We've partnered with Darnell Holloway, Head of Yelp's Business Outreach Team to provide you with even more details about how to use Yelp.com most effectively. Darnell shares with us what other property managers are doing along with best practices on using Yelp's free review response tools. This complimentary webinar provides you with action-oriented information that you can use in your online marketing efforts today.
4. Darnell Holloway
Manager of Local Business Outreach
www.yelp.com/contact
www.biz.yelp.com
@darnelljustin
5. Today’s Agenda:
1. Yelp 101: The Basics of Our Site
2. Business Owners Account: Unlock Your Tools
3. Reviews: Do’s and Don’ts of Responding
4. Reputation/Content Management: Achieving a Strong Online
Presence
9. The Yelp App:
Coming to a Device Near You!
• Yelp mobile app is used on of 8.2
million unique mobile devices (Q3 2012)
• Approximately 45% of all searches on
Yelp come from our mobile apps.
• Every second, a consumer generated
directions to or called a business from a
Yelp app.
•A photo was uploaded at least every 30
seconds from the Yelp app.
10. What Makes Yelp Different?
What it is: Since Day 1, our focus has always been
on creating a community of reviewers
What it’s not: Yelp isn’t a bulletin board or
drive-by review site
21. FACT: 80% of Yelp Reviews are 3-Stars or Higher
Critical reviews play an important role too:
• A variety of experiences are consistent with real life
• You can’t please 100% of your customers 100% of the time
26. Quality Control: Why Some Reviews Come Down
All businesses are equal in this regard.
(Advertisers & non-advertisers treated equally; filtered reviews viewable.)
27. The Proof is in the Pudding:
“Every fake review
the Texan bought was
flagged by Yelp’s
algorithms, though
his fraudulent
reviews remain up on
the seven other
sites.”
31. Do Let People Know
You’re on Yelp,
But Don’t Ask For Reviews
32. Generating Yelp Content
Provide Great Service! Check Ins: Homepage Reminder
Update Your Email Signature In-Office & Newsletter Marketing
33. Paid Features: Search Advertising and Business Page Upgrades
Removal of Competitor’s Ads
Removal of Competitor’s Ads
34. Summary:
1. Yelp 101: Yelp connects people with great local businesses.
2. Business Owners Account: Use the free tools in your account to help drive
new customers to your business.
3. Reviews: Engage diplomatically and don’t obsess over any single review.
4. Reputation Management: Let people know you’re on Yelp, but
don’t ask for reviews.
35. Darnell Holloway
Manager of Local Business Outreach
www.yelp.com/contact
www.biz.yelp.com
@darnelljustin
Hinweis der Redaktion
Kara – and then intro Lisa!
Kara – and then intro Lisa!
Hi Everyone, excited to be here. We’re going to go over a lot of information in today's presentation of which will both be helpful and informative in regards to how best to utilize yelp to your advantage. We’ll kick off the conversation by going over the basics of our site, Followed by understanding the free tools you have as a business owner. We’ll then do a deeper dive on how to respond to reviews and close with how to achieve a strong online presence.
Yelp launched in 2004 in an effort to provide people with a great local directory of businesses with a review component to it.
In essence, the purpose of Yelp is to connect people with great local businesses – you can find everything from your next dentist to a great salsa lounge (and everything in between) on our site.
As a result, Yelp has become the top destination for consumers to go when needing to find a great local business. As of Q2 of this year, Yelp has 78 Million unique visitors per month on average And 30 million reviews have been contributed to the site In fact, now more than ever consumers are relying on online reviews to make buying decisions. A few recent surveys help shed some light on the increasing popularity of Yelp from a consumer standpoint. Brighlocal conducted a survey which found that 85% of consumers used the internet to find local businesses in the last 12 months Pair that with 70% of respondents in a recent Neilsen study who stated that they trust online reviews of fellow consumers Finally, 64% of Yelp Users come from households with annual incomes of 100k or more. Our consumer base has disposable income to spend and are coming to our site to do so.
Taking a look now at our mobile reach: The Yelp Mobile application has been downloaded onto 7.2 million unique mobile devices as of Q2 of this year, 40% of all searches on Yelp come from the mobile apps Every second a consumer is generating directions or calling a business from the mobile Yelp app Every 30 seconds a photo is being uploaded to a biz listing from the mobile app.
Let’s switch gears a little bit and talk about what makes Yelp different: For starters, we have always focused on making sure we have a strong offline community of users. We have 85 Community Managers around the world, located in our major markets, who’s sole purpose is to facilitate the word of mouth about Yelp between consumers and business owners. The reason we’ve taken this approach is because we didn’t want to be another drive by review site in which people create a free profile, leave one review and never return again. Yelp has differentiated itself by becoming a lifestyle blog of sorts in which people’s offline experience with a business were worth sharing with their Yelp friends who also use the site. Based on these two factors, Yelp has evolved into a platform for which consumers visit to make their buying decisions based on the reviews they read and the business profiles they land on.
One common myth we encounter when it comes to the reviews on Yelp is that the majority of them are negative
Not only are Yelp users affluent but they’re also educated adults. … and they’re writing reviews for every category on our site 65% of Yelp Users have a college education 64% of Users come from a household income of 100k or more 53% of users are 35 years of age or older
Now that we’ve gotten a bit more familiarized with Yelp and it’s user base, let’s dive into what we have available for you as a business on Yelp. Most of you are familiar with Yelp when using it as a consumer, but many are unaware of the suite of free tools available when you unlock your business owners account on our site
For starters, you’ll want to go to www.biz.yelp.com In the center of the page, click on the red button to begin the process of claiming your business listing Be sure to bookmark this page as a favorite on your computer as this will be where you’ll return to log-in to your BOA in the future Once you’ve claimed your page, be sure to watch the helpful video which covers the 4 secrets of success for business owners on Yelp
Once logged into your Business Owners Account you’ll land on your Business Metrics. Here you can track: Your User Views – accounts for total number of views your biz had from both mobile and desktop platforms User Actions – to see what interactions a consumer had with your page past the ‘User View: check-ins, mobile phone calls, deals sold, bookmarks, directions mapped to your biz and more! Ad Clicks – If you’re getting additional exposure on the sight, you’ll also see a third tab which tallys the number of ad clicks your business is getting as a result of our search advertising Beyond tracking your metrics, you have a suite of free tools located on the left side of your BOA which include the ability to: Add information about your business Respond to reviews Create check-in offers, Yelp Deals and Gift Certificates Add photos
The result of using all of these tools is depicted here – this is an extremely comprehensive Yelp listing. The best part? All of these features are part of your free BOA Let’s touch on a few of the highlights: Photos: this is a great tool to take advantage of for every business, why? Well, we had our engineers conduct a study on user interaction with a listing and found that consumer’s stays on listings with photos 2.5 time longer than businesses without photos. Yelp Deals and Gift Certificate: YD’s are a great way to convert potential customers into paying customers by enticing them to make a buying decision while on your page as it’s a discounted dollar-for-dollar amount offer. Our gift certificate are perfect for your current customer base that want a friend or family member to experience what your business has to offer and not feel as though they’re being ‘cheap’ wit the gift and giving them a YelpDeal. Add your basic business information: this may seem like the most minor of them all, but in actuality, this can play an integral part in choosing your business because they may filter results to display only businesses that are ‘open now’ for example. Describe your business: this is a great place to add information about what your business specializes in and what makes you unique in comparison to your competitors. Add like-minded businesses: great place to be a resource for the consumer – are you a dentist with a few orthodontists that you enjoy working with? Or a restaurant that has a movie theatre nearby? This is the place to add those business suggestions
The other thing you’re able to do once you unlock your free BOA account is message your customers. You can private message a consumer which is similar to a personal email between you and the reviewer Or you can post a public comment which enables all future consumers on your business page to view your response directly below the review.
One common myth we encounter when it comes to the reviews on Yelp is that the majority of them are negative
Now when it comes to more specifics about responding to reviews, there are a few do’s and don’ts worth touching on and how to handle both the positive and critical comments with care.
One common myth we encounter when it comes to the reviews on Yelp is that the majority of them are negative
The fact of the matter is, 80% of our reviews are 3 stars or higher. The majority of our users are contributing their positive experience with a business on Yelp. On a broader scope, it’s important to note that critical reviews play an important role too. You can’t please 100% of your customers 100% of the time - a variety of experiences are consistent with real life
In the instance that you recently received a critical review of your business and decide to post a public comment, post something you can be proud of. A public comment can be one of the best tools in certain situations, just make sure you’re using it in the right way In the example I’ve included here, you’ll see that the reviewer mentioned that his interaction with the business owner was less than professional and he was out right rude. The biz owner responds publicly with ‘I never quoted this punk regarding any project’ this only give the reviewer’s comment a stamp of approval in terms of accurate information. Don’t do this.
Manage expectations re: review updates! Instead, keep your response brief, say thank you and state your policy where necessary. This is a great example of a business owner responding in a timely fashion to a 1-star review about his business. He apologizes for the customer’s poor experience then clarifies a few items on the menu that appear to have been over charged on this customers receipt and offers to rectify the situation As a result, the customer updates their review to 3=stars stating that the customer service provided by the business was so outstanding he is going to try them out again in the future.
One common myth we encounter when it comes to the reviews on Yelp is that the majority of them are negative
One of the most common questions we get is, “How do I get more Yelp reviews? Should I ask my customers to write reviews for my business?” It might seem strange as a review site, but we actually recommend against it. It’s a slippery slope between a customer so delighted by their experience that they write a review and a customer encouraged to write a favorable review. And let’s be candid – most business owners are only going to ask happy customers to write reviews. Over time, these reviews create a bias in the business listing – one that savvy consumers can smell from a mile away. Lastly, don’t be surprised if these reviews you ask for are filtered. So, how do you grow your review base? Well, there’s no perfect formula, but first and foremost – provide great service. As we saw earlier, people are more likely to write a positive review when they receive great customer service Additionally, here are a few ideas to get your started> your offices are running check in offers like a free electric toothbrush, or a $39 New Patient Exam. This encourages people to check in to take advantage of that deal. Next time they log in to Yelp, they’ll see a reminder on the homepage to Share their Experience. Yelp has an Official Flickr Page where you can download and use images like this one to let people know you’re on Yelp. If they’re already users, this is a good reminder to them to write you a review. You can use these images in office, or in your email or mail marketing Does your office correspond by email with your patients for things like appointment reminders? Any email is a great chance to remind people you’re on Yelp. I put this signature together using a tool called WiseStamp