Google My Business is a network for profiles for businesses. In essence, it is like LinkedIn but only for businesses. If you own or run a business, it is one of the places where you should invest your time and money to build an online presence. It is connected to Google’s other search networks, making it easier for other companies and potential customers to find you. In this article, we discuss what you need to know about using Google My Business to grow your brand.
Create a Profile
The first step in using Google My Business to grow your brand is to start a new profile for your business. Anyone can create a profile for any business that is not already listed. That means that your employees, the business owner, or even customers may have started a profile already. If this is the case, all you have to do is claim it.
Completing the claim process or creating a new profile can be done in a few minutes. Once the profile is ready, you can begin to fill it in with relevant information about your business. Make sure that you provide accurate information, including your address and how customers can contact you. These will prove critically important in mankind sure that your business profile is effective at driving customers to your store.
Sell Your Brand Through Your Profile
As you fill in your profile, think of it as a chance to advertise your company to everyone in the surrounding area. Write the profile as if you were trying to create a flyer for a new business venture. Tell readers exactly what they want to know.
For example, the section about your business should focus on selling your brand story. Customers want to know what your company stands for. The posts section lets you include updates about what is important to your company, similar to how a blog functions. Take advantage of the different sections to show customers the important parts of your business and what makes it unique.
Supercharge Traffic with Strong Communication
Google My Business gives you several methods of communicating with the public regularly. Using the posts section, you can publish new content to your profile regularly. That content can focus on things that are important to customers, such as upcoming sales. Posting regularly also helps with your local SEO, which can boost traffic and conversions for your store.
Your other option is to communicate directly with people in the community through the messaging section of GMB. It is there for people to ask you questions and interact with your business. How you respond to those questions shows the community how you handle customer service. It is another chance to create positive relationships with the community, as well as help you reach the coveted “expert status” that many companies work toward. If your interactions are positive, you may find yourself becoming an important resource in the community and driving high amounts of traffic to your website.
Update Your Profile Regularly
Another way to get the most out of your Google My Business profile is to update it regularly. There are times where it is important to update specific information, like your store hours for holidays or special events. Keeping this information accurate and being active on your profile shows the community that you care and improves your reputation.
You can also update your photos and info sections with new content regularly. A creative way to do this is to rewrite the content to be relevant to holidays and other special events. Photos are important to growing your reputation in the community as well. People want to see other people interacting with your company. Not only does it help them decide to work with your company, but it also makes people happy to see you being a part of the community. Photos are easy and quick to update as well, making it one of the fastest and easiest ways to update your profile regularly.
Collect and Post New Reviews
Perhaps the most powerful piece of information that you can have in your profile is social proof. Fortunately, you can get it by collecting reviews. Having plenty of happy customers is a good thing, but it is not enough to rely on them to spread the word about your company on their own. You can gather reviews and use them on your profile to show other potential customers what it is like to work with your business. The more positive reviews you have, the more likely customers are to choose your company over other options.
There is Help Managing a Google My Business Profile
Like other forms of social media, it can be difficult for a company to keep up with the periodic management of a Google My Business profile. Fortunately, you can get help developing and managing your profile so that it becomes an important part of bringing in new customers. At KitelyTech, we can help your company master its Google My Business profile. Give us a call at (800) 274 2908 to discuss how we can help you.
