Location-based services or LBS platforms like Yelp, FourSquare, GoWalla, and Facebook Places are all the rage among marketers these days. Between social media, mobile and local, there is great potential for marketers to deliver incredibly accurate and measurable marketing campaigns with minimal effort. and budget. However, it is critical to develop an approach before you begin. If you spread too much, you could get overwhelmed by everything. This article will look at Yelp as an online reputation tool that can be used to create a credible and transparent image.
Yelp tends to focus on content curation; Content is generated from local Yelpers sharing reviews of local businesses they frequent in their respected cities. These reviews are selected, organized, and published by the Yelp Community Manager (an official Yelp employee) on a page within Yelp. These posted reviews can be incredibly powerful when it comes to shaping a local merchant’s online reputation. The good news is that you, as the business owner, can be actively involved in the process.
To get started, you’ll need to claim your ad on Yelp. This is quite painless and should only take a few minutes. Make sure to complete your profile as well; Yelp has strict guidelines when it comes to approving listings. They are not there to intimidate anyone into signing up. It’s more of a SPAM prevention issue than anything else. Always use a real business photo too, that’s very helpful.
Once the token has been claimed, you will have access to all the conversations about your company. You can see who has been reviewing your products and services and respond to any comments or feedback that has been posted; good or bad. Make sure you are objective and honest when communicating through Yelp. Your voice will be heard, but only if it is honest and credible.
Lastly, don’t go into “sale mode” either. Yelp is not a self-promotion site; is an administration tool, very similar to the mailboxes that most companies save to receive suggestions. Wait for these comments to be published on the web.