Last updated 1 year ago
Social media is a great way to deliver a human response in real-time. But that doesn’t make it immune to human error. When it comes to social media, accidents can happen – and can go viral in seconds. While the thought of making headlines with an off-color mis-tweet from your brand might send a chill down any local business owner’s back, don’t despair! Shifting the tone is possible if you’re willing to demonstrate the right attitude in the face of a social media faux pas.
Road Rage from @ChryslerAutos
As a general rule, profanity has no place coming from a business Twitter account under any circumstance. Perhaps that’s why a tweet containing a certain four-letter word from Chrysler’s twitter account in March made waves seconds after going live.
What happened next? The tweet was deleted and an apology was issued, stating that the “account was compromised.” The person responsible for the profane tweet was fired, then sought to pursue legal action against the Twitter application he blamed for the social media snafu.
Frank Opinions from @SecretService
The verified Twitter account from the Secret Service let loose with a tweet this month that set off a spark in political blogs all over the web. While many high-profile public servants like senators, congressmen and the President himself broadcast their political views on Twitter regularly, government agencies usually don’t, which is why the @SecretService tweet criticizing Fox News was especially noteworthy.
Naturally, the tweet was taken down almost immediately, but its legacy lived on through many retweets. As might be expected from a government agency with “Secret” in the title, not much else has been discovered as far as who may have been responsible and what actions may have been taken as a result.
Boozy Slang from @RedCross
Finally, this third case of a personal tweet being published accidentally from a professional brand took the social media world by storm back in February, when the American Red Cross published a tweet about, well, beer. Citing the brewery, Dogfish Head, by name meant the tweet would get picked up on the beer brand’s radar. But if that weren’t enough, the tweet also contained a hashtag containing a slang synonym for intoxication: #gettngslizzerd.
For a humanitarian aid organization with tens of thousands of followers, this could have been a real disaster. But the Red Cross handled the situation professionally – and with a great deal of humor. They took it down, replacing it with: “We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.”
That forgiving, good-humored attitude did not go unnoticed by Twitter fans following the real-time debacle. As CNN reported, “Impressed by the Red Cross’ calm and humane response, other tweeters – especially @dogfishbeer’s fans – launched a fundraising and blood donation drive. Its hashtag: #gettngslizzerd.”
Lesson Learned?
When it comes to a social media slip-up on behalf of your brand, it’s not a matter of if – but when. Mistakes happen, and most people (including your customers) understand this. One way to prevent mis-tweets like these is to encourage the people in charge of your brand’s Twitter account to use one Twitter app for their personal account(s), and a different Twitter app for their professional accounts. Switching between two separate apps is a small price to pay in the long run if it can mean avoiding a social media snafu on behalf of your brand.
But if a bad tweet does come from your corporate account, try to have a sense of humor about it as much as you can. Of course, some mis-tweets will be worse than others, but anytime you can make light of the situation instead of treating it like it’s a doomsday scenario, your brand personality will come across as more friendly than fearsome. And in the online social sphere, friendliness gets you much further in the long run.
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
Last updated 2 years ago
Today, many local businesses are discovering how tablets like the iPad, Xoom and Samsung Galaxy can be efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly complements to everyday duties. Here are a few ways your local businesses can use tablets to improve productivity, operational efficiency, and the customer experience.
On-Demand Information
Tablets are a great way for employees to demonstrate products, answer questions, or provide other on-demand information whenever customers need it. An iPad could put helpful information like product photos and videos, price lists, catalogs, and more at employees’ fingertips and provide a quick and seamless way to share information with your customers. Best Buy uses iPads to enhance the customer’s in-store experience, while hotel concierge can use them to look up local information for out-of-town guests.
Training and Orientation
A tablet like the iPad could also be a great way to simplify employee training or conduct business meetings. Tablets make it easy to create content and provide a comfortable and social environment for sharing presentations, videos, and more - especially in a one-on-one or small group setting.
Credit Card Payments
Many businesses like San Francisco’s Sightglass Coffee are replacing traditional computers and cash registers with tablets like the iPad. With a credit card reader and app like Square, cash registers essentially become mobile, saving time and reducing lines at the check-out counter. Receipts can then be sent to the buyer via email to complete a smooth, paperless transaction.
Appointment Scheduling and Tracking
Does your local business require clients to book appointments and check-in when they visit? Try a tablet application to keep track of it all. For instance, Vagaro is a tablet-friendly iPad app for salons and spas that lets you create, change, and cancel appointments on the fly, keep notes on your customers, send appointment reminders via email and text, and accept online appointments.
Digital Forms and Notes
Tablets can help you increase productivity by enabling patients and customers to fill out and sign consent forms, credit applications, customer surveys and more - all without a single sheet of paper. Tablets also make it a cinch for staff to take detailed notes during appointments and immediately save important information without fear of losing paper or not being able to read their handwriting.
Mobile CRM
Sales, service, or delivery personnel can use tablets as a quick way to tap into the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) system, to instantly access leads, order histories, service issues, and other important data while out in the field. For example, this furniture company arms its delivery drivers with iPads that serve both as a point-of-sale tool, complete with furniture catalog, as well as a device for obtaining customer signatures.
Restaurant Menus and Management
A handful of restaurants have already replaced their traditional printed menus with touch-screen tablet menus. Apps like LeMenu let you custom-create a menu or drink list that customers can browse. Some restaurants have even integrated an ordering feature that lets either the customer or the waiter input an order directly on the tablet, which is received electronically by the chef staff. Restaurants can also leverage tablet technology for keeping track of vendor orders and inventory, managing reservations and wait check-ins, and streamlining at-table payments.
What are some ways you could imagine using tablets in your local business? What unique or exceptional ways have you seen businesses tablet technology being used to improve their operations?
Tamara Farley helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media marketing, and more as a blogger for ReachCast and ReachLocal.
Last updated 2 years ago
Today we’re honored to receive the UK Trade & Investment Business Innovation Award for Service Provision! As part of the fifth annual BritWeek, the British government is recognizing us for our excellence in service for bringing online solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses in the UK. As Fiona Francois, West Coast Director of UK Trade and Investment, noted, “ReachLocal is representative of the many diverse California companies operating in the UK with outstanding innovation in design, technology and service provision.”
Picture from left to right: Fiona Francois, Director of West Coast for UKTI; Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, Britain's Minister of State for Trade & Investment; and Jason Whitt, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for ReachLocal.
John Mazur, managing director of ReachLocal Europe underscores the value of this recognition and award. “Local UK businesses are confronted with the same dilemma other businesses have around the world by trying to reach their customers through the fragmented Internet. We solved that problem by bringing together proprietary technology and personal service to help businesses successfully transition their offline marketing to online.”
Ever since we were founded in 2004, our focus has always been on the local advertiser – even as we expand our services globally. We are humbled to be recognized and rewarded for fulfilling our mission in London, Manchester and Birmingham, and we’re motivated to continue bringing our products and services to local businesses where we operate, and beyond.
To learn more about this prestigious award, read the press release here.
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
Last updated 2 years ago
The effectiveness of your overall online marketing strategy depends not just on which tactics you use, but also on which tactics work well together. As Nathan Linnel at SearchEngineWatch.com reported, a new study illustrates how search engine marketing and social media marketing play a vital role in the consumer purchase decision – independently and together. Some of the findings in this study might even change the way you use each to promote your local business today.
Consumers have historically searched online first and foremost as a way to discover local businesses. According to the study, 58% of purchase decisions still begin on search engines, while 18% originate on social media.
But where people look first isn’t the only nugget of note in this report. Interestingly, 51% of purchase decisions were conducted exclusively on search engines – but 48% included a mix of search and social media.
However, this isn’t meant to imply that the search-engine-only consumers aren’t getting a significant dose of social media. Search engines like Google have already begun recognizing how certain social media elements are part of what consumers are looking for when searching for local businesses online, as demonstrated by the new Google feature, +1. And consider the way reviews are featured prominently in Google Place pages – yet another example of Google’s latest evolutions to incorporate more consumer-generated content in search results.
The report also noted that several important web presence factors that affect the consumer purchase decision:
- Reviews – 30%
- Facebook – 17%
- Video sharing – 14%
- Twitter – 9%
Overall, the findings in this study underscore the power of establishing a dynamic web presence that can help your business with search discovery – and social media – to make sure your brand is well represented to consumers who are using search and social in their decision-making process.
Are you directing enough of your online marketing resources to both search and social? After seeing stats like these, are you thinking of shifting more resources to one, the other – or both? Let us know your thoughts in a comment.
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
Last updated 2 years ago
The influx of new customers that comes as a result of offering a group buying deal can be exciting – or a serious strain on your business. After all, ensuring you have enough product in stock and personnel on hand is crucial if you want to create enjoyable experiences that compel new customers to return and write happy reviews online. If adding a cap to your group deal can create a more manageable deal commerce experience for your business, it’s worth considering whether pacing your deal could be another helpful tactic. Pacing your group deal, a feature currently offered by only some deal commerce groups, means your deal appears on news, lifestyle and entertainment sites across the Web throughout the year – and it could be a significant part of your overall web presence and customer acquisition strategies.
PROS of Pacing Your Group Deal:
- Gives you brand exposure – again and again. By putting your deal in front of quality consumers on multiple sites repeatedly and throughout the year, your deal functions a lot like a display ad or paid search campaign in building awareness for your business over time.
- Gives you more control over how you build your new customer base. Instead of struggling to deliver good experiences to huge flood of new customers all at once, it may be easier for you to satisfy new customers as they visit your business over a longer period of time.
- Gives you an opportunity to steadily build your online reputation. Remember: your customer service is a way of advertising your business. Having enough resources on hand and the time to be attentive and courteous with each and every deal redemption is a winning strategy for building that 4- or 5-star review for your business online.
CONS of Pacing Your Group Deal:
- Your deal redemption process becomes long-term. Making sure you continue to have enough product and personnel to fulfill deal requests throughout the year will become an operational staple if you pace your deal.
- May cut your “lump sum” revenue short. Pacing your offer could limit the initial short-term boost of revenue success you could achieve with a normal, unpaced group buying offer.
After you determine that a group buying deal is right for your local business, it’s important to consider logistical details on what the deal should look like and how it will operate in order to better predict the demands as well as the rewards. That’s why it’s important that you choose a deal commerce partner who can work with you to identify your needs and goals to customize the perfect deal for your business.
Have you ever heard of the option to pace your deal? Would this be a feature you’d want to try? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
