It’s the Tech News Tuesday #TNT roundup. Here’s a summary of useful news we found for you during March. Join our mailing list if you’d like to get our weekly #TNT tidbit.
New Photo Options for Google My Business
One of the best ways to improve your local search visibility is to verify and complete your listing on Google My Business. Google has announced an upgrade to My Business that gives you a lot more options for photos. You can now choose your logo, profile and cover photos and which one will appear with map results. Google also added separate options for interior and exterior photos of your business.
Improve your viability. Learn how to select the photo you want to appear in Google maps and search.
What can you do?
Take advantage of the additional local visibility by adding a complete set of photos to your Google My Business profile. Photos attract customers who are browsing to your business and give customers a sense of your organization. If you have a store front, show interior and exterior photos. You can also show photos of your products.
Facebook Removing Some Page Likes
Starting March 12, you may have seen a drop in the like count of your Facebook business page. Facebook announced it is removing likes from inactive accounts to make audience data even more meaningful for businesses. Don’t be alarmed if your Like count decreases. Inactive and Memorialized accounts will be removed from Like counts over the next few weeks.
Read all about it in the SocialTimes post from Adweek: UPDATED: Why Facebook Pages’ Like Totals May Drop
What can you do?
It’s not you, so don’t panic if you see a page like decrease. If Facebook is working for your business continue growing your Facebook fan base. If you want to see more engagement from your Facebook posts, try posting a video. Video posts are getting the most traction on Facebook right now.
What is the Meerkat app?
Meerkat is an app for the iPhone and iPad which allows you to broadcast live video streams from your phone or tablet to your followers. It is only a few weeks old, but hundreds of thousands of people have already signed up. Why might you want to try it?
Check out this article to see what people are already doing with this new tool. The most creative uses for Meerkat, SXSW’s hottest app
What can you do?
Are there times where sharing a live stream might benefit your organization? In addition to Meerkat, Google Hangouts lets you live stream on YouTube and record it for later too. Gamers may be familiar with Twitch.tv where 45 million people broadcast and watch game play. There’s even a new channel Livecoding.tv to watch programmers coding live. Even if live streaming is not for you, it is time to think about how you can incorporate more video in your messaging.
Don’t Get Your Online Reviews Banned
Are you getting online reviews? Make reviews work for your business. DO strengthen your online reputation by encouraging customers to review your business. DON’T provide incentives or discounts to review your business or you could be in trouble with the FCC. If there is any consideration given for an endorsement, it must be explicitly disclosed in the review. This law now clearly pertains to local reviews, positive or negative, as well.
Read all about it in this ReviewTrackers post: If You’re Requesting Customers to Review Your Business, Don’t “Incentivize”
What can you do?
It is OK, and encouraged, to ask customers to review your business online on Google+, Facebook, TripAdvisor, etc. as long as you do not provide any “incentive” like free product or a discount to do so. To make the most of reviews, monitor your online reviews and be sure to respond professionally to any negative reviews.
Video Marketing Stats for 2015
3 Things You Should Know About Video
- 6 billion hours of video are watched monthly on YouTube. Mobile makes up almost half of global watch time.
- 92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others.
- 70%of marketing professionals report that video converts better than any other medium.
See 12 more Video stats: The Top 15 Video Marketing Statistics for 2015
What can you do?
Only about a quarter of businesses are using any video marketing, but it is becoming the preferred method of getting information for a growing number of customers. Let us help you get started!
