SOCIAL BUZZ: How to drive local customers to your business using Google My Business

Google My Business

As all local businesses know, having your business listed on Google is very important. Millions of consumers use Google to find and make trusted decisions about local businesses. Having an updated Google My Business listing with updated information, photos, hours and description is very critical.

If you previously used Google Places for Business or Google+ Pages dashboard to manage your business information, you’ve likely noticed that your account has been automatically upgraded to Google My Business dashboard. Google My Business makes it simpler than ever to make sure your local business information can be easily found across Google, including on Google Maps, Google Search, and Google+.

1 Verify your business
To add your local business to Google My Business, you must have a mailing address and meet their quality guidelines.
Local Google+ pages are designed for businesses that serve a particular locale. Local restaurants, hotels, dentists,
hardware stores, plumbers, QSRs or repair shops, for example, are eligible to create a local page.
To make sure the basic information you submit is accurate, Google will ask you to verify it first by entering a verification code that will be sent to either your business address or phone number.
You will have one or two verification options. You can also choose to skip verification and return to the Google My Business dashboard to complete the process later.
• Verification by postcard
• Verification by phone
Once you’ve verified, you may see a banner asking you to review your information and make any final changes.

2 Optimize your business information
After you’ve signed up for Google My Business, you’ll be able to add a description for your business, hours of operation, contact information, and photos.
Make sure the business information is complete and accurate.
• Make sure your business location is entered correctly on the map so users can find you easily. You can drag the
map marker to your exact business location.
• List your authoritative and official business website on the local Google+ page, since Google uses information from your website to help improve search results.
• Add information such as opening hours and payment types to help users choose among search results.
• Of course, be sure that your business name, physical address, and phone number(s) are correct.

Choose the most appropriate, specific categories for your business.
• Pick a category from the list of suggestions to help Google to show your business for the right searches.
• Don’t be afraid to choose specific categories instead of broad ones. The important thing is that the categoriesare accurate and describe your business well. Google’s search algorithm makes sure that users looking for “Book Stores” will see businesses in more specific categories like “Used Book Stores,” “Comic Book Stores,” and
“Rare Book Stores” too.

Establish a strong, accurate presence on the web.
• Google improves search results by aggregating information about your business from all over the web. Make
sure information about your business on third-party sites is accurate, and try to contact the respective site directly to correct any inaccurate information.
• Encourage customers to review your business by clicking Write a review on the local Google+ page.

3 Reviews
Reviews in Google My Business give business owners a way to see how customers are reviewing their business
across the web. As a business owner of a verified business, you can:
• Read reviews for your business from around the web.
• Respond to reviews from Google users.
• Check analytics to get an overview on how and where your customers are evaluating your business.

Read reviews
• Sign in to Google My Business dashboard.
• Scroll to “Reviews” and click Manage Reviews. Note that your business needs to be verified in order to respond to
reviews.
You’ll see a Review inbox listing any reviews Google users have left for your business as well as a compilation of snippets of reviews written about your business.
The Reviews analytics tab includes information detailing where users have evaluated your business, and the average
score of reviews of your business.

Tips for responding to reviews
Engaging with the people who give you feedback can be a good way to get to know your customers and what they think about your business. Note that you’ll be posting as the page for your business when you reply to reviews, and that your reply will be posted publicly. Replies to reviews may not appear immediately on the page.
Business owner responses allow you to build relationships with customers, but
they’re also public.
Business owners can also use the Sociallybuzz app social media and reputation management software to receive and respond to reviews directly from their mobile phone.
The ultimate goal is to have the best Google My Business listing by keeping your listing up to date and providing important information to potential consumers.

Post: Originally written for Franchising USA

Article by –

Andre Kay is CEO and chief marketing officer of Sociallybuzz, which exists to help franchise owners grow their business using social media. By helping them reach relevant customers, build customer loyalty, mange reputation and increase revenue. We protect relationship with their customer, create effective campaigns, manage their social channels and online reputation 24/7.

Check out our following services:

1) Social Media Services for Nightclubs

2) Social Media Services for Franchises

3) Social Media Services for Restaurants

4) Reputation Management

5) Social Media Management Tool

BUZZ: Sociallybuzz Launches New Redesigned and Responsive Website

For Immediate Release

Sociallybuzz Launches New Redesigned and Responsive Website

The new website has been designed to provide an enhanced viewing experience with effortless navigation and functionality throughout, allowing restaurants, franchises, nightclubs and brands to access social media and reputation services.

Sociallybuzz, the number one social media management company and pioneer of the social media management phenomenon, is launching its new website built on the new responsive design platform today. As the first social media management company to fully use this type of web technology, the new design will give potential clients an enhanced viewing experience.  New features include effortless navigation and reading of their social media services, case studies, as well as minimization of browser resizing and scrolling. The new website will work seamlessly across a range of different devices, from desktops to smartphones.

Sociallybuzz boasts clients such as Domino’s Pizza, Jamba Juice, T.G.I Fridays, Allstate, Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery, and many more innovative leading brands in a range of industries.  Furthermore, the leading-edge social media management company services the restaurant, franchise, nightclub and retail store industry.  Sociallybuzz is once again setting the trend for the industry.

“It was necessary for us to take this step to continue being at the forefront of the ever changing social media and online industry.  We’re consistently looking for new and improved ways to make the experience simpler for potential clients,” said CEO and Founder, Andre Kay.

Sociallybuzz is known for their social media management services, successful social media campaigns, unique approach to reputation management and social media products.

The new website launch ahead of Sociallybuzz’s biggest contribution to the social media industry. A huge announcement will be made by CEO and Founder Andre Kay in the coming weeks.

To view the new website visit www.Sociallybuzz.com from any device.

About Sociallybuzz

Sociallybuzz launched in 2009 based out of Miami, Florida, is a social media marketing, management, reputation & campaign company. Sociallybuzz provides social media management, marketing, fan page management, event online digital marketing, and social media consultation using our “Build, Engage and Grow” methodology.  As the industry changes, Sociallybuzz is evolving along with it. Sociallybuzz is designed to help all companies, brands and businesses with simple or advanced social media development and marketing while delivering businesses and brands the greatest number of options in how they define and reach their relevant audiences.

BUZZ: Domino’s Pizza Buzzbadges [PIC]

We created custom buzzbadges for Domino’s Pizza.

Pretty Cool!

 

BuzzBadges:

Social Media awareness products including window clings, window stickers, door clings, door stickers, napkins, counter display, and table tents to be placed on windows, doors, tables and counter tops at your establishment/store-front. This will increase social engagement and encourage customers to check-in via Facebook Places, Yelp and Foursquare. As well as engage with your business on Urbanspoon, Google Places, Instagram and Pinterest.

About:

Sociallybuzz, provides social media management, marketing, fan-page application development and social media consultation. The company is designed to help brands and businesses develop a firm foundation in social media and marketing while delivering the greatest number of options in how they define or reach their relevant audience and increase sales. We also have a robust team that is responsible for handling each and every Yelp, Urbanspoon, Google, TripAdvisor and Foursquare review for our clients. For more information about Sociallybuzz, please visit our website: www.Sociallybuzz.com

Check out our following services:

1) Social Media Services for Nightclubs

2) Social Media Services for Franchises

3) Social Media Services for Restaurants

4) Reputation Management

Meet the new Google+

Enjoy a beautiful new way to explore the stuff you love, and dive deeper into the things you like with related hashtags.

The company added 41 new features to Google+ as a part of an effort to make it smarter and more intuitive, with the help of bigger pictures and related hashtags.

The update includes a multi-column layout. Depending on the screen size and orientation — and what kind of device you’re using — there will be one, two or three columns. Photos take center stage and fill the entire width of the stream, as a part of an effort to make it easier for users to scan the site.

“Behind the scenes, we’ll also identify and rank relevant conversations across the network,” Google said. “When you click on the related hashtag, we’ll flip the card, and let you browse related content inline.”

Google also announced a series of features to improve photos. For example, Auto Awesome — yes, it’s actually called that — uses a set of photos in your library to create an animated GIF.

Auto Enhance is a filter that improves brightness, contrast, saturation and so on of pictures, and Auto Highlight helps you assemble albums easier.

“Auto Highlight helps you find your favorites faster by de-emphasizing duplicates, blurry images and poor exposures, and focusing instead on pictures with the people you care about, landmarks, and other positive attributes,” the company said.

Google announced 190 million people are now active in the Google+ stream, while 390 million are active across Google, including +1’ing apps in Google Play, making video calls in Gmail and sharing videos from YouTube.

RESOURCE: Mashable and Google

 

About:

Sociallybuzz, provides social media management, marketing, fan-page application development and social media consultation. The company is designed to help brands and businesses develop a firm foundation in social media and marketing while delivering the greatest number of options in how they define or reach their relevant audience and increase sales. We also have a robust team that is responsible for handling each and every Yelp, Urbanspoon, Google, TripAdvisor and Foursquare review for our clients. For more information about Sociallybuzz, please visit our website: www.Sociallybuzz.com

Check out our following services:

1) Social Media Services for Nightclubs

2) Social Media Services for Franchises

3) Social Media Services for Restaurants

Google Talking Shoes – Yes it Talks!

Google showed off the “talking shoe” for the first time at SXSW, the Austin tech and culture event.

It hosts about 250 phrases that the small computer in the tongue of the shoe spits out at you, depending on differing factors, including whether someone is stationary, walking, running or playing a sport.

Google and its ad agency made it clear to reporters in Austin that it has absolutely no plans whatsoever to actually release the shoes; rather, the next-gen footwear was developed as part of a thought experiment on how wearable technology could interact with the human body and with the Internet. (The shoe, of course, is able to post status updates to Google+, and the video advertisement below shows the shoe with its own Google+ profile.)

Resource: Huffington Post and allthingsd

About:

Sociallybuzz, provides social media management, marketing, fan-page application development and social media consultation. The company is designed to help brands and businesses develop a firm foundation in social media and marketing while delivering the greatest number of options in how they define or reach their relevant audience and increase sales. We also have a robust team that is responsible for handling each and every Yelp, Urbanspoon, Google, TripAdvisor, Foursquare review for our clients. For more information about Sociallybuzz, please visit our website: www.Sociallybuzz.com

Check out our following services:

1) Social Media Services for Nightclubs

2) Social Media Services for Franchises

3) Social Media Services for Restaurants

How to Take Control of a Restaurant Business Using Google

For those who own a restaurant, chances are, the restaurant is already listed on Google. 97% of consumers search for local businesses online. Customers are not only using Google to leave reviews, but to see other customer and friend reviews or to simply obtain information (for example, time, photos or address).

Currently, you may see two types of pages on Google for a single business. These pages are similar to either a Place page with scores and reviews, or a Google+ page with social features. Pages can be distinguished by features that are available. As a business owner, Google Places can be utilized to manage a business.  On the other hand, Local Google+ pages are unique from other categories of pages because they have features that allow customers to easily connect with a business’ physical location. For example, local pages include a map of the business’ location in addition to featuring its address, phone number and hours of operation. Local pages also share the functionality of other Google+ pages in the sense that “circles” may be created and managed, one can start or join hangouts, share content like posts or photos.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to take control of a restaurant business using Google:

If you haven’t done so already, you’ll first need to sign up for a personal Google+ account and create a local Google+ page.

1. Sign in to Google+  (create a Google+ profile if you don’t already have one).
2. Click Pages under  More on the left.
3. Click the Create new page button in the upper right hand corner.
4. Select the Local Business or Place category.
5. Type in your business’s phone number and click Locate. Make sure that the phone number is a business line and not a personal or cell phone number.
6. If you see your business listed, click on your business’ name, where you’ll be able to edit the address later if anything is incorrect. If the name of your business doesn’t appear, click Add your business to Google or look up a different number to try again.
7. Enter or edit basic information about your business, including business name, phone number, and address. If Google already has information about your business, you’ll be asked to confirm it. You can also edit any information that’s incorrect.

8. Select an age requirement that’s appropriate for your business.
9. Click Create, and you’re done! Now you can visit your page and add even more details about your business, such as hours, website address, and more contact information.

10. Now you will have the chance to verify the business. Click on verify and Google will send a postcard to the business address with a PIN to confirm it.

Once a local Google+ page is verified, the listing in Google Places for Business will no longer be manageable. All edits should be made directly through Google+, and if a listing is already verified in Google+ by someone else, you can request administrative rights from the existing owner if you would like to manage it. Verification allows others to discover that your local Google+ page is actually managed by your business. When you verify your Google+ page, your business will be found across Google, including search, maps, and mobile.

Also, keep in mind that current listing information on Google Maps will now be merged with your new Google+ Local listing. It’s important to have full control of your business listing on Google,  respond to reviews, add the appropriate photos and update contact information that reflects your business.

If you have any questions or opinions that you would like to add, please leave a comment below.

Andre Kay is CEO and chief marketing officer of Sociallybuzz. Sociallybuzz is designed to help restaurants, franchises and nightclubs with social media management, marketing and online reputation while delivering the greatest number of options in how they define
and reach their relevant audiences and increase sales. We also have a robust team that is responsible for handling each and every Yelp, Urbanspoon, Google, TripAdvisor, Foursquare review for our clients. For more information about Sociallybuzz, please visit our website: www.Sociallybuzz.com

Source: Goolge+ for Business