For those who may not know, Yelp is a really great online website that allows users to write detailed reviews of their experiences at businesses all over the world. Anyone can post reviews on Yelp and anyone can read these reviews in addition to accessing photos of the business and basic business information. If you do not have a profile for your business on Yelp, it's time to take advantage of having a great platform like Yelp at your fingertips.

Setting Up & Managing Your Business Profile

1. Provide all of your correct business info. This info should include hours of operation, the business address, pictures, etc. It is also important that you take advantage of this opportunity by providing as much information as Yelp will allow you to. The more information provided the longer you'll keep the attention of your profile viewer.

2. Take advantage of the ability to provide photos of your business. Providing up to date images of your business, products, or services in action will give your potential new client a real and genuine idea of what to expect when they visit your business. Remember, other Yelp users will be able to provide additional photos of their experiences at your business, so be sure to not provide images that may be misleading.

3. Make a strong effort to respond to all of the reviews you receive, whether they be positive OR negative. Bad reviews have the potential to hurt your business's image, therefore it is very important that utilize any bad reviews you receive as constructive feedback for ways to improve your business. While you cannot remove a negative review, your best course of action is to address the review in question by providing a public reply in which you address the issue, apologize for any problems or misunderstandings, and offer the customer a second chance to try out your business. It absolutely vital to remember that while negative reviews can be upsetting to you as a business owner, your reviewers are paying customers with feelings too so be sure to approach your responses with care.

   By responding to negative reviews publicly, other Yelp users will be able to view firsthand how you handle the issue at hand. If handled properly, other users/customers will see that you as a business owner truly care about what your customers think and that you strive to maintain happy customers.

4. Consider adding a Yelp user special or discount. Yelp users will have far more reason to visit your business if an incentive like a coupon or discount were available. No matter what type of incentive you choose to offer, be sure to have a way for users to redeem the coupon, which is most easily accomplished by directing users to a landing page where they can print your coupon or special offer, or view a promo code for Yelp user discount.

Now that you have you have an accurate business profile on Yelp, be sure to actively update your business page and respond to your reviews. For more great tips and internet marketing information stay tuned for our next blog or get in touch with one of our expert online search marketing consultants at 1-951-541-9304 or toll free at 1-866-734-9946. One of our consultants can answer all of your questions about PPC management, SEO management and online marketing.

In our last blog, we discussed a few ways that you can stay on top of the latest trends using Facebook. Let's take a quick recap of the first few tips we shared:

1. Decide what type of content is right for you. That content can be photos, videos, links, questions, etc... Whatever you choose, be sure to use engaging content. If you aren't engaged by it, those who read it or view it will likely feel the same.

2. Tagging your content. Tag any person, place or thing that has a Facebook page when using or mentioning it on Facebook. This will essentially help to broaden your exposure.

3. Take advantage of the ability to schedule your posts. Your posts may be less visible to certain users, so maximize your exposure by scheduling them for a time when they are likely to have more engagement. Read more on how to schedule your posts in our blog entry titled "Facebook's Latest Features: Post Scheduling & Administrator Assigning".

This week, we'll be sharing a few more tips on ways Facebook users can stay on top of current Facebook trends.

1. Work in partnership with your team. Two heads are always better than one, so discuss with your team/partner what you feel would be the most engaging content possible. Typically, a good idea will snowball into a great idea with the support of a great team or partner.

2. Inspire your team to share/promote your content or link. When multiple users begin to share a link, it creates a related news feed, which ultimately increases your chances of being seen.

3. Promote your posts. This is one of the latest big ticket tools being utilized on Facebook. Utilize the post promoter, will essentially allow you to promote your status update to ensure that more of your followers will see your post. Thus opening the possibility to an increase in likes, shares, and comments. This great feature offers a variety of tools to help users easily customize their audience targeting. To learn how to easily promote your posts, please read our blog entry titled "Promoting Your Facebook Page Posts" for a breakdown.

4. Remember why your followers are there. Followers are obviously a fan of your product or a fan of the information you provide and they follow you because they simply want to support you. Another reason you gain followers, is because they want the opportunity to get deals and discounts. A lack of followers could simply mean that you are providing useful or engaging content to attract these followers.

These simple and user friendly tips are sure to help you stay on top of Facebook. If you would like more information on how you can market your business online, please stay tuned for our next blog or get in touch with our expert online search marketing consultants at 1-951-541-9304 or toll free at 1-866-734-9946. One of our consultants can answer all of your questions regarding PPC Management, SEO Management and online marketing.

Facebook is constantly makes new changes in an effort to stay on top of trends. However, there is at least one thing that has and will always remain the same, bad content will always remain bad. The challenge is being able to produce good content that can be seen and heard. Here a few simple tips for sharing content via Facebook.

1. Select which type of content is best for you. While for some it's all about photos, for others it's all about the written word. Here are some of the types of content options you have on Facebook: content only, link only (link + status), photo only (photo + status), video only (video + status), note, poll or question, and event. Typically, the most engaging type of content is images. But the secret to have engaging written content that will get a response is by asking questions, posting about controversial topics, posting about feel good topics, or posting updates that will have some sort of an emotional trigger (a laugh, a cry, etc...). Also, for maximum exposure, make sure that your post is visible to all by using the "public" feature found in the settings below your status.

2. Be sure to tag your content. When posting ANYTHING on a Facebook page that happens to mention a person, place or thing that has its own Facebook page, be sure to tag them. It's a simple Facebook trick that will allow your content to have a much better chance of being seen. This applies to any and all status updates, photos, videos and location check-ins. However, don't post junk. Junk will be seen for exactly what it is and garner no interaction.

3. Schedule updates for a time when they would be appropriate. The typical lifespan of a Facebook posting is around 23 hours. However, depending on a user's behavior, Facebook's algorithm could make your posts less visible to certain viewers. So be sure to take care when it comes to maximizing the amount of viewers that will see your content. Take advantage of Facebook's scheduling options when it comes to your posts and schedule them at a time when they are likely to have more engagement.

Be sure to stay tuned for our next blog, where we'll share a few more tips on how you can be seen and heard on Facebook. For more information on how you can promote your business through Facebook or other services like PPC Management, get in touch with one of our expert online search marketing management consultants at 1-951-541-9304 or toll free at 1-866-734-9946. One of our consultants can assist you with all of your online marketing and SEO management needs.

This week, we'll be discussing how you can utilize Pinterest for direct marketing. In our last blog we discussed how business owners could utilize their Pinterest accounts as a form of integrated marketing, so let's first take a quick moment to recap:

1. Broaden and expand your level of exposure by cross-promoting your content through multiple social media outlets like a blog, a Facebook page, Twitter, etc... Also utilize cross-promotion when creating online contests for maximum coverage.

2. Taking advantage of the "Pin It" button by adding it to your website or blog. This will allow visitors to easily pin your images or video content with the ease of a single click.

Direct Marketing

While you can't actually try to sell anything directly through your Pinterest habits, it certainly does not mean that you cannot use Pinterest for marketing. When it comes to your marketing habits, you'll just simply need to learn how to think outside-the-box. To help you, we've provided a few simple ideas to help you begin thinking about ways to creatively market yourself on Pinterest:

1. Create exclusive product bundles. As we had mentioned in one of our previous blogs, you can utilize Pinterest to create custom product pin boards. Take this idea to the next level by creating a board with an exclusive set of product bundles which you offer at a special price. Think them bundles like a graduation party supply bundle or maybe even a baby shower supply bundle.

2. Creating Coupon Pin Boards. If your business utilizes a multitude of coupons over the web, consider creating a pin board for your coupons. This really is a great way to share them with a larger audience base.

3. Using QR Codes for Pin Boards. The same train of thought that goes for coupons can also be applied to QR codes. This also works really great for businesses that utilize creatively designed QR codes instead of standard QR codes.

We really hope that these set of tips have helped to provide you with a little more insight on ways businesses could utilize Pinterest as a beneficial marketing tool. For more information on great marketing tips and other ways you can improve your online marketing campaign as a business owner, be sure to keep an eye out for our future blogs. You can also give us a call at 1-951-541-9304 where you can get in touch with a marketing consultant about our SEO management and PPC management services.

In our last blog we discussed how a business could utilize Pinterest as a form of indirect marketing. Let's take a quick moment to recap:

1. Pinterest is a social bookmarking tool that is based strictly around images and videos.

2. You can utilize Pinterest to create customized product boards that reflect your product and it's uses.

3. Create audience specific boards that can cater to different divisions of your target audiences so that your boards become more versatile and personalized for these specific subdivisions.

4. Use Pinterest for contests. Everyone loves contests and contests create the perfect kind of buzz businesses need.

5. Utilize Pinterest as a way to gather market research. The more you know about your target clientele's interests and needs, can help you to better your product or program.

While Pinterest is great for sharing and conferring about images and videos, it's important to know how that can be taken to the next level through cross-promotion on the social web. It's vital that business owners are capable of finding ways to get people interested in sharing your images and videos through their own Pinterest pin boards, since the number one goal will be all about giving content the most exposure possible. So to help, today we'll be talking about how you can use Pinterest for integrated marketing.

Integrated Marketing

1. Cross-promoting: To help broaden and expand the level of exposure you have, any content that is published should be cross-promoted on either a blog, a Facebook page, Twitter and any other types of social media profiles found on Pinterest pin boards. You should also cross-promote any marketing initiatives on Pinterest, but make sure to read up on the terms of use of all of the social media outlets you'll be utilizing to ensure that you are not in violation of any rules.

   For example, when you create an online contest, it should be created on your business blog or Facebook Page and not on Pinterest itself. However, as part of your contest you could ask people to pin images to Pinterest.

2. Utilize a "Pin It" Button: Consider adding a "Follow Me on Pinterest" button to your website or blog. By adding a "Pin It" button, people can easily pin your images or video content with the ease of a single mouse click. These buttons can easily be installed within a matter of seconds and will instantly make your content vastly easier to share.

We hope these tips have given you a little more insight on how a business could benefit from utilizing Pinterest as a marketing tool. In our next blog we'll be discussing how Pinterest can be used for direct marketing purposes. For more great information on ways to improve your online marketing, either stay tuned for our next blog or simply give us a call at 1-951-541-9304 where you can speak directly with a marketing consultant about our SEO management and PPC management services.

Not unlike most other social media sites, Pinterest can also be a really great stage for indirect marketing. If you don't know already, Pinterest is similar to that of a social bookmarking tool only it's all based around images and videos. On Pinterest, you'll be able to "pin" your favorite online images or videos to a virtual pin board where other members can either "repin", like or comment on them. What's best is the fact that Pinterest is free, fun and easy to use. What business owners may not realize is that the visual aspect of Pinterest offers a wide variety of creative ways for businesses to connect with consumers.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Customized product pin boards: While it does depend on the types of products a business may be selling, a custom product pin board can be easily created to indirectly market a business' products. For example, if you own a cosmetics line you could easily create a pin board that features specific beauty looks/trends that include lip sticks, blushes/bronzers, eyeliners, eye shadows, nail polish or other beauty products. Instead of merely republishing an online collection/catalog, a pin board easily allows for custom combinations for specific purposes, events or themes.

2. Audience-specific pin boards: Think of this type of pin board being similar to that of a customized product pin board, the only difference is that you create specific pin boards for different divisions of your target audiences. Still using the cosmetics line as an example, you could create specific pin boards like: "Face," "Nails," "Hair," or "Beauty Tutorials."

3. Pinterest for contests: Using Pinterest for contests can not only get extremely creative, but can be easily promoted across a variety of business' social media profiles. For example, create a contest for the best image pinned of a customer created make-up look or make-up how to.

4. Using Pinterest for market research: Pinterest can be a great tool when used as an informal way of gathering market research for developing better products, programs, packaging concepts, experiences, etc... Simply pin images of new products or programs in development and ask what people think about it.

5. Pin boards featuring educational/how-to videos: If you already create how-to videos on a YouTube account or even tutorials on a business blog, Pinterest is the perfect place for you to pin and share this content. You can even create a specific pin board that caters strictly to how-to videos for wider exposure.

We hope these tips have given you a little more insight on how Pinterest can be a useful tool for your business. In our next blog we'll be discussing how Pinterest can be used for integrated marketing purposes. For more great information on ways to improve your online marketing, either stay tuned for our next blog or simply give us a call at 1-951-541-9304 where you can speak directly with a marketing consultant about our SEO management and PPC management services.

Have you ever stopped to wonder how the photo sharing community of Instagram could be a benefit to you? As one of the hottest new trends in social media, photo sharing apps like Instagram allow people to take images using their phone, apply options and filters that enhance or spiff up the image and eventually share them on other social mediums like Facebook and Twitter. Like some other social media outlets, Instagram users can search and discover posts using hashtags as well as being able to accrue followers. However, unlike other social outlets, Instagram users only have the ability to review photos via the app only and not online.

But don't let that deter you from trying to use it to your advantage. Instagram can be a great medium for networking and promoting your business.

5 Ways to Increase you Exposure

1. Find out how your consumers view you as a company. Try using hashtags to find out what aspect of your business consumers seem to enjoy the most. This will give you a good idea of type of content your consumers will respond the best to. Just like with other social media outlets, it's important to remember that blatant self-promotion doesn't work on Instagram. You might be surprised to know that Instagram actively discourages it. This doesn't mean you aren't allowed to show or promote your product, it just means you need to find more interesting ways of doing so.

2. Sign up and promote your Instagram account. Just like you promote your Facebook or Twitter account, it's important that you actively try to encourage your customers to visit your Instagram profile.

3. Use the Instagram app as your default photo medium. Instagram makes it incredibly easy to link both your Twitter and Facebook account, as well as other social mediums like: Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare. By linking all of your other social accounts, you'll be feeding all of your social apps at the same time using only Instagram.

4. Aggregate your Instagram Content. Most may not realize, but Instagram actually features an API so that programmers can easily pull photos from Instagram into other assets to aggregate and display them any number of ways.

5. Use Instagram as a host for events and even promotions for your community. Social promotions can be a really great way to help increase brand awareness, as well as grow communities. Creating promotions on Instagram can be as easy as asking your fans to use a specific hashtag in order to have their photos reviewed. You can even create contests that revolve around Instagram.

We hope these tips will help you in all of your future social media endeavors. For more great information on ways to improve your online marketing to your customers or target audience, either stay tuned for our next blog or simply give us a call at 1-951-541-9304 where you can speak directly with a marketing consultant about our SEO management and PPC management services.