Social media has given the world instant access to businesses all over the world. It is easy to “like” and “share” our favorite things from food to vacation, and so on. Many people rely on the reviews to make decisions about businesses large and small. Businesses sometimes feel they are at the mercy of these anonymous reviewers with no recourse.

It is important to know what is being said about your business both good and bad. Various tools including tracking software like HootSuite and NutshellMail can help find mentions of a business name, organization or product on Yelp reviews, Facebook and the web. Google Alerts also checks the internet mentions.

When a mention of the business or product name is found in a review whether good or bad it is important to reply back to the poster immediately. If it is a positive review, say thank you! If it is a negative comment respond on the same social media outlet with an apology that there was a problem. Be polite and clarify the problem and fix what is possible. Many times people just want to be heard and acknowledged.

You may not agree with the negative comment but do not get offended. Do not take the comment personally. You must respond in a professional manner. Remember, both the original comment and your response will be seen by current and future customers and clients. Your response could discourage more business than the original comment. No one can please everyone all of the time. Improve what you can and continue to offer your customers the best product or service.

If your response does not satisfy the complaint you do not have to continue the dialogue for all to see. Take a more direct approach and offer to speak with the person on the phone or email to keep the exchange private. Again, how you handle the issue will speak volumes to current and future customers and clients.

Here is a quick video with tip on how to respond to reviews.  Much can be learned from a negative review. Watch this link on “The positive side of negative reviews”.

Facebook and restaurants go together like good beer and good food, just ask Scott Salmonsen at Barley and Hops in Temecula. The restaurant’s Facebook page is over 1,000 likes!

In Temecula new eateries are opening and closing each month. It is important to stay at the top of the list when someone is deciding where to go to watch the game, have dinner or just relax with a friend. Facebook is a great way to connect with new and old customers.

Barley and Hops hired Mike Hooper as their eMarketing consultant to develop their Facebook page. Now customers can “check in” on their mobile phone at the restaurant on Facebook and receive 10% off their meal. There are also discounts for writing a review.  Customers can post comments, take advantage of great deals, get info, see and write reviews, list events, see photos and video, follow links, and write recommendations.

If you would like to see more foot traffic at your restaurant, start with a call or email to Mike Hooper to help use your Facebook page more effectively and watch your likes grow.

What if you had the best product or service, but no one knew about it.  Email marketing gets the word out about your business for pennies and it only takes a few minutes at a computer.

Services like MailChimp and Constant Contact walk you through the steps with easy to follow instructions.  Using your list of email contacts you choose the groups you want your message to reach and then you can track the number of hits in one of several reports you can select.  Newsletters are a snap.  Just decide between hundreds of preformatted newsletters and add your information. Editing tools are easy to use and make formatting quick and simple. Automatic messages can go out about upcoming sales or send birthdays and anniversaries to your customers to show you care.  The personal touch means so much!  Links can even be added to your Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube websites.  Customer service for both services is available by phone or email to answer all questions right away.  There are helpful FAQs on their websites that can answer many common questions too.

So check out one of several email marketing options to:

•  Increase Customer ContactA cheaper alternative to mailed marketing pieces, customers can read, react to and forward your message in seconds.

•  Hit the targetChoose the specific demographic you want to target.  Get the word out to those who need/want it most.

•  Increase your referralsAdd a “Join My Mailing List” option on your web site and potential customers can stay informed of the latest information and become customers.

•  Get Immediate FeedbackReports give instant feedback of who is opening, responding to and forwarding your email.  Use data to target for future sales and customers.  Knowing which links receive the most hits will help to adjust information for the best results.

Contact Michael Hooper for upcoming Workshops in Temecula on email marketing or  to have a one on one consulting.  Click Here

Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) are everywhere these days.  They may look like overly pixilated pictures but they are actually the latest tool to share information about a product, service or event.  This 2-dimensional digital symbol can be scanned with most mobile phones using a free application called a QR Code Reader.  Information is instantly displayed via mobile web content.  This is a more “phone-friendly” version of the website and is configured for a mobile phone.  QR Codes can be used to give a discount, access to a special offer, join an email list, get immediate responses with a poll or quick survey, and offer rewards for customer loyalty.

QR Codes are versatile and can be placed on items both large and small.  A QR Code like a logo can be added to just about anything.  Convenience is a major factor also, using a phone to capture the code is a much easier than trying to remember a phone number or website address or searching for a pen and paper that may get lost before the person can use the information.  To stay current information can easily be changed on the site to reflect the latest deals and information.

Social media outlets are the fastest way to spread the word about your product or service.  With a few keystrokes prospective customers are identified, educated about your business and enticed with a “call to action” to get more information or take advantage of a great benefit offered.  Useful blogs that include keywords will trigger hits resulting in more exposure and a higher placement on popular search engines. Keywords can also increase a business’s visibility by piggybacking on trending topics.   A blog highlighting main topics can be the jumping point to other outlets like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube where the number of potential customers will increase exponentially.  Blogs include regular posts, quick attention getting headlines, and more in depth press releases covering new information that will attract potential customers and alert current clients.  Short videos enhance a blog adding information or demonstrating a product or service.  Monitoring results of blog activity can help to shape future blogs by determining which pieces of information result in the most traffic.  Used wisely, blogs can quickly and efficiently target and introduce your business to potential new customers as well as keep current customers informed.

Call  or email me to learn how to build a blog.

Welcome to EmarketingInstructor.com!

My name is Michael Hooper and I’m an emarketing consultant who helps  individuals and business owners on different emarketing strategies to maximize 21st century technology. stay tuned…..