Do you have to become an Influencer?

Marketing was always some form of "Content Creation"

Classifieds, radio, TV, guest articles and press releases, but it's gotten so much more complex in this digital information age.

Photography and video production, well-written scripts and a gregarious personality; these are some of the skills and talents one needs to provide modern online experiences for people on social media.

In addition, one needs to learn and work around the proprietary algorithms for each platform. They really don't want people to be led off their platforms, so they 'throttle' links to your website. (Ask me how to work around this.)

Even so, this is great fun for some people. For many others, not so much.

Fortunately, you can still market successfully with a "Just GBP" approach.

A "Just GBP" approach reaches people who are actively shopping and "just" requires some photos and descriptions.

With some setup and practice, this can become a highly effective habit and hopefully remains a fundamental marketing approach even if you add social media later.

Consistency is the key; once a week when you're getting started, then once a month could be enough to keep people calling or coming to your store.

Photo Tips

Here are some tips.

• Turn the phone horizonally for GBP photos.
• The subject of the photo needs to be well-lighted.
• For product photos or headshots, place the subject in the center.
• For other kinds of photos—wide range or outdoors—place the subject of the photo a little off to the right or left and in the center vertically.
• Make sure identifying information (like home addresses) are not shown, and that you have permission to use people's faces, especially children.

Cropping Photos

For the best effect, GBP updates, offers or event posts need to be in a 4:3 ratio. Fortunately, this is the ratio iPhone and Android phone cameras are typically set at. Coincidence? I doubt it.

Here's how you can crop in an iPhone.

If possible use (or imagine) a Rule-of-Thirds grid. Leave some buffer all around the subject... so get some closeups and some at medium distance.

Notice the Rule of Thirds gridline and the ability to move the cropping frame

Product photos can be 4:3 or square 1:1 with the well-lighted product in the center of the image.

Naming Photos

Ideally, the filename of the photos would be changed to human-friendly words. That's what we would do here at NBS. And this is because Google uses those filenames to answer people's questions—which can lead back to your business.

But I can imagine that most business owners will be too busy to do that. That's okay. It's a nicety, an extra opportunity; not the main focus.

It can be done in your phone. Google "how to change the filename of photos in iphone" or "how to change the filename of photos in android phones". Looks like it's easier to get this done in Android phones.

Written Copy Description Tips

You'll want to use some of your customers search terms (imagine being them and searching) in the description of your photos, but make sure you use friendly, whole sentences describing what your photo is about. Don't just list keywords or your account will get suspended.

• Describe what's in the photo as if to a blind person.
• Use people's names if you have permission.
• Use the location or event name.
• You only need 1-5 sentences.
• Decide which URL you want customers to come back to.

Here's an example.

"Three elderly women standing in front of Downtown Delights in Winters, CA during the First Friday event. We serve candies and ice cream at these events. Come on out!"

Google will offer a button for your website (or other) link.

Uploading to GBP

There's an app for GBP and the process is pretty straightforward. Select "Add Update" or "Add Photos" once you're in your business profile.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is the least amount of marketing effort I've been able to come up with for an effective result. s Even 'Just GBP' can be a lot for busy business owners because it takes a change in focus to get it done. But it is so worth the effort!

If you need help with any of these workflows, let me know. I'm happy to help and even meet for coffee to help with your particular setup.

Cheers!

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