rating?


When it comes to your ratings and reviews, if you are getting mediocre ratings and reviews, is it because you aren’t putting out your best?


There was once a barber who worked in the same shop as three other barbers.


They ALL provided the same quality of work, which meant if you got a haircut from any of them that the results were all the same.


Here is what was found upon walking into the shop.


Barber #1: Had a long waiting line, was always booked and was constantly busy. In some cases he had to turn people away or send them to another barber in the shop.


Barber #2: Had regular clients, but still had some slots to fill.


Barber #3: Never had any regulars and had to take whoever came in.


So, what was the difference?  Barber #1 was trusted.


Online Reviews are Trusted


Here it was:


Barber #1 paid attention to all of the little details, said things like “Thank you for coming in” and asked “Is there anything else I can do?”


This barber took a few minutes longer than the others, but in those few minutes took the time to have a conversation, ask about things the person mentioned at the last visit and recommended products he thought would be helpful.


On holidays and birthdays he gave presents to his regulars, sent postcards to all clients and would call during anniversaries or other events to check in with clients.


HE was an above average barber!


Barber #2 was pleasant enough. He always said “thanks,” but would mostly wait for clients to call him instead of calling them.


If he remembered something or an event that was coming up he’d mention it, and if clients asked questions or for product recommendations he would give them.


Barber #3 was what was known as the “Drive Through.” The other barbers had given him this nickname because of how fast he cut.


He was constantly looking for another paying customer and hardly ever had conversations with the clients he was serving.


He would often stop cutting a client’s hair to walk up to someone coming in the front door in order to take their money and appointment.


Can you see WHICH category of ratings these would fall under?


All things remaining equal and all services rendered the same, WHO do you think DESERVED to get better ratings, more clients AND more increased revenue?


And this is where our tips will begin in garnering great ratings.


Tip #1 – To Get Great Ratings Give Great Service


If you want to get better ratings and the kinds of ratings that will flood your appointment inbox, then you need to give great service.


Go above and beyond, make that extra call, check in, give goodies during the holidays, give your clients and customers reasons to come back to you.




To Get Great Ratings Give Great Service! #reviewsClick To Tweet

Here’s a few things you can do in addition to the great service you provide:




  • Send birthday cards




  • Call to check up and see how they are doing




  • Follow up on anything they may have asked you about




  • Give out small gifts during Christmas (even a pen will do with your contact information)




Tip #2 – Just Ask for Reviews


This may be uncomfortable for you, but if you want more reviews JUST ask.


It could be as simple as “Would you mind sharing your experience here? I’d appreciate your honest review of our services. If you can’t, it’ not a big deal, just thought we’d ask.”


You can make it easy for them and give them a website URL with a listing of the sites you’d like them to visit and review you on.


Put them through your review funnel.


Review Funnel


Remember, people who receive good service may tell a few people, but people who receive bad service will tell everyone.


Remind those getting great service to tell everyone as well.


Tip #3 – Make It EASIER to Review


If you have your clients and customers on an electronic mailing list then make it easier for them.


Send them an email with a link to the review site and prompt them as to the things you’d like them to mention, perhaps things like:




  • Wait times




  • Ease of making an appointment




  • What they thought of the staff




  • If they would come back




  • If they would recommend you to others




In fact, if you are able to send an email where they can rate you directly from the email then it will make it THAT much easier for you to get the reviews you want.


Here is an example of a review site we set up to generate reviews for our agency:


YEAH! Local Reviews


If you have a computer or tablet device in your office, then you can ask RIGHT after they get the great service.


What better time to get their thoughts than right afterwards, when they are ALREADY VERY HAPPY with the service you provided.



Closing Thoughts


It sounds simple and easy, and that’s because it is.


Well, we COULD make it more complicated than that but it doesn’t need to be.


If you follow the three tips we have outlined here then you really can’t go wrong.


In fact, if you just follow the #1 tip we have listed, then you should be able to start getting some great reviews all by doing just that one thing.


Again…




  1. Provide outstanding, excellent and top-notch service. Go ABOVE and BEYOND, then go even FURTHER!




  2. Be bold and just ASK. You’ve heard it before – ask and it shall be given to you. You can’t get if you don’t ask




  3. Make it easy. If they need to go out of their way, then chances are that they won’t do it. Put it right in front of them and make it easy for them

    to review you.




There you have it.


Want great reviews, then give great service.


Do you have any other ways you get reviews? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below.  Also, share this post on your favorite social media network. We would greatly appreciate it!


How Does Your Business Compare to Competitors on Review Sites?  Scan Your Business Online Reviews for Free Instantly!




The post How to Get Online Reviews for Your Business (Its not as hard as you think) appeared first on YEAH! Local

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Local SEO: 10 Highly Effective Blogging Tips

Local SEO: 10 Highly Effective Blogging Tips


Let me guess…


You’ve been told you need to start or continue blogging to help your Local SEO.


Well, whoever told you that is right, BUT there is a right way to blog and a not so right way.


It may not hurt you to blog the wrong way, but since you are putting in all that effort you might as well get some results.



Am I right?


So I put together an infographic to help out with our Top 10 Blogging Tips for Businesses to help you out with Local SEO.


Take a look below:


Local SEO Atlanta Blogging Tips


Share This Infographic On Your Site



Lосаlіzе & SEO Yоur Pоѕtѕ


Most businesses we talk with will just write 500 words, post it on their site, and call it a day.


That won’t hurt you, BUT if you focus on a particular keyword search phrase and localize the post to your city you will have a much better chance of

getting found.


Look for wауѕ that уоu can іnсоrроrаtе уоur сіtу nаmе and keywords іn уоur blog post titles аnd соntеnt.


Tо аvоіd over-optimizing and keyword ѕtuffіng, оnlу include kеуwоrdѕ where they make ѕеnѕе аnd flow wеll wіth thе оvеrаll mеѕѕаgе оf your content.


Create a List of Blоg Pоѕt Ideas


Wаnt tо post consistently wіthоut ѕсrаmblіng fоr соntеnt?


Crеаtе a lіѕt of blоg роѕt іdеаѕ аhеаd of tіmе.


The easiest way is to think about questions your customers or prospects ask all the time.


Write those down.



Go to Quora and search for questions related to your industry. Write those down.


Sо whеn уоu wаnt tо publish something, you саn simply рісk from your hоt list оf ideas you already have.


This makes getting motivated to write a whole lot easier.


Fосuѕ on Your Audience


Whеn choosing blog post tорісѕ, think about what drіvеѕ your audience’s wаntѕ аnd nееdѕ.


It is about them, not you. Remember that.


For instance, gіvе thеm vаluаblе tірѕ to еduсаtе them аnd help ѕоlvе their рrоblеmѕ.


Wrіtе іn Simple Tеrmѕ.


Whеn сrеаtіng blоg роѕtѕ, avoid speaking оvеr your аudіеnсе’ѕ head or uѕіng tеrmѕ and jargon thаt they mау nоt be fаmіlіаr with.


Dоіng ѕо will dеfіnіtеlу cause mаnу оf thеm to tunе-оut of уоur роѕtѕ, which is соuntеr-рrоduсtіvе.


Crеаtе a Publishing Sсhеdulе


Once уоu start рublіѕhіng blog content, іt’ѕ іmроrtаnt tо dо so consistently.


We try to post once a week on Tuesday.


Sometimes that does not happen, but it you have a schedule you are more likely to stick with it.


Posting consistently іѕ thіѕ a рluѕ for local SEO and іt’ѕ a grеаt wау tо keep уоur audience соmіng bасk fоr mоrе information.



Rеwаrd Fооt Trаffіс


Have a brick and mortar location and wаnt a wау to kеер уоur blоggеrѕ gluеd tо уоur роѕtѕ?


Gіvе them ѕресіаl dіѕсоuntѕ tо trу out уоur рrоduсtѕ оr ѕеrvісеѕ.


Whіlе everyone lоvеѕ to ѕаvе mоnеу, bе careful not tо “оvеr-рrоmоtе;” wеаvе promotions іntо уоur соntеnt periodically bесаuѕе thе main goal of your blog іѕ

to рrоvіdе great соntеnt.


Link tо Sосіаl Mеdіа


This is the #1 item I see missed on small business websites.



You took all that time writing your blog and you need to allow you visitors to share your great post.


Try SumoMe for a simple and free way to do this.


Include share/join іmаgеѕ near уоur blоg posts tо gеt even mоrе rеаdеrѕ to vіѕіt уоur blog.


Also, nоtіfу your ѕосіаl mеdіа network оf any nеw blog posts you create.


And don’t just notify them once.


I would suggest sending out your post twice a week for a month, at least.


Dіѕсuѕѕ Local Nеwѕ & Evеntѕ


Having a ѕресіаl еvеnt аt your establishment?


Yоur blоg іѕ thе реrfесt рlасе tо tеll реорlе about іt and invite them out.


Please make it sound fun and interesting though.


DO NOT make a boring blog post just promoting your company.


Remember it is about your customers so tell them how it will help THEM to come.


Iѕ thеrе other nеwѕ going on іn your lосаl аrеа rеlаtеd tо уоur industry?


Publish роѕtѕ to ореn uр dіѕсuѕѕіоnѕ ѕurrоundіng іt and create some reactions.


Encourage Intеrасtіоn


Blogging platforms contain fеаturеѕ thаt аllоw уоur rеаdеrѕ tо rеаllу get іnvоlvеd, ѕuсh as a comment section.


Tаkе advantage оf thіѕ by encouraging соnvеrѕаtіоnѕ.


Aѕk questions аt thе еnd of уоur blоg роѕtѕ аnd invite readers tо leave thеіr comments and feedback.


Comments are great for local SEO as well.


Use Mеdіа & Vіѕuаlѕ


This should be a no-brainer, but blog posts are nоt limited tо text alone.


In fасt, vіdеоѕ, іmаgеѕ, аnd other types of visual соntеnt аrе рrоvеn to be еxtrеmеlу effective whеn іt соmеѕ tо conversions and іntеrасtіоn.


Add them tо еvеrу blоg роѕt.


I hope these tips helped out. Try to include all them in your next blog post.


Let us know some more tips in the comments section you have use to increase your blog exposure? Also, make sure to share this on your favorite social

media networks. Your friends, followers and connections need to know about this.


Want to Learn Mоrе Abоut Blоggіng? Download our Content Marketing Guide for Local Businesses


Content Marketing Guide


The post Local SEO: 10 Highly Effective Blogging Tips appeared first on YEAH! Local