Twitter is introducing a new feature called the Location Spotlight that will make it easier for your online fans to become your real-life customers.
With the Location Spotlight feature, businesses with physical locations can add store details like your address, phone number, store hours, and even a map showing your location. You can also add links to your website or make it possible to quickly call or message your company.
New Name For Wide Release
This feature is not entirely new to the platform. However, this is the first time many brands will have access to the profile module.
Twitter tested much of this feature with a small number of well-known professional accounts, calling it the ‘About Module’ at the time. Now, Twitter is bringing this tool (and its new name) to all businesses with professional Twitter accounts.
How To Get Access
Once you are eligible, update your Location Spotlight by following these steps
Select ‘Edit Profile’
Find and click the ‘Edit professional profile’ button near the bottom of the page
Select ‘Profile Spotlight’
Enter your business details (including your address, hours, website, and contact info)
Select ‘Publish’ to save and display these details on your profile.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Twitter-Location-Spotlight.png4781000Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-08-09 17:59:032022-08-09 17:59:18Twitter Adds ‘Location Spotlight’ To Help Users Find Your Store
A new comprehensive report from TopRank Marketing indicates that B2B influencer marketing is more effective than many would have expected.
The 60-page report includes survey data, case studies, and information collected through extensive analytics analysis.
Among all this information is the finding that 86% of B2B businesses report being successful in using influencer marketing to reach their goals. Specifically, the survey found that:
86% of businesses say influencer marketing is moderately or very successful
72% say it helped improve their brand reputation
70% say it improved brand awareness
56% say it drove new leads
33% say it generated revenue for their company
B2B Influencers Aren’t Your Usual Influencers
These findings might surprise many business owners who are imagining a TikTok star promoting manufacturing equipment or professional services.
As the survey makes clear, though, the most effective B2B influencers are often not the figures with the biggest follower or subscriber counts.
“Audience size matters less than audience relevance. The sheer number of followers isn’t as important to marketers as relevance, credibility and expertise. Those with a large audience can help with the reach of a campaign, but it’s vital to include more influential people with smaller audiences.”
Instead, the most effective partnerships with influencers are those who are seen as industry experts or professionals with personal experience in your industry. According to the survey results, B2B companies partner with influencers who are:
Industry experts and analysts (77%)
Internal executives (56%)
Niche experts (48%)
Customers (46%)
Professional influencers (45%)
Employees (42%)
Prospects (12%)
The importance of only partnering with influencers who are relevant to your field or audience is also reflected in the answers to what qualities are most important for B2B influencer marketing:
Relevance of audience (98%)
Audience sees them as trustworthy (87%)
Subject matter expertise (78%)
Values align with the brand (69%)
Influencer publishes on at least one platform (65%)
Ability to create content (54%)
Size of audience (49%)
Professional credentials (42%)
Advocate for our brand (33%)
What Types of Influencer Marketing Are Most Effective
As for what types of content brands are making with influencers, the results clearly favored webinars, though other content like social media or blog posts were also popular with brands:
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Influencer-Marketing1.png6751600Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-08-04 18:39:222022-08-04 18:39:2486% of Businesses Say B2B Influencer Marketing Is Successful For Their Brand
Have you ever wondered what the most searched keywords and phrases on Google are?
While the search engine regularly details trending search topics and trends, the company does not share details on the top overall search terms. Thankfully, Ahrefs used data from over 19.8 billion keywords to list the top searches in the U.S. and worldwide on their own.
To generate the list, Ahrefs looked at the number of times search terms were used each month and averaged these monthly totals over the course of a year.
Below, we will share the top 50 Google Searches in the U.S. and worldwide. For complete lists of the top 100 searches and lists of the most frequently searched questions, check out the full report here.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/GoogleRankings.png360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-06-28 19:14:362022-06-28 19:14:38The Top Google Searches From The U.S. and Worldwide
No one likes receiving a bad review. Not only do they affect your company’s morale, but they can also easily scare off future customers if they check your reviews – and they will almost certainly read your reviews. Studies have shown that 98% of consumers read online reviews before doing business with a local company.
At the same time, there is usually very little you can do about a legitimate negative online review. In most cases, the best solution is to be humble, apologize for not delivering the quality service or products expected, and do your best to make it right.
Still, there are a few types of reviews that require more extreme responses. Thankfully, when dealing with fake, spammy, or inappropriate reviews, you may be able to get the offending reviews deleted entirely.
When Can a Review Be Deleted?
There are strict rules about what types of reviews can be deleted.
For obvious reasons, complaints that appear to be legitimate complaints about a poor experience with your brand can not be deleted.
However, Google can remove reviews for your business if they break the company’s policies and guidelines. These include rules banning deceptive, explicit, or irrelevant. Below, we will talk a bit more about exactly what violations may make a review subject to removal.
Offensive Content
As described by Google, offensive content may include any sort of content “that is clearly and deliberately provocative.”
This includes any form of hate speech or harassment, as well as reviews containing personal information.
Deceptive Content
Misleading or inaccurate reviews are a regular occurrence online. In some cases, competitors may try to hurt your reputation by manufacturing a poor experience. Personal conflicts between individuals may also boil over and result in negative reviews in an effort to get an individual fired.
This is why Google does not allow any review that is not an accurate representation of a real experience with a brand.
Mature Content
To ensure content on the search engine remains safe for all users, Google will delete any reviews containing profanity, sexually explicit content, adult themes, or graphic violence.
Regulated or Illegal Content
Reviews may not contain calls to action for products or services which may be subject to local legal restrictions. Additionally, Google warns that dangerous activities or illegal content will get reviews removed.
Irrelevant Content
Lastly, reviews must be related to an actual experience with a company’s products or services. That means rants, off-topic content, or attempts to promote one’s own products are subject to removal.
How To Get an Online Review Removed
Obviously, brands can not directly delete reviews from their Google Business Profiles. Instead, a company representative must report a review for removal through Google Search or Google Maps.
Once reported, Google will assess the review and determine if it violates any of the platform’s policies. Though this process may take several days, brands can also mitigate the damage of a misleading or inappropriate review with a response explaining the reality of the situation and noting that the review has been reported to Google.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Blocked-Reviews.png6751200Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-06-13 20:50:312022-06-13 20:50:33How To Get a Google Review Removed Online
If you’re a business owner or operator, you’ve probably been told 100 times by 100 different people that you just HAVE to invest in Search Engine Optimization. Unfortunately, you’ve also likely never really heard why SEO is so important beyond broad mentions of “being found online” or that “everyone uses Google.”
Marketers and salespeople have a bad habit of talking about the power and benefits of optimization without explaining what sets it apart from other types of online marketing, how it impacts your ability to reach new markets, and why many SEO packages don’t cut it.
So today, I wanted to do just that.
What Is Search Engine Optimization
Before we can talk about what makes SEO special, we have to talk a bit about what it is.
In the simplest terms, search engine optimization is the name for a wide range of strategies and techniques used to increase your visibility on search engines.
In the past, this could be boiled down to the phrase “making your website the top result on Google searches.” These days, search engines are much more complex and what might be the top result for one user might be completely different for another.
As such, SEO has evolved to focus more on overall visibility across Google’s many systems with the goal of attracting as many potential customers as possible to your site.
How SEO Works
For our purposes today, we aren’t going to go very in-depth discussing the numerous strategies or techniques used in SEO. Otherwise, we’d be here all day.
What matters for this discussion is understanding that these methods affect how Google sees and ranks your site.
While some strategies are dedicated to helping Google understand the content that is on your site, others are intended to boost the overall value of your site. Combined, these approaches help ensure Google picks your site for relevant searches and gives you the best chance to attract website traffic.
Why SEO Is Essential in 2022
Google Is The Most Visited Site In The World
Marketers always like to say “everyone uses Google” to emphasize the importance of SEO (and they aren’t necessarily wrong), but what does that really mean?
It means that Google is a massive part of daily life for practically everyone around the globe, and can massively influence what information we see, who we do business with, and what products people buy.
The most popular site in the world NOT owned by Google – Facebook – sees less than a quarter of the traffic seen by Google.com.
No matter how you try to spin it, Google acts as the central hub to the internet for the vast majority of people out there. If you don’t play by their rules, you risk being disconnected from this hub and any potential traffic you might get.
Organic Search is Still The Main Driver of Traffic
When considering where to invest their marketing budget, many businesses find themselves asking the same question: “Why should I spend money on SEO, which is complicated and not guaranteed to pay off, when I could instead run ads that are guaranteed to appear above those search results?”
Organic search results get underestimated because ranking highly is rarely a sure thing – even for the biggest companies. Meanwhile, paid search ads are built around driving results without uncertainty.
Despite this, there is actually a very simple reason you should invest in organic search optimization.
At the end of the day, the majority of search results still result in a user clicking an organic link from regular search results. So while it may seem riskier, investing in search engine optimization has the chance for much larger rewards.
Better SEO Means Better User Experience
Every brand wants its website to provide the best user experience possible. A positive user experience increases the likelihood of driving conversions, while negative user experiences can sour people on your company entirely.
So, it should come as good news that the majority of SEO practices are intended to improve user experience in a variety of ways including speeding up your site, making it easier to use, and improving accessibility.
By ensuring you are optimized for search engines, you are also investing in improving your site for the real potential customers who will soon be visiting.
SEO Is a Process That Is Always Changing
Companies looking to save some cash on SEO will have an easy time finding dozens of cheap SEO packages across the web. The problems with the packages are numerous, but the biggest red flag is the assumption that SEO is something you do once.
In reality, SEO is something that needs to be done regularly to have a real impact.
When left alone, Google assumes websites are becoming outdated or irrelevant. No matter what industry you are in, there are always new products coming out, new information that can benefit your customers, and new ways to improve your site.
Additionally, Google itself is always changing. The company releases new guidelines, algorithm updates, and features for webmasters seemingly every day. Any cheap package deal is unable to take these updates into account and help your company stay ahead of the rapidly changing search results.
SEO Results Amplify With Time
Unlike almost any other form of marketing, search engine optimization is one of the few investments which tends to build on itself for greater and greater results.
As you optimize your website and create quality content to improve your search rankings, you also provide a more robust presence online. Your website becomes an even greater resource to potential customers. You start getting linked to by others in your industry. People start sharing your brand around social media.
Ads may drive immediate results, but these tend to stabilize with time. Effective search engine optimization, on the other hand, pays increasing dividends the longer you invest in it.
The role search engines play in our lives will only continue to grow as people become more connected and expect information to always be at their fingertips. For all these reasons, it is imperative that companies invest in the best optimization practices possible if they want to continue reaching prospective customers in an increasingly digital world.
Due to the long-term impact of SEO, the best time to start optimizing your website was probably months or years ago. The second best time, however, is now.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/What-Is-Search-Engine-Optimization1.png6301120Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-03-17 18:39:372022-03-17 18:39:39What Is Search Engine Optimization and Why Do You Need It
Any small-to-medium-sized business owner or operator is all too aware that it often feels like the odds are stacked against them – especially when it comes to competing with larger companies on Google.
It’s something Google rarely addresses outright, but it seems clear that big companies have several advantages which can make it hard to compete. This is why one person decided to ask Google’s John Mueller about the situation during a recent Office Hours hangout chat with Google Search Advocate.
As Mueller acknowledges, Google is well aware that big brands often receive natural competitive advantages. But, he also had some advice for smaller brands trying to rank against massive brands – big sites face their own unique problems and limitations which can give you a chance to get the upper hand.
John Mueller’s Advice For Small Companies On Google
The original question posed to Mueller included two parts, but it was the second half that the Search Advocate decided to focus on. Specifically, he was asked:
“Do smaller organizations have a chance in competing with larger companies?”
From the outset, he says its a bit of a broader “philosophical” question, but he does his best to show how smaller companies have consistently been able to turn the tables against larger brands. For example, Mueller points to how many larger companies were so invested in using Macromedia Flash, they stuck with it long after it became clear it was not helping their SEO. Meanwhile, smaller sites often knew better and were able to use this against their competition.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed over time is that in the beginning, a lot of large companies were, essentially, incompetent with regards to the web and they made terrible websites.
And their visibility in the search results was really bad.
And it was easy for small websites to get in and kind of like say, well, here’s my small website or my small bookstore, and suddenly your content is visible to a large amount of users.
And you can have that success moment early on.
But over time, as large companies also see the value of search and of the web overall, they’ve grown their websites.
They have really competent teams, they work really hard on making a fantastic web experience.
And that kind of means for smaller companies that it’s a lot harder to gain a foothold there, especially if there is a very competitive existing market out there.
And it’s less about large companies or small companies.
It’s really more about the competitive environment in general.”
While it is true that it can seem very difficult to compete with the seemingly unlimited resources of bigger brands, history has shown time and time again that bigger brands face their own challenges.
As Mueller concludes:
“As a small company, you should probably focus more on your strengths and the weaknesses of the competitors and try to find an angle where you can shine, where other people don’t have the ability to shine as well.
Which could be specific kinds of content, or specific audiences or anything along those lines.
Kind of like how you would do that with a normal, physical business as well.”
In the end, big brands competing are much like David facing down Goliath; if they know how to use their strengths and talents to their advantage they can overcome seemingly unbeatable challengers.
You can watch Mueller’s answer in the video below, starting around 38:14.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Google-Page-Experience-Desktop1.jpg343720Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-02-15 19:34:152022-02-15 19:34:17Google’s Advice To Small Companies Competing Against Big Brands
A new study conducted by Google and Boston Consulting Group indicates that 90% of consumers are willing to give brands their email addresses, so long as there is an incentive.
The results come from an exploration into how consumers view modern advertising, including targeted ads, sharing personal information with advertisers, and email marketing.
As online advertising has become more pervasive and personalized to consumers, it is widely believed that shoppers have become jaded and worn down by online ads. As such, many believe shoppers are generally unwilling to engage with online advertisers. However, this study refutes this idea quite clearly.
Instead, the findings show that modern consumers are quite willing to engage with ads on the condition that they are relevant to their needs and interests.
How Consumers View Targeted Ads
First and foremost, the new research makes it clear that advertisers do not dislike all advertising. They dislike irrelevant advertising, with 65% of people saying they have negative experiences with ads that are not relevant. Additionally, 74% of consumers say they only want ads that are relevant.
These consumers are also largely aware that receiving ads that are targeted to their interests requires some amount of data sharing.
According to Google’s research, most consumers are willing to share some personal information, so long as it is not overly invasive.
At the same time, some demographics are more willing to share specific details such as their gender, age, or online activity compared to other groups.
For example, Young Urban Professionals tend to be more willing to share their social media activity, but less willing to tell advertisers their gender.
When consumers’ concerns are addressed, users may be even more willing to share personal details. These concerns include what specific information is being collected, how an advertiser is collecting this information, and what they intend to use it for.
How Incentives Increase Data Sharing
Another major concern advertisers need to address is “what’s in it for me?”
While nearly 1 in 3 consumers say they are willing to give out some personal information such as their email address for absolutely nothing, more than 90% say they are willing to give their email address if given the right incentive – such as a discount or free sample.
Not only does an incentive simply give a person a reason to sign up, but it also gives a brand an opportunity to prove themselves to shoppers and earn their trust.
This is crucial for brands because at least 29% of new customers say they start from a place of mistrust with all companies from any industry. Why? Because they are concerned that brands will then sell their private information to less scrupulous marketers.
As Google’s report explains:
“And while almost 60% of customers believe that companies are selling their data, our research found that very few brands do that.
Marketers understand the value of data and the trust their customers place in them — and how customer-centric, data-driven marketing unlocks significant gains across business objectives.”
Key Takeaways
Google’s report concludes with three major recommendations based on the study’s findings:
Build trust by prioritizing transparency
Create great experiences through first-part data
Build a data-centric organization that respects privacy at all levels
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Google-Email-Marketing-Incentives.png12602240Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-02-01 19:58:462022-02-01 19:58:48Google Says 90% of Consumers Will Give You Their Email Address For The Right Incentive
Google Business Profiles (formerly called Google My Business) has added a new waiting period for new profile managers or owners when they have been added to an account.
If you try to edit your business listing during this period, users will get an error message alerting them that their access is temporarily suspended.
This new information was discovered in the recently updated help guide for adding or removing profile managers or owners,
A single person – typically the business owner or an executive responsible for a brand’s online presence – can “claim” their Google Business Profiles listing to become the primary user without experiencing the delay.
However, if you then add an employee or marketing agency to manage your listing, they will be required to wait 7 days before they will be granted full access to the account.
As the new help document explains:
When a new owner or manager is added to an existing Business Profile, they must wait for 7 days before they can manage all the features of the profile. During this 7 day period, the new owner or manager gets an error if they try any of the following:
Delete or undelete a profile.
Remove other owners or managers from a profile.
Transfer primary ownership of a profile to themselves or a third user.
An existing owner or manager tries to transfer primary ownership of the profile to a new owner or manager still in their first 7 days.
If the new owner or manager deletes their account within the first 7 days, they’re removed from the profile. If they undelete their account, they must be added to the profile again.
Most likely, this temporary delay has been added as a means to prevent hackers or other bad actors from attempting to illicitly access Google Business Profiles accounts.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GMB.png360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-01-17 17:44:092022-01-17 17:52:54Google Business Profiles Adds New Delay Before Managers Can Access Accounts
It can be easy to forget that online marketing can have a much wider effect than just “online”. These days, it is also one of the most powerful tools businesses have to drive in-person and other types of offline sales.
The key is knowing how to optimize specifically for local searches to help those nearby find you and your products or services at the most effective times.
To help smaller businesses do this, Google recently published a small guide with 4 tips and ideas for driving offline sales using your online ads and marketing.
Creating In-Person Sales With Online Marketing
Establish Your Digital Storefront
The first step to using your brand to drive local sales is establishing your Google My Business profile. This allows you to appear in the prime search results placements for relevant localized searches.
As Google says:
“Stand out when people search for your business, products or services. Getting your business on Google is the essential first step towards driving and measuring visits to your stores.”
2) Measure Your Offline Impact
These days, the search engine’s analytics tools can measure a lot more than online traffic and conversions. Using metrics like Store Visits and Local Actions, you can see exactly how effective your online ads and marketing are in the real world.
“Getting the full picture of how your ads drive impact across channels is important to refine campaigns, make budgeting decisions, and inform your overall business strategy.”
3) Optimize For Online AND Offline
Use ads and optimization to highlight what you have online and what you have to offer at your brick and mortar locations. Not only can you use Google Shopping to showcase your products in search results, you can specifically promote your in-store inventory using Local Inventory ads.
The guide suggests:
“Make the most of your marketing investment and grow revenue for your stores, whether customers ultimately purchase online or in-store.”
4) Showcase Your Locations
Use local campaigns to highlight your local stores and send online searchers straight to your door.
“Machine learning makes it easier and more efficient to promote your physical business locations at scale across Google properties. It can help you reach customers throughout their purchase journey and optimize for those who are most likely to visit your business.”
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Online-to-Offline.jpg360640Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2021-04-06 17:02:212021-04-06 17:02:23How To Drive Offline Sales With Online Marketing and Ads
Getting your customers to share user-generated content like pictures with your products may be an unexpectedly powerful tool in swaying over other shoppers.
A new report from eMarketer claims that 62% of consumers are strongly influenced by user-generated content, including being more likely to buy after seeing pictures of a product shared by other shoppers.
The survey included consumers from around the globe, including in the US, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.
Why Shoppers Like Customer Photos and Videos
When asked why shoppers responded so strongly to user-generated content like customer photos, the surveyed consumers said:
It may highlight something that wasn’t obvious (24%)
Like to see a product in action before they buy (21%)
Feel more confident that the reviews are accurate (17%)
It’s easier to see the quality of a product (17%)
It’s easier to see the size/fit or color of a product (11%)
It’s easier to see the material of a product (7%)
Unsurprisingly, social media is largely where shoppers are finding this type of content. The survey says more than a quarter of respondents pointed to Facebook as the best place to find customer photos or videos, followed by Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, and Snapchat.
With all this in mind, eMarketer principal analyst Jeremy Goldman believes user-generated content will only grow in importance for brands.
“Consumers are less trusting of the mainstream media and slick corporate marketing, turning instead to user-generated content and influencers to find their own truth.
“Why would brands spend more time and money on large-scale productions when this option exists, particularly in a world where content must be created and shifted quickly?”
Although the report largely identifies social networks as the key place for user-generated content, it is worth noting that many online retailers are also allowing customers to upload images with products directly in their reviews. By doing this, other shoppers can find this type of information without ever having to leave the page to buy your products.
