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Google Listing Scams

Google Listing, Google My Business, Google “Map Pack,” Google Knowledge Box, and Google Maps listings are all based on the same data.  Do not fall victim to a random fishing call stating that there is something wrong with your Google My Business Listing (or Google Listing).  Many of our clients have contacted us stating that they have received a phone call from an “unknown” number, or a random phone number attempting to get information from them to update their listing.  The caller is either a recording or a person stating that their Google Listing is unverified, and they must take action immediately.  This is a scam.

Your current marketing provider should be updating your business page as needed.  Additionally, once your business is verified with Google, there is no need for this process to happen again.  So, let’s talk a little bit about Google and how businesses appear on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) based on the information Google has.

Google verifies brick-and-mortar businesses (even if they provide services to the home, like Carpet Cleaning or AC Repair) via postcard.  The purpose of this is two-fold.  One purpose is to validate the business address so that it appears correctly in Google “Map” Pack on a SERP.  Additionally, this information is included in Google Maps, with a unique ID number assigned to your business location.

The Google Knowledge Box (the info on the right had side of a SERP which usually includes customer service number, images, logo, name of business owner, etc.) is based on a little bit different set of information that Google pulls from the website or product listing page of a website.  However, having your Google My Business information and Google Location information all in synch helps improve the chance your info will appear in a Knowledge Box.

If you have any questions about how to ensure your Google Listing is optimized, or if you want any help making sure your local business is showing up in the most relevant SERP listings possible, please contact us today.  We WILL HELP YOU! 727-742-6473.

Employees fist bumping each other
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Top Ways of Showing Appreciation to Employees

Top Ways of Showing Appreciation to Employees

You can tell your employees how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises, awards and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year and help the people in your work life feel valued.

Looking for ideas about how to praise and thank employees? Please see suggestions below;

  • Praise your employees about a job that has done well. Identify the specific actions that you found admirable. This praise feels sincere since you took the time to spell out details not just, “You did a good job.” You also emphasize the actions that you’d like to see the employee do more often and everybody benefits.

 

  • Say Thank You! Show your appreciation for their hard work and contributions. Don’t forget to say please often as well. A gracious, polite, civilized workplace is appreciated by all. Also if you “ask” and not “demand or dictate” the employee won’t feel demoralized.

 

  • Ask your employees about their interests. Questions and acknowledgments about their family, their hobbies, their weekend or a special event they attended. Your genuine interested as opposed to being nosey. This causes people to feel valued and cared about.

 

  • Offer your staff a flexible scheduling for the holidays, if feasible. If work coverage is critical, post a calendar so people can balance their time off with that of their coworkers. This shows you care about their personal time and not all about work.

Rewards and Recognition

  • You can give a card for no reason at all, to celebrate a special day such as a birthday, or to offer sympathy when a employee is ill or experiences a family death.
  •  If you can afford to give employees money. End of the year bonuses, attendance bonuses, quarterly bonuses and gift certificates.
  •  Take employees to lunch for a birthday, a special occasion or for no reason at all. Let them pick the restaurant. Or, order pizza or lunch from a caterer or a store that delivers. Schedule a brunch for a team that has met its current goals.
  •  Bring in bagels, doughnuts or other treats.
  •  Provide opportunity. People want chances for training and cross-training. They want to participate where their talents are noticed all employees.
  •  Have a yearly charity event where the whole office takes a work day (paid) to work with a non-profit for the day. This is good for the community and brings the staff together for team building.

Employee appreciation is never out-of-place. In fact, in many organizations, it’s often a scarce commodity. Make your workplace the exception. Use every opportunity to demonstrate your gratitude and appreciation to employees. They’ll bring you success in employee motivation, employee recognition and in building a positive, productive workplace.

iPhone with twitter logo
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Twitter Best Practices

Who should use this platform?  If you have a service or product that can be provided or shipped to a huge geographical audience, but is still a niche market, then Twitter is a great platform to have an active presence.  Destinations, travel services, influencers, political and social causes, non-profits, and artists are great examples of goods and service providers which do well on Twitter.

make sure each of your blogs has a designated featured image because this will auto populate into the tweet

The value of  Twitter organic marketing is using #’s to reach potential customers.  If your organization or business provides craft beer that you can ship as gifts, or parasailing adventures at a popular destination beach, Twitter is great for generating awareness, gaining brand loyalty and promoting your product and service organically.

Paid advertising on Twitter is considered “Promoting” a tweet, and this allows your tweet or Twitter Card to show on feeds of users who don’t necessarily follow you.  This is a great way to initially gain followers, but using #’s is powerful too… and it’s free.

iPhone with twitter logo

Twitter is great for products and services that cover huge geographical niche audiences.

Before you launch an awareness campaign on Twitter, do a little research on which #’s are relevant to your product or service, and start piggybacking on existing #’s in addition to creating your own brand (if you choose).  Use quality images with tweets as much as possible, and make sure they’re clear.  Quality images is important on that platform because most users are viewing their feed on their smartphone, so images are small.  If you’re linking to a blog post on your site, the “featured image” is typically the image that will show, so make sure each of your blogs has a designated featured image because this will auto populate into the tweet.

Twitter is a great free platform to promote your product or service if you can serve a huge geographical audience.  Whether you have product you can ship anywhere, or you are a destination or a cause, if anyone can enjoy what you’re offering, you likely can gain a loyal niche following on Twitter with very little monetary investment.

If you want help with social media marketing or even just an audit of current social media marketing campaigns, give us a call.  727-742-6473  We’ve got 10 minutes… We Will Help YOU!