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How Google Business Profile Makes a Huge Impact at the Local Level

How-Google-Business-Profile-Makes-a-Huge-Impact

If you’ve ever done a Google search for information about a business then you’ll be familiar with Google Business Profile. These profiles appear at the top of your search result page with all the information the searched business has added to Google like store hours, directions, products, contact information, and more. Contained in a box with user-friendly drop-down menus, a Google Business Profile (GBP) should tell customers everything they need, to decide which destination is going to get their business when making important purchases. It could make the difference between attracting new customers and losing their interest. 

How Consumers Are Using Google

How Google Business Profile Makes a Huge Impact at the Local Level

GBPs have become integral to businesses for a couple of reasons. First, Google is the world’s most popular search engine with 3.5 billion searches per day. It’s safe to say that the majority of consumers are finding information about your business through Google.

Another reason is that the implementation of business profiles has created a standard that helps users quickly recognize which businesses have what they’re looking for. Complete GBP listings – where the business has filled in all the information, added images, and responds to reviews – are 7x more likely to get clicks than incomplete profiles. Consumers appreciate having access to as much information as possible; listings with photos are 2x as likely to be considered reputable, ultimately resulting in those profiles receiving 35% more clicks. Consumers generally aren’t willing to spend time digging for information on businesses that don’t provide it in their profiles.

Additionally, search patterns have shifted as consumers rely more on mobile search. These are things people are looking for while they’re on the go, like the closest gas station or coffee shop. About 84% of searches are considered “discovery searches”, meaning that consumers are using search terms such as “near me” to organically discover local businesses. Consumers want to get information quickly to help them find the products they want, at a convenient location. 

All of this is to say that a well-maintained GBP is an opportunity for businesses to make a strong first impression on potential consumers. The profiles most relevant to users’ searches organically appear at the top of the search result page. And since 90% of global users only interact with search results on the very first page, regularly updating the profile is essential to business visibility. 

The Misconception

How Google Business Profile Makes a Huge Impact at the Local Level

One of the most useful components of GBP is that you can sync your profile with Google Maps to make sure  consumers organically discover your business when searching for relevant services nearby. It’s a user-friendly and highly recognizable aspect of a profile. This likely contributes to the misconception that GBP is only helpful for the owners of physical storefronts hoping to drive foot traffic. In reality, GBP is a tool for large brands, small retailers, and everyone in between to get in front of consumers with relevant products in a professional business listing. 

A key benefit of GBP for brands and retailers alike is that it enables you to guide consumers through the “online browsing to in-store purchase” funnel. This common combination is the way that consumers want to shop in 2022. When asked, almost 75% of survey participants looked at products online before visiting a physical store to make their purchase. Consumers can look at products, decide what they want, and get directions to the store – all from a business’s completed Google Business Profile.

Brands in particular can benefit from GBP by using it to support their retailers. It’s a great way to let the local community know which retailers are official destinations for your products. By providing your retailers with high-quality content for their business profiles, they can reach your brands’ audience in their local communities. Plus, consistently posting to GBP helps retailers build credibility by engaging with consumers and improving their experience.  

Reach Local Audiences with ThumbStopper

How Google Business Profile Makes a Huge Impact at the Local Level

Although its purpose and format is different than more traditional social media platforms, GBP presents the same challenges and opportunities for brand-retailer collaboration: 

  • Retailers don’t have the resources or technical skills to maintain their social media accounts with high quality content 
  • Your brand is already dedicating a large budget towards producing marketing assets and multimedia content
  • Retailers have cultivated local social media followings of consumers who are interested in your industry and products 

Enabling your retailers to share your content is an ideal solution, but doing so manually is time-consuming and unrealistic. That’s why ThumbStopper empowers brands to distribute their content straight to retailers’ pages on various social and search platforms, including Google Business Profile. The eye-catching content your brand invests time and money into making, will help your retailers keep the attention of their local customers. Busy retailers can promote your brand on their business profiles just by opting in. 

Book a demo to learn more about what ThumbStopper can do for you.

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Key Points:

 

  • Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
  • Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
  • Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

 

 

Accessibility may not be a term you usually associate with the internet and social media. You might picture wheelchair ramps, directional signs in braille, or sign language interpreters at live performances. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 dictates the legal necessity of these and similar accommodations in public spaces. As we’ve come to rely on the internet for everything from entertainment to buying groceries, it’s become clear that the internet is now also a public space. It must be accessible to everyone. And like other applications of ADA, businesses that do not comply are liable for damages caused by inaccessibility.

 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an international set of standards to provide instruction on meeting accessibility needs. It’s important for companies to understand how this applies to their websites, especially if they engage in e-commerce. In terms of social media, the requirements are less concrete. But prioritizing accessibility on your company’s social media is essential to your reputation, even if the legal requirements are uncertain. We’ll look at why it’s important to your customers, how it affects the perception of your brand, and how to make these changes efficiently.

Social Media for All

The cornerstone of accessibility is inclusive design: products or experiences that are accessible for everyone regardless of disability. The most important place where this shows up is on company websites where most users expect to also find links to the brand’s social media profiles. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of websites are not accessible, despite the fact that the application of ADA to the internet is over 20 years old. Making websites accessible is a complex process without the use of specialized software like Accessibe or EqualWeb.

Unlike websites, making sure your social media is accessible is a straightforward, ongoing process. Every social platform has been quick to release optional accessibility features. These features are important to many users even if they don’t rely on them to use social media.

Making your social presence accessible tells users that your brand cares about people, not just profits. It’s the same idea as the push for the representation of different body sizes in fashion or more expansive skin tone ranges in beauty products. Brands that meet the needs of underrepresented groups endear themselves to others as well. And while optimizing your brand website for accessibility might be a larger project you aren’t ready to tackle yet, starting with your social media pages is a great way to show customers that you’re listening to their concerns. 

 

Making Content Accessible

Shifting to accessible content means incorporating inclusive design into your creative process. The practice varies by type of media. For platforms that have graphics or videos with captions, it means not only adjusting each component but also being mindful of how they interact with each other.

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It's one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

None of the technology for accessibility is perfect yet. Teaching computers to digest complex information for human understanding is difficult, and the variations in disabilities further complicate it. The majority of adjustments creators need to make revolve around helping assistive technology better understand their content. Let’s look at how to make different kinds of content accessible. 

Text

  • Use plain language that’s easy to understand 
  • Avoid text in all caps
  • Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

  • Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
  • Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
  • Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Distribute Accessible Content

Many users find their new favorite brand through social media. When disabled people (who make up 26% of the population according to the CDC) can’t access your brand’s social posts, you miss the opportunity to connect with a demographic that’s eager to engage in online communities. On a hyper-local level, that kind of connection goes even further.

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience - with your accessible, branded content - in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business. 

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

 

 

accessibility
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Key Points:

 

  • Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
  • Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
  • Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

 

 

Accessibility may not be a term you usually associate with the internet and social media. You might picture wheelchair ramps, directional signs in braille, or sign language interpreters at live performances. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 dictates the legal necessity of these and similar accommodations in public spaces. As we’ve come to rely on the internet for everything from entertainment to buying groceries, it’s become clear that the internet is now also a public space. It must be accessible to everyone. And like other applications of ADA, businesses that do not comply are liable for damages caused by inaccessibility.

 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an international set of standards to provide instruction on meeting accessibility needs. It’s important for companies to understand how this applies to their websites, especially if they engage in e-commerce. In terms of social media, the requirements are less concrete. But prioritizing accessibility on your company’s social media is essential to your reputation, even if the legal requirements are uncertain. We’ll look at why it’s important to your customers, how it affects the perception of your brand, and how to make these changes efficiently.

Social Media for All

The cornerstone of accessibility is inclusive design: products or experiences that are accessible for everyone regardless of disability. The most important place where this shows up is on company websites where most users expect to also find links to the brand’s social media profiles. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of websites are not accessible, despite the fact that the application of ADA to the internet is over 20 years old. Making websites accessible is a complex process without the use of specialized software like Accessibe or EqualWeb.

Unlike websites, making sure your social media is accessible is a straightforward, ongoing process. Every social platform has been quick to release optional accessibility features. These features are important to many users even if they don’t rely on them to use social media.

Making your social presence accessible tells users that your brand cares about people, not just profits. It’s the same idea as the push for the representation of different body sizes in fashion or more expansive skin tone ranges in beauty products. Brands that meet the needs of underrepresented groups endear themselves to others as well. And while optimizing your brand website for accessibility might be a larger project you aren’t ready to tackle yet, starting with your social media pages is a great way to show customers that you’re listening to their concerns. 

 

Making Content Accessible

Shifting to accessible content means incorporating inclusive design into your creative process. The practice varies by type of media. For platforms that have graphics or videos with captions, it means not only adjusting each component but also being mindful of how they interact with each other.

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It’s one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

None of the technology for accessibility is perfect yet. Teaching computers to digest complex information for human understanding is difficult, and the variations in disabilities further complicate it. The majority of adjustments creators need to make revolve around helping assistive technology better understand their content. Let’s look at how to make different kinds of content accessible. 

Text

  • Use plain language that’s easy to understand 
  • Avoid text in all caps
  • Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

  • Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
  • Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
  • Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Distribute Accessible Content

Many users find their new favorite brand through social media. When disabled people (who make up 26% of the population according to the CDC) can’t access your brand’s social posts, you miss the opportunity to connect with a demographic that’s eager to engage in online communities. On a hyper-local level, that kind of connection goes even further.

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience – with your accessible, branded content – in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business. 

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

 

 

accessibility
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