Waze. Who? Waze. They may be new on the scene, but you’re going to be hearing a lot about them from here on out. Waze is an iOS map and navigation app that was just purchased by Google for an estimated, and whopping, $1.1 to $1.3 billion.

Who or What is Waze?

As we stated, Waze is an interactive navigation and mapping app with approximately 50 million users. Based in Israel and Palo Alto, CA, the app was launched in 2008. This free app offers turn-by-turn navigation for both iOS and Android systems. Since its launch, it has raised approximately $67 million in outside funding from such prominent sources as Kleiner Perkins and Horizons Ventures.

Waze separates itself from other mapping and navigation apps with its crowdsourcing formula. Instead of trying to map out each and every street around the world, Waze relies on its users to provide detailed information as they drive. Users provide information on accidents, traffic jams, construction, speed, locations, best routes, and other travel information building out the app’s maps in real time. This crowdsourcing formula creates an addictive experience for users who are able to report back a wide variety of information ranging from gas prices to speed traps to points of interest. As more users come on board, the app becomes more robust, more reliable and more effective.

Who Wanted Waze?

Google wasn’t the only one who wanted to add Waze to their empire. Other big tech companies courted Waze before Google swept in and won the prize. With all the major tech companies in need of reliable and effective mapping programs, it seemed Waze was ripe for a buyout. Waze offered what all tech companies need – a reliable, easy to use navigation and mapping program with a nice base of 50 million followers to boot.

Apple was the first to come knocking on Waze’s door. Apple reportedly came in with a $500 million bid. This was a logical match. Apple struggled with the roll out of their own proprietary mapping system. Waze would have helped Apple to recover from this somewhat embarrassing misstep. For whatever reasons, this match didn’t work out.

Then Facebook came to the table. Facebook was reportedly in talks with Waze when Google came knocking. The Facebook offer reportedly came in at a very respectable $1 billion. The Facebook-Waze partnership would also have made sense given Facebook’s recent push to enter the mobile game. But Google came in with the big offer and closed the deal.

Why Google?

So why Google? Waze offers Google’s current mapping system some upgrades they don’t currently have including real time updates and additional routes to avoid traffic. The Waze experience is more interactive and fun. It offers something to users that Google’s current mapping system simply can’t and, while that doesn’t seem like much, over the long term it offers value to Google.

Then there’s the social aspect that Waze offers. Waze has a social networking side that Google can tap into to boost up Google+. Currently Waze offers a single sign on with Facebook, which would make sense for Google to replace with Google+. Waze also offers users the ability to see which friends are on the same route to events, the ability to share drives, to communicate from the road, and to choose meet up spots. All of these social aspects offer value to Google.

Google’s acquisition of Waze also brings an advertising component into the equation. While Waze hasn’t been focused on monetizing its product, it can now turn its attention to building out this portion of its brand. Late in 2012, Waze was already looking at ways to build out ads within the app by allowing businesses to claim their spot on the map and send out targeted messages to people driving nearby. This jives nicely with Google’s ad strategies.

It does seem as though the acquisition of Waze was a good deal for Google. It took a potentially valuable app out of the hands of the competition and added some valuable technology and intellectual property to Google’s already overflowing toolbox. It remains to be seen how the other major tech companies will respond.

What a great endorsement, right?!

So how are you going to use this amazing little gem to its fullest advantage? Are you just going to let it sit out there on whatever review site you saw it on? Perhaps print it out and put it on the bulletin board above your desk or next to your checkout counter? Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a way to broadcast it to all of your social networks?

Getting more mileage out of 5-star ratings and positive reviews can help you build your business. Approximately 70% of Americans read reviews before purchasing. More often than not, consumers are turning to the internet for advice on where to shop and what to purchase. You need to make sure they find information about your store and your products when they need it.

So, how do you increase the impact of your ratings and reviews? The first step is recognizing that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks are a simple and powerful way to increase the value of these reviews.

To get started, you must first be organized. If you aren’t keeping track of your reviews, now is the time to get started. You must be aware of your online brand and its image. What is the consumer saying about you and where are they saying it? A brand management program like Qiigo Reputation Management can help you by providing updates on mentions about your business across review sites, blogs, social media, and other websites. Once you are actively tracking your mentions, you can start posting reviews to your social media pages alongside the other updates you regularly post.

Now that you are watching for and re-posting positive reviews and ratings, what do you do if you find a negative review? The best thing to do is to act quickly and calmly. Reach out to the customer with a positive attitude and do what you can to fix the problem. It is possible to turn negative reviews into a positive customer service experience.

In an effort to be authentic, and to provide full disclosure to your customers, it can be helpful to re-post less than perfect reviews. These reviews provide the opportunity for you to show how you respond to customers and how you can fix problems that can naturally occur when you run a business. Go one step further and thank your customer online for the honest feedback. Be the good guy.

As you implement your new program of re-posting reviews and ratings, it’s important to remember that you must measure your results. This is easily done by tagging your ads by product, page URL, keyword or other tag that lets you easily identify how the quote is resonating with your audience.

For more information on Qiigo Reputation Management and how it can help you integrate reviews into your social media marketing efforts, please call (404) 496-6841.

Let’s try an experiment. Go to Google and search for your ‘Business Name’. What do you see? Is it good? Now search for ‘Business Name + Complaints’. What do you see now? Is it scary?

Your online reputation can be the difference between success and failure. It can be the difference between people trying your location or going to the competitor down the street. 97% of consumers research online before making a local purchase and 70% rely on search engines to find reviews. Can you afford to neglect your online reputation for even one more day?

When trying to get a handle on your online reputation management you need to assess your reputation so you can address any issues and build positive content regarding your business. Let’s start with assessing your reputation.

Assessing your reputation is easy. You’re just going to pretend you’re shopping for your service or product. Go to Google or Bing and type in keywords you might use to look for your business. Would a consumer be able to find your business? If not, you might need to step up your online lead generation tactics. Click here to learn more about lead generation.

Your next search should be about your business. Find out what the consumer would find if they were investigating your business. Google your ‘Business Name’, ‘Business Name + Reviews’, and like we tried above, ‘Business Name + Complaints’. In the search results, you want to look for how many reviews are positive vs. negative and get a feel for how old the reviews are.

Next, you’ll want to check popular review sites to see how you’re fairing. Popular review sites include Google+ Local, Yelp, Yahoo! Local, CitySearch, Kudzu, and MerchantCircle. When visiting these sites, you’ll want to claim your listings. Claiming your listings allows you to make sure all information about your location is correct. Be sure that each address is listed exactly the same.

For example, if your location is 123 North Main Street. Be sure that each site has you listed the exact same way. If one location has you listed at 123 N. Main St. and one has you as 123 North Main Street it can affect how consumers find you online. If you find negative reviews, respond to them.

Once you’ve looked at all the review sites, it’s time to move on to social media. Do you have a social media page? Are consumers talking about you online? Find out and be sure to respond to both positive and negative reviews.

Once you’ve spent some time going through the first step of assessing your online reputation, now you need to develop a system of continuous monitoring. Keeping up to date on what consumers are saying about your business is essential. You can start by setting up Google and Yahoo alerts. These alerts will email you anytime they discover new content about your business.

An easy way to keep up with your online reputation is to use a reputation management platform like Qiigo Reputation Management. Qiigo’s platform gathers all mentions of your business across the web and consolidates them into one easy to use location. You will be able to view online testimonials, information from business directories, social media sites and more. Learn more about Qiigo Reputation Management here.

As you monitor your online reputation, it is essential to always respond to negative comments. Addressing negative comments quickly can help to turn a difficult situation into a positive one. If you can resolve a situation, you can often turn an unhappy customer into one of your greatest fans.

While negative reviews can rarely be removed from the internet, you can focus on building up your stack of positive reviews. Ask your happy customers to review your business online. Create blog posts that highlight customer success stories. Post testimonials or customer reviews on line. Investing time and energy into highlighting the successes your business has can only help to bolster your online reputation and drive business to your location.

To learn more about online reputation management, please call Qiigo today at (404) 496-6841.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Foursquare, the list goes on and on. The world of social media is expanding faster than most companies can keep up with. For the franchise owner whose plate is already full, the prospect of actively maintaining multiple social media accounts is daunting.

If you have been wondering why you should even bother with social media, here are some great reasons to keep at it.

• Social Media is a Marathon Not a Sprint. While large corporations can afford to throw big budgets at social media campaigns for one-time big hits, for the vast majority of us, social media is about adding value over the long haul. By adding unique, interesting content over time, you can organically build your audience. Before adding content, ask yourself, “Would I share this with my friends?”
• Social Media Isn’t Just for Kids. Did you know that more than half of internet users over the age of 50 use Facebook? Social media users cross all generations. Your customers use social media, reach out and communicate with them today.
• Twitter Isn’t Only for the Rich and Famous. While most people think Twitter is only effective for celebrities, it can work for those with a small, but loyal following. With timely, relevant tweets, you can make Twitter work for you. Remember to tweet about things that aren’t all about you and to engage those people who mention your company or products.
• Facebook is About More than Likes. Do you advertise on Facebook? Facebook advertising can add value to your online footprint by increasing your fan base and improving customer engagement.
• One Post Can Be Enough. Have you ever blocked a company from your Facebook feed because they bombarded you with information? Just one post a day is enough to keep your name in front of your fans. Posting too often can lower your average scores in Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm.
• Posts Should Be Unique, Interesting and Engaging. Keep these words top of mind when creating social media posts. Including photos and links increases engagement rates and creates more excitement than static text.
• Google+ What? If you’re feeling overwhelmed by Google+ and view it as just another social media tool, you’re missing the boat. Google+ is so much more than just a social media platform. Your Google+ page can impact the results of searches for your brand and site visit conversion rates.

The bottom line is social media is here to stay and shouldn’t be neglected. If you would like help keeping up with what consumers are saying about your business online, Qiigo can help with our Reputation Management platform. Call us today to find out how Reputation Management can show you what people are saying about your business and how it can provide you with a streamlined process for posting to your social media sites. Call 404-496-6841 for information on Qiigo Reputation Management.

Local search drives business. Reviews are essential to consumers as they search for reliable, trustworthy businesses to purchase from. Merging the two is what Google does best.

Roughly 40% of searches are local. This means that your neighbors are searching for places to shop in your town on Google. According to the 2012 Local Consumer Review Study, 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation. Better yet, 52% say positive online reviews make them more likely to purchase from a business. The importance of local searches and online reviews of your business has never been greater.

Google has said recently, “…we at Google are committed to helping people to get ratings, reviews, and recommendations that are relevant, helpful, and trustworthy.” In an effort to provide their users with the best possible experience, Google has been tweaking their algorithm to ensure consumers find the information they need. In doing so, they have laid out some guidelines on what not to do to generate reviews. Here’s what you need to know:

Don’t ask your employees to review you.

Google doesn’t allow reviews from current owners or employees. They have the technology to remove individual reviews, so don’t give them reason to come after your page.

Don’t pay someone to write reviews for you.

Some SEO companies will claim that by generating reviews for you they can boost your ranking. This is what Google says about these claims, “We’ve seen companies make up fake glowing testimonies — and we’ll take them down.”

Negative reviews can’t be removed.

Some will say they can remove negative reviews about your business, but it simply isn’t true. The best you can hope for is to bury the negative review with oodles of positive ones.

Don’t set up a computer in your business for people to provide reviews.

Google doesn’t like this and recommends you send follow up emails asking for reviews instead.

Don’t bribe your customer for a review.

Seems obvious right? Well, even discounts or incentives are considered bribes. So don’t do it.

Don’t enter comment cards as reviews.

Google wants each review to “come from first-hand experience and does not allow posting reviews on behalf of others.”

So how are you supposed to increase your review count? Here are some tips you can use to get more reviews from your very satisfied customers.

• Send emails reminding customers to write online reviews after a purchase.
• Include a link to review your business on Google+ in any email blasts you send out.
• Post reminders near the register, on the door or in another well trafficked area of your store.
• Getting lots of positive mentions on social media sites? Follow up with a reminder to post to your Google+ Local page.

And what do you do if you receive a bad review. UGH. Don’t just stick your head in the sand. Action must be taken! First, respond promptly with an apology. Ask what you can do to make the situation whole. Work closely with the disgruntled customer to turn them around. They are likely to become a fan for life if you can prove you are responsive to their needs.

The importance of reviews on local search results is only going to increase as Google continues to place more weight on these online entries. Now is the time to build up a strong base of reviews.

If you are not currently monitoring your online reputation and reviews, call Qiigo today at (404) 496-6841 to learn more about our Reputation Management program.]]> http://qiigo.com/google/reviews-local-search-results/feed/ 0 http://qiigo.com/front-page/2012-mobile-ad-revenue-sets-new-record/ http://qiigo.com/front-page/2012-mobile-ad-revenue-sets-new-record/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:29 +0000 ginny http://qiigo.com/?p=5072 The Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) full year 2012 report on digital ad revenues was recently released. It shows another record year for digital ad revenues with significant increases in the mobile category.

Digital ad revenues rose to $36.6 billion in 2012. This represents a 15% increase over 2011 revenues. Mobile was the fastest growing segment of digital ads sales with ad revenues totaling $3.4 billion or 9% of total digital ad revenues. This represents a 112.5% increase over the 2011 mobile ad revenue total of $1.6 billion. These numbers confirm the IAB’s mid-year report which projected overall digital ad growth to slow with mobile ad sales would continue to rise.

“These record-breaking numbers represent a paradigm shift when it comes to marketers recognizing the role a multiplicity of screens plays in effectively reaching today’s consumers,” IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg said. “Mobile, in particular, soared due to its ubiquity and intrinsic ability to serve as a powerful digital dashboard that travels with you from morning commute to nighttime video viewing and beyond.”

Other areas of digital ad sales to see growth include:

• 29% increase in digital video to $2.3 billion.
• Search totaled $16.9 billion; a 14.5% increase.
• Display advertising rose to $12 billion; an increase of nearly 9%.

With mobile advertising clearly leading the digital ad industry, it’s important for businesses to gain a foothold. Is your company actively engaged in a mobile marketing campaign? Find out how Qiigo can help you reach consumers with our mobile marketing platform. Call (404) 496-6841 for more information.

Google recently announced some noteworthy changes to the Google Places dashboard. Overall, the reviews have been mixed, but there are some changes that will make it easier for SMBs to manage their Places account.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The new ‘Places for Business’ dashboard is designed to make things easier and more clear for SMBs. With the new dashboard, it will be easier to use and promote within Google’s local products.
• This new roll out is coming in stages. The new dashboard is considered a v1.0 evolution and users should expect to see more announcements about additional features.
• As this is a roll out, don’t expect that you will have access to the new dashboard immediately. The new dashboard is only available to new listings, those newly created or newly verified. If you’ve already claimed your listing, you are going to have to wait until the roll out reaches you.
• The new dashboard is cleaner, faster and easier to use. This is good. Changes made in the new dashboard feed directly into Google’s updated ‘knowledge graph.” This new structure makes it easier to manage data and Google will put more emphasis on the data submitted here.
• On the downside, the verification process remains the same. A PIN is still required to take control of your listing. However, if you need to dispute a listing, there is a new, clearer appeals process. Also, Google is now preventing listings from being claimed by multiple accounts. This should eliminate some problems with ownership and administration.
• The new dashboard features tips and advice on how to complete individual fields. With fewer fields to complete and clear instructions on how to fill out the fields, it should be easier for SMBs to manage their listings.
• All core updates to your profile should go live within 48 hours. Photos will take a bit longer. Google is working on a fix for this delay. If you want to add video to your profile, you will need a Google+ profile.
• With the new dashboard, Google has acknowledged SABs (service area businesses) for the first time. SABs can now get a Google+ Local page and hide their address.
• Users will see a significant change in the categories portion of their profile. No longer will you be able to create a custom category (although custom categories for older listings will remain). Now you will be prompted to select up to 10 categories to list in. Google even provides examples of how to complete these fields for maximum effect.
• Please note, Google has advised SMBs to not merge their old Google Local Listing with the Google+ Local page. This process is fraught with problems Google is trying to solve. So just sit tight and wait for Google to figure this out.

BIA/Kelsey’s US Local Mobile Forecast recently projected US mobile local advertising revenues will grow from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $9.1 billion in 2017. This jump represents a compound annual growth rate of 49.3%.

The US Local Mobile Forecast includes projections for mobile advertising via search, display, video, and commercial SMS. Of these, mobile search is projected to be the premier ad format. Mobile search is expected to grow from $704 million in 2012 to $5.7 billion in 2017. As a portion of all local media ad revenues, mobile US advertising is expected to increase from 0.9% in 2012 to 6.1% in 2017.

Mobile local ad revenues are just a portion of the growth expected in the mobile ad spending category. Total US mobile ad spending is expected to increase from $3.2 billion in 2012 to $16.8 billion in 2017. In 2012, locally targeted mobile ads accounted for just 38% of all mobile advertising. By 2017, that percentage is expected to rise to 54%.

Overall, mobile search advertising accounts for the largest share of mobile local media spending with display and SMS following. The breakdown of mobile local ad spending is as follows:

• Search ads should increase from $704 million in 2012 to $5.7 billion in 2017.
• Display ads are projected to grow from $379 million in 2012 to $2.7 billion in 2017.
• Expected growth in commercial SMS messaging is from $101 million in 2012 to $162 million in 2017.
• Video ads should see growth from $38 million in 2012 to $515 million in 2017.

These increases in mobile ad spending are expected to be driven by several factors including:

• Large brand advertisers will begin shifting campaign objectives to include mobile and to take advantage of the effective and undervalued mobile local ad inventory.
• The SMB segment is expected to embrace mobile advertising via self-serve tools and local media direct sales channels.
• Innovation among ad networks and ad tech providers are expected to encourage the utilization of this segment.
• Premiums developed for location-targeted ads will compound ad volume growth.

Is your business embracing local mobile advertising? Find out how Qiigo can help you utilize this exciting new marketing channel. Call our office today at (404) 496-6841.

The most powerful brands generate strong feelings among consumers. Apple, Virgin Airlines and Subway have all found their niche. When you ask consumers about these brands, they respond positively and are possessive of their brand affiliation. As one Apple fan recently told me, “Once you go Mac, you never go back!”

Does your brand have this kind of solid foundation among consumers? Do you want your brand to be beloved and talked about? Let’s look at some ways you can build a solid brand foundation and get people creating organic buzz about your products or services.

One of the first questions you need to ask about your brand is… “Do we generate organic buzz?” If your product or service is easy to talk about, people are more likely to spread the word. What do you do that is different than the competition? What makes someone want to talk about your brand?

Do you know who your customer is? It sounds basic, but it can be one of the most important parts of an effective campaign. What does your customer look like? Where do they hang out online or in person? Find out who they are and who is most likely to want to talk about your brand. Offer your most passionate followers the opportunity to try new products, provide feedback and provide other opportunities for them to feel like a valued insider.

Is your marketing message simple and compelling? This is an essential component of creating organic buzz. If your brand is fantastic, but consumers just can’t put into words what it means to them or why they want to recommend your product or service, it’s going to be hard to generate buzz. Create an easy to share message that your consumers can talk about with friends and family.

Once you know who your customer is and you have created the message you want to share, it’s time to make sure you give them a reason to keep coming back. Consumers are more likely to start and keep talking about those brands that provide them with something of value. Create a brand community. Engage your community with information on sales, contests, new products, and other items of interest that are likely to get them talking.

Once you have a viral following, reward your customers. People are particular about where they spend their money. If their investing in your product or service, and you can find ways to reward them and make them feel special, they’ll be more likely to turn in to repeat customers. Even simple things like a free memberships that provides advanced notice of sales and promotions can go a long way to strengthening the connection between customer and brand. Thanking customers online for their recommendations and reviews is another great way to make them feel a vital, important part of your brand community.

Build your brand foundation using these simple steps and your brand is on its way to generating organic buzz.

It’s no surprise that word of mouth and recommendations drive purchases. Since people began shopping, they have asked friends and family for their recommendations on products, brands and services. The difference in today’s world is that individuals are just as likely to turn to the internet for those recommendations as they are their neighbors and family. In fact, 74% of consumers rely on social media to influence their purchasing decisions.

Social influencers are making an impact on shopping decisions each and every day. Who are they and what do you need to know about them? Social influencers are those with an online presence that consumers trust and turn to for information on products, services and brands. Social influencers can be found on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

Bloggers can be a powerful force because their followers are willing to invest the time to read more than 140 characters and to really listen to what they say. Blogs with small but loyal followings are found to produce significant results in consumer influence studies. In fact, blogs are known to influence 31% of internet purchases. The importance of blogs on consumer online purchases ranks third behind only retail sites (56%) and brand sites (34%).

Influencers on Twitter are those who share, reply, link or generate compelling content that draws retweets and responses from their followers. On Facebook, the information these social influencers share gets liked, inspires comments and can be shared among groups.

What studies have found is that marketers are doing a poor job of reaching out to social influencers. One recent study found that 60% of marketers are expecting to raise their digital budgets by 40% or more this year.

So, how do you find and reach social influencers? Search those people who are following your social media sites. Reaching out to engage your most influential followers can help to increase your brand awareness. There are online tools that can help you to mine your followers making it easy to find social influencers relevant to your brand. Once you have identified the social influencers in your social sphere engage them. Your most passionate fans can be your biggest ally.

Planting seeds via social media and social influencers can impact consumer shopping decisions before they ever see your offer. Social media is a powerful force; use it to your brand’s advantage.

For assistance with social media monitoring and social media marketing, contact Qiigo today at (404) 496-6841.