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Why Your Business Needs a Social Media Policy

If you’re actively trying to build your business’ social media presence (which you should be!), it can be tempting to encourage your employees to champion your business and just let them loose online. Unfortunately, much like other highly traveled highways, the road to social media mishaps is paved with plenty of good intentions.

Before one of your well-intentioned employees posts something online that could damage your profit margins, consider putting a social media policy in place. Doing so can protect your business in multiple ways, and it can prevent unnecessary misunderstandings between yourself and your staff as to how your business should be presented via social media.

Three of the biggest reasons to consider implementing a social media policy for your business include:

Protecting Your Reputation

It’s tempting to think that one little embarrassing tweet or Facebook post won’t be noticed, but all it takes is for one particularly mortifying post or image to go viral and be seen by thousands (if not tens of thousands) of people. Protecting your business reputation online is about more than just dealing with bad reviews. Not only can you bet that your competitors would love to share your most embarrassing moments with their own followers, there are plenty of websites devoted to exposing embarrassing moments with as many people as they can. (Don’t believe us? Google “dumbest tweets ever” and marvel at the returns!)

Avoiding False Statements

Do you sometimes feel like you’re playing Telephone at work? You know, where you communicate something to a co-worker but when you hear what you thought you communicated five people later, the message is something completely different? Things get miscommunicated constantly in business environments, but you can control how many worms get out of that can by making sure your staff knows what they should and shouldn’t say online. Having a good social media policy can help protect you and your employees from inadvertently making false statements about your business’ policies, offers, and stances.

Building Your Brand

A social media policy that helps your staff adhere to your brand values will help build your brand value, which is a far-too-often overlooked benefit. Studies have shown again and again that having good brand value increases how reliable and trustworthy the public sees your business, which is always a good thing.

Have the policy but not a plan? Give us a call at 414-208-0700 or fill out our contact form today to see how our Milwaukee internet marketing team can help you build a strong social media strategy.

By Brew City Marketing|2016-03-02T07:19:21+00:00March 2, 2016|

What To Do About Negative Reviews

When you’re building a business, every online review counts. And, the smaller your business, the more painful each negative review feels (and looks). So, how should you cope with bad online reviews and negative social messaging? Here are a few tips:

Have a plan in place to catch issues early.
If you get a bad review, you should address it as soon as possible. That means having a plan in place to detect bad reviews quickly. Whether that’s using a reputation monitoring service or taking the time to inventory all of your social media accounts on a weekly basis, reputation monitoring should be part of your social media checklist.
Respond promptly and politely.
The last thing that you want to do is get into a “shouting” match with a disgruntled customer online. While it may be hard not to take an insulting review or social media message personally, it’s exactly what you need to do. Instead, remember to empathize, apologize, and try to find a solution. For instance, phrases like, “I can understand why that would frustrate you” and “I’m sorry” may feel like eating a little crow, but they can go a long way to defusing a potentially ugly exchange.
Control the conversation.
As any good politician can tell you, you can’t control what questions are asked of you but you can control how you answer. When it comes to responding to a bad online review, it’s essentially the same thing. Sure, you can’t control the complaint, but you can control the trajectory of your response. (Or, as Forbes calls it, you can “flip the script.”)

For instance, if you got a bad review for a delayed gift shipment, instead of just saying “So sorry, but you should have expected delays around the holidays,” you could instead respond with something like, “I’m sorry to hear that it took so long for your purchase to get to you. I’m proud to say that 99% of the time, our shipments arrive on time, but sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control that delay shipment.”
Take the conversation offline.
If the nature of the review lends itself to a more personal intervention, ask if you can contact the reviewer privately via email or phone to get more information and to more adequately address his or her situation. This can sometimes help keep potential escalations defused and out of the public eye. Plus, if necessary, it can allow you the opportunity to offer a small gift to appease a complainer without having to make the exchange public knowledge.
Get the complaint removed.
Although this is not typically an option, in rare circumstances review sites may allow you to have untrue or particularly egregious complaints removed. For instance, Yelp’s content guidelines call out threats, harassment, lewd language and hate speech as being content violations. So, if any of those are in a review that you feel unfairly targets your business, you can ask to have it removed for ToS (terms of service) and/or content violations. In any event, it can’t hurt to try, right?
Get positive.
If you have a system in place to maximize the number of positive reviews you get, the less visible the occasional bad review will look. Not sure how to get more good reviews? Ask! And ask often! Sending a thank you email after work is complete or asking for a review via your sales receipt are two easy ways to ask for reviews when customers are most likely to give them.

Need some other ideas on ways to get more good reviews? Call 414-208-0700 or fill out our contact form today to see how our Milwaukee internet marketing team can help. We offer a full suite of reputation monitoring and social media management services.

By Brew City Marketing|2022-01-17T19:14:51+00:00November 17, 2015|

Do You Need a Social Media Marketing Plan?

When you’re allocating your media dollars, deciding whether or not you should include a social media marketing plan can be tough. On the one hand, according to a 2013 Gallup survey, 35% of American consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced to some degree by social media. But then again, that same survey revealed that 62% of Americans don’t think that their purchasing decisions are influenced at all by social media. So, what’s a smart marketer to do?

Although there are no firm answers, the best way to decide whether or not you should have a social media strategy in place may be to think about your customers and your business. Surveys show that the top three reasons that folks use social media is to connect with friends and family (94%), to share things they know with others (53%), and to find information about a company or organization (40%). Other reasons that people use social media: To find user reviews or product information (29%), to write product reviews (20%), and to build their own reputations or brands (17%). So, can you see your customer base’s social media habits intersecting with that of your business?

Obviously, regardless of what business you’re in, having a strong, positive social media presence is likely to help you when it comes to those people who are scouring social media for company information. But, what about the things you sell online? According to a 2013 study, 43% of users claimed to have purchased a product after sharing it or liking it on social media platforms Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. So, if you sell a product or service that is likely to be shared via social media, setting aside part of your annual marketing budget for social media could be a really smart way to grow your business and improve your online presence at the same time.

Finally, another important point of consideration is how likely your customer base is to use Facebook to connect with you or share information about your company. A surprising new Facebook study has found that FB now drives 25% of all web traffic. Yes, all. So, if you’re in a product or service niche that is well-suited to Facebook sharing, you should seriously consider having some sort of FB marketing plan in place, even if you don’t put much time into other social media platforms.

Thinking about firming up your social media presence? For more information about our Milwaukee social media and online marketing services, call 414-208-0700 or fill out our contact form today.

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By Brew City Marketing|2015-08-15T07:31:20+00:00August 15, 2015|

Are You Struggling to Get Customer Reviews?

If you’re struggling to find ways to get customer reviews online, you’re not alone. There are plenty of good businesses that offer excellent service but still lack product and customer reviews. Unfortunately for them, this lack of online customer feedback could be hurting their search rankings, making it even less likely that potential customers will find their services on the web.

5 Ways to Get Reviews Online

Here are five tried-and-true ways to get more reviews from your customers:

Ask! The single most effective way to get more reviews from customers is to ask for them. And, while the best time to ask for a review is right after your customer has had a positive experience, it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask whenever you have contact with a customer.

Businesses that know how to get reviews know that the best thing to do is to set up a customer feedback system that involves following up each customer contact with the opportunity to leave feedback. For instance, if a customer buys your product or service there’s an opportunity to include a note that says, “Did your experience with us meet your expectations? We hope so, and we’d love to hear about it. Please visit Yelp or Google+ to leave a review and let us know how we did.” Then, make it easy for folks to follow through by including links to your online review web pages and profiles.
Tell your customers how to leave reviews for you. Just because you know how to leave an online review for a business doesn’t necessarily mean that your customers do. In fact, depending on your demographic, your customers may not even know that leaving feedback online is an option!

If you want to get more reviews online, tell your customers what they need to do and give them direct links to the review websites. If you make leaving feedback easy and they’ve had a great experience with your service, they’re more likely to leave feedback online (which will encourage other people to do the same).
Respond to feedback. Responding to customer reviews is critical to getting more customer reviews online. Everyone wants to feel heard, and responding to online reviews lets your customers know that you’re taking the time to listen and hear what they have to say. And, if you get a negative review, respond publicly and privately. This shows the world that you care and want to “make it right,” and it shows the individual that you really mean it.
Consider using a 3rd-party customer feedback tool or service to get more reviews from customers. There are a number of 3rd-party customer feedback tools and services available that can help make it easier to request testimonials, get customers to leave reviews online, encourage customers to share their positive experiences, and monitor public review websites. In fact, just as important as getting those reviews is having some system for monitoring them so that you can take timely action should you get a bad one.
Have a complete online business profile listed with as many directories as possible. By having your small business listed online with all of the relevant business directories, you’ll give customers the ability to find you—both for buying your goods or services, and for leaving feedback once they’ve done business with you. The big online review sites (such as Google, Bing, Yahoo! and Yelp) are great places to start, and don’t forget professional social media sites like LinkedIn (especially if you provide B2B or professional consulting services).

If you’re eager to find new ways to get more reviews online from customers, or if you need a customer feedback service that will help you get reviews, respond to customer feedback, and monitor your online customer reviews, contact us or visit our website. We can help you build a Milwaukee internet marketing strategy that will help.

By Brew City Marketing|2014-08-26T07:30:12+00:00August 26, 2014|

Today’s Internet Marketing Tip: Getting Reviews Matters

Does your internet marketing plan include getting reviews from customers? Maybe it should.

Anyone who has visited a beach resort or ski town in the last couple of years has probably noticed that TripAdvisor seems on the verge of taking over the world. Hotels, restaurants, and local shops will do virtually anything to get you to leave a good review.

While this might seem like shameless pandering, it’s good business on their behalf – a very high percentage of travelers use the site to plan everything from a night out to ongoing rentals and services. Just a handful of good reviews can mean the difference between success and failure in a competitive market.

Guess what? Even though you might not operate the kind of business that draws tourists in off the street, you can follow the example these companies have set. Even though there are a lot of industries that are virtually untouched by customer client reviews, for now, it’s a trend that buyers love. Even if you aren’t very affected by reviews at the moment, you’re likely to be in the future. And besides, having lots of good feedback never hurt anyone, even if it’s just posted on your business website.

What’s the moral of this story? Well, short of doing something illegal or unethical, you should be actively working to build up a portfolio of positive reviews that you can pull out later. There might come a time when you need them, and it’s likely to arrive a lot sooner than you might think.

For more information on getting reviews and other ways you can improve your Milwaukee internet marketing, contact us or visit our website at brewcitymarketing.com.

By Brew City Marketing|2023-02-28T16:22:51+00:00July 2, 2014|

One Surefire Way to Keep Your Blog Going

One of the newest challenges for small business owners who do their own marketing is figuring out how to successfully keep a business blog. When you’re already busy juggling the day-to-days for your business—you know, finding new clients, keeping an eye on cash flow, and doing the actual work—finding time to blog can be hard.

And, it’s not just finding the time to blog that’s a challenge … finding things to blog about can be hard too. There are only so many times that even your most loyal customers want to hear you say, “Buy our services!” if you don’t have anything new to offer them.

One Gimme Blog Topic: New Products

So, how do you keep your blog fresh and updated (so that you get all of that good Google juice) without just sending out sales message after sales message? One easy way to turn your neglected small business blog into an SEO machine that helps bring traffic to your door is to blog about new products.

As crazy as it sounds, if someone is shopping for your service, they’re more likely than not interested in the products that you use too. (Crazy, I know.)

So, are you a home remodeler with a great, new energy-efficient product that your customers will love? Tell them. Are you a landscaper who’s just learned about a pet-friendly herbicide that potential pet-owning clients should know about? Let them know!

In short, the more good, “whole-bread content” you can give visitors when they visit your site the better. Don’t just stuff them with high-carb content that’s glorified fluff. Instead, teach them about your business, your products, and why they should choose you over your competitors.

Just Don’t Have the Time to Blog?

If you don’t have the time or knack for words needed to keep your blog going, call us. As a full-service Milwaukee internet marketing agency, we offer blog writing services for both small and large businesses.

For more information, call us or fill out our contact form today.

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By Brew City Marketing|2014-05-19T07:35:36+00:00May 19, 2014|

Build Trust by Blogging about New Projects

One of the biggest fears (and complaints) we hear is that it’s hard for new customers to trust what they see online, especially when it comes to small business websites. When you’re a huge corporation and everyone knows your name, it’s easy to get people to trust you.

But, when you’re a small business still building your name, trust can be much harder to come by.

That’s where blogging about new projects can help. Telling your customers what you’ve been up to — and giving them pictures that show the work that you’ve done — puts the proof in your pudding, giving your growing business the added credibility it needs.

Tips for Blogging about Projects

Like many things, blogging looks a lot easier than it is, so, if you’re not sure how to make the most of your blog, you’re not alone. If you’re going to blog about recent projects, here are a few tips to help get you started:

Did the project help your customer solve a unique problem? If so, let your readers know. Who knows what other waiting-to-be customers could use your problem-solving skills?
Paint the picture … with pictures. Sure, photographic “proof” isn’t right for all businesses, but it’s spot on for others. If there is a way to tell your story with images and video, why not give it a try?
Can I quote you on that? Just like with testimonials and reviews, a level of authenticity and credibility is added when someone agrees to let you use their words. If your clients have good things to say, why not share it? Ask for permission, and then put those kind words to use in your blog.

Have Bigger Things to Think About Than Blogging?

If you want to make the most of your website but your plate’s already too full to take on blogging, call us. As a full-service Milwaukee internet marketing agency, we can write and publish your blogs for you.

For more information, call us or fill out our contact form today.

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By Brew City Marketing|2014-05-12T07:00:07+00:00May 12, 2014|

Our Holistic Approach to Web Design

Soothe your senses by taking a moment to check out our website redesign for Be Well Yoga and Ayurveda. Integrating their philosophy of inner peace and mindfulness, we designed a website that offers a truly whole body experience. Clean and modern, it soothes and comforts while explaining the ancient wisdom and beauty principles that guide their yoga and Ayurveda services.

Be Well’s new website integrates an events calendar, online scheduling and a service menu, making it easier for health- and wellness-seeking clients to schedule appointments for any of their many mind-and-body healing services.

View our good karma in action at Be Well Yoga and Ayurveda’s new website, and see how we did the following, and more:

WordPress content management
Website design/redesign
Integrated online scheduling and event calendar
Social media sharing
Blog writing

By Brew City Marketing|2023-10-05T14:26:56+00:00April 28, 2014|

Is Your Small Business Making These Social Media Mistakes?

Are social media mistakes hurting your online potential? All too often, small businesses make bad social media choices without realizing the damage they can do. In fact, even just a few social media mistakes can completely sabotage your small business internet marketing plans.

Here are just a few online practices that can ruin your online presence:

Being all sell, all the time. If the only messages you share are sales messages, you will quickly lose goodwill and followers. Instead, find information that is relevant to your business that will be engaging, entertaining, informative or helpful for your audience.
Being inconsistent. Don’t provide an avalanche of blog posts and tweets one month and then disappear the next. Slow and steady is better than fast and furious if you’re not going to be able to keep up with the pace you set.
Forgetting to listen. Listening to your customers, followers and feedback may be the most important thing that you can do to create a successful social media marketing campaign. Don’t just talk: converse.
Ignoring bad reviews and feedback. Show that you genuinely care about your customers’ experiences by owning up when you mess up and making it right.
Taking on too much at once. Don’t create a slew of profiles that you cannot keep up with. Instead, start with one social media platform, master it, and then add another. Take baby steps and you’ll set yourself up for success.
Deleting negative comments. Deleting negative comments is a great way to draw a lot of negative attention to your business. Unless it is absolutely necessary, don’t do it, and try to find another way to turn the situation around.
Bad mouthing the competition. Bad mouth the competition and you could not only open yourself up to a lawsuit, you could offend a potential customer. Let your service speak for itself and let your customers do the talking for you.

If you’re ready to see social media work for you, contact us or visit our website at brewcitymarketing.com. We can help you build a Milwaukee social media strategy that avoids these common social media mistakes and helps you build your business using the power of social media.

By Brew City Marketing|2022-11-29T15:17:00+00:00April 16, 2014|

Change Your Thinking to Get More From Social Media Marketing

Are you getting everything that you want and hope to get from your social media marketing? Within the business community, and even among avid internet marketers, there seem to be two major groups: the 49% who ignore social media marketing altogether, and the other 49% who pour time, energy, and money into it, wondering if they should be getting more from the effort. (In case you’re wondering, the other 2% are those who actually have lots of engaged social followers and who use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn profitably.)

Clearly, social media marketing is too big to pass over… and yet, you don’t really want to spend time and money on something that might not show a clear ROI, either. So, how do you avoid falling into either group?

The easy answer is to treat social networking the same way you would treat pay-per-click advertising. You can bet that, when dollars and cents are on the line with every click, business owners and executives pay close attention to the number of sales being generated, and at what cost.

So, why not take that same kind of thinking to social media marketing? Give yourself an allotment of time, money, or creative energy, and then see how many new business opportunities can be traced back to your social accounts. Not only will that force you to be more measured in the approach you take to sites like Facebook, but you’ll actually do a better job of figuring out which social profiles work for you and why.

For social media marketing to work, you need the right strategy and execution. Treat it like any other project that you pay for, and you’ll soon find the answers that are right for your business.

If you’re ready to change your thinking about marketing with social media, contact us or visit our website to learn more about our Milwaukee internet marketing services.

By Brew City Marketing|2022-05-24T14:25:02+00:00March 10, 2014|

Take Action. Get Results.

(414) 208-0700

TESTIMONIALS

Mike L., Owner

Sarah P., Owner

John S., Wauwatosa

WISCONSIN

OUR SERVICES

OUR SERVICES

Milwaukee Social Media

Protecting Your Reputation

Avoiding False Statements

Building Your Brand

5 Ways to Get Reviews Online

One Gimme Blog Topic: New Products

Just Don’t Have the Time to Blog?

Tips for Blogging about Projects

Have Bigger Things to Think About Than Blogging?

Take Action. Get Results.

TESTIMONIALS

Mike L., Owner

Sarah P., Owner

John S., Wauwatosa

WISCONSIN

OUR SERVICES

OUR SERVICES