webpunch login
banner

August 2016

29 Aug Don’t just listen to your online reputation, get in there!

Posted by: Matthew Van Deventer
Don’t just listen to your online reputation, get in there!
Remember when you were a kid and you/a friend had a pool and you’d get chased around with that little wheelie monster with a tail that shot water at the bottom cleaning the pool? Maybe as an adult you still have one of those. Maybe its name was something like Rover. Even with Rover you still has to put some serious work into that pool and go beyond just watching and listening to Rover. You have to skim it, check the chlorine levels, clean the traps, contain problems, and make sure it doesn’t turn green like the diving pool did in Rio did this year. The pool owner takes care of the pool, and Rover helps maintain it. . . . so what's the point when it comes to your online reviews? What we’re trying to say is just because you you have a monitoring tool for your reviews, it doesn’t mean you have a reputation management solution by any means—listening is basic. You've still got a lot of stuff to do, like skim the surface, clean the traps and make sure thing doesn’t go green. You have to do more than just listen, you need get involved. Managing your reputation is a VERB and requires you to take action!
Keep Reading

18 Aug Don’t Skimp when Responding to Negative Online Reviews

Posted by: Melissa Hall
responding to negative reviews

Don’t Skimp on Responding to Negative Online Reviews, Acknowledge Them

Just a handful of negative reviews, even among thousands of positives, can bring down your average rating. Eighteen one or two-star ratings out of 20,000 positives will leave your business rated at a three and a half or four. While four stars may sound pretty good, it’ll have others wondering what those lower ratings were all about. You, as the business owner, need to tend to those negative reviewers head on and bring them back.
Keep Reading

16 Aug How to Remove Bad Reviews from Google and Yelp

Posted by: Melissa Hall
how to remove reviews
Look no further you vigilant online reputation masters! If your Google or Yelp page is plagued by a review that contains false or inappropriate information, you do have options. We will show you step-by-step how to get a review removed from your Google or Yelp page. Both of these sites have very clear content guidelines that can be excellent resources when determining which reviews should be removed and how to get those pesky things to go away.
Keep Reading

11 Aug When a Negative Review is Posted, This is Not the Time to Hide, but Own It.

Posted by: Melissa Hall
how to respond to negative reviews
Handling an online firestorm of negative reviews can seem like the last thing you want to do. Online business and reviews may not be your forte, especially if you are of the proponents of letting your great service/product/staff do the talking. The problem with this strategy? 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations, and at least 66% of consumers check online reviews before trying out a business. The many ways you can handle things when the Proverbial s&%t hits the fan.
Keep Reading

09 Aug Twitter Verification: Should your Small Business try to Verify?

Posted by: Melissa Hall
Twitter Verification: Should your Small Business try to Verify?

Should you try to Verify Twitter for your Business?

For the longest time the only Twitter Accounts that could earn that pretty blue and white Badge or verification were the real high profile ones. Accounts like the CDC @CDCGov or Oprah @Oprah (yeah and @KimKardashian...surprised?).
Keep Reading

02 Aug Consumers, Small Business and Yelp: The Free Speech Controversy

Posted by: Melissa Hall
yelp free speech

Yelp and Free Speech

No doubt your business has a Yelp profile. Consumers check that before deciding to go to you for what they need. But what type of transparency is there for consumers as to what online reviews have been removed by Yelp, which ones stay up but could be phony reviews, and if you - the business owner - have any control? It’s a great question as well as an issue that’s been building for years within the Yelp community. Yelp recently started flagging businesses too, as they say, protect the consumer first and foremost. There are plenty of moving pieces that have all led up to this including court battles, Yelp Free Speech lawsuits, business owners making angry-worried-crazy moves and what it means for you.
Keep Reading