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behind the review host and howlEmily Washcovick, small business expert at , gives an inside look at this week’s episode of the podcast.
Gabrielle Henderson / Unsplash
There’s no question that it’s difficult to run a business, and fully social media Calendar, especially since the rules of social media engagement are constantly evolving. Even with the best of intentions and plans, social media posting and tracking sometimes falls by the wayside.
Lara Betthauser, social media manager for Yelp and Yelp for Business social media handles, knows how to launch a campaign. But more importantly, she knows how to keep it going and recently started the Yelp for Business Instagram pagegiving Yelp a voice online specifically for businesses.
This is your social media in essence – your voice, your brand, your company’s personality – in a digital medium. You can’t meet every customer face-to-face every day, but your online presence can.
Lara’s previous experience at a brewery association – a conglomerate of small breweries – has given her insight into how small businesses can develop and maintain social media strategies, and she has brought that expertise to Yelp and its clients.
“With some of my background experience working for the Brewers’ Association, it was a similar concept [to Yelp for Business] with the brewers and brewery owners. they do everything You are not only the brewer, you are the beer bar, you are also the caretaker. So I tried to bring that experience to Yelp’s corporate role,” she said. “We’re really trying to reach out to these business owners and see how we can cut through the crowd and make a difference. One of the really big things we thought about was that [business owners] have no time. So how can we give them tips, tricks and inspiration quickly and directly?”
When a small business starts, posting on social media usually falls to the owner. It can be fun at first, and you might have some professional shots of your products or services to upload. However, as business picks up steam, it can become a chore or simply fall down the ever-growing list of priorities. Lara proposes a solid game plan to relieve social media stress.
“Like everything else, planning is the roadmap for the future. If you don’t have the planning, it can become a really daunting task,” she shared. “When we created our content calendar at Yelp for Business, it was a month in advance. I understand that not every business owner has the time to sit down for a few hours and write that down. But even if it’s a week or two weeks straight, I really suggest companies sit down and see what content they can put out so they can focus on other things during the week. Of course social media is important, but if you don’t think about it, it’s one of those things that’s easy to cross off the list.”
It’s also important to understand that plans change, things happen, and events arise that could disrupt your previously planned programming. According to Lara, that’s fine.
“Even if you plan content, say two weeks, a month in advance, things will always come up. If you have a live event, if you have a special, things can always be postponed. But at least you have content that you move into the next month and always have backup content,” she said.
She also recommends always experimenting: “Don’t be afraid to try different things, and at the end of the month or after the two weeks you’ve had content planned, go back and make sure you look at that accomplishment . Not only how many likes it got, but also did anyone leave a comment. Has anyone shared it with anyone? Has anyone saved it to their profile? Especially on Instagram. You want to see what’s going well and try to piece together themes and see how you can incorporate that into the future.”
That sounds well and good, but how can companies find enough and a wide enough variety of content to fill a full plan? According to Lara, it helps to simply look at your own calendar.
“What holidays are coming up or what special events is your company celebrating? It might not make sense to talk about national wine day, but maybe about the summer solstice. June 21st is the longest day of the year. Maybe your shop is open a little later, or maybe you have a special event. This makes it easy to stick to specific days to help your content calendar, but it can definitely take some of the pressure off of being able to plan things earlier.”
She also recommends checking out what other like-minded brands are doing. “There can be a lot to think about coming up with different content ideas. It’s great to find other people, maybe not competitors, but other people in your market that you can look at to see what they share. There are great channels out there, especially Instagram, to follow to get other ideas.”
You should also plan in evergreen content here and there—content that isn’t tied to a specific date or season—to fill in the gaps. This type of content is also extremely valuable because you can rerun it multiple times with different angles and messages, and since it’s not tied to a specific time frame, it stays relevant.
When it comes to being the face of content on social media, do it if you’re comfortable in front of the camera. “It differs depending on the business situation, but maybe you’re the best person for the job, you’re the best person to talk about the brand. They come across as the most authentic, and it’s something you enjoy,” Lara said.
If you’d rather stay behind the scenes, leverage your employees and see if they would use their talent and expertise to build your social media presence. Most employees probably have their phones fairly close by, so ask them if they’d be willing to take photos and videos during their free time at work or when there aren’t many customers around. “Any 3, 4, 5 second clip where you make a cup of coffee, open your shop in the morning, close your shop at night, that sort of thing — that’s something your staff can help you with.”
If you’re a sole proprietor and all social media posts fall to you, it can be daunting to think about creating videos or content about yourself. But the key to getting over it, Lara said, is to start with it and just keep going.
“You just have to start with it. Every day, try to take a few 15 second videos of something that’s going on. It doesn’t even have to be about your business. Maybe it’s your dog, or you’re preparing food, or you’re going for a walk, but it’s really important to get comfortable with taking videos,” she shared.
Lara also says give yourself some grace and remember you are not alone. Everyone learns together how to create the best content. One idea starter Lara suggests is creating simple behind-the-scenes content.
“It doesn’t have to be really behind the scenes, something that happens physically behind a kitchen door. But since you’re talking to people online, some of your followers may never visit your store. They might patronize it online, but they don’t know what the inside of your business looks like. You don’t know what your shop window looks like. You don’t know all the fun stuff you make, the artwork you have on the wall, etc. Only [filming] easy, quick, stuff like that.”
Once the content is flowing, stay engaged and connected with your audience. Take five to ten minutes each day to see what you’ve tagged on Instagram. engage. Share again. Comment,” Lara said.
You can also use your Yelp reviews to increase brand awareness on social media while rewarding your employees.
“Some of these could be reviews people have left you, talking about how great their experience with your company was. It’s always free to ask if you can share their feedback on your Instagram page or even include it in a video. If the review was talking about a specific person, read “Yelp Reviews,” then pan to the employee the review was talking about and ask them how they’re feeling. Or just put them in the spotlight and roll some stars around. It’s a great way to be able to shout out to your reps and also show your potential customers what experiences they could be having.”
With a few tips and tricks from Yelp pros like Lara, you can increase your social media presence and sales.
- Practice creates masters. If you’re not sure how to create content, just take the plunge and start creating. It will become more natural over time.
- Look around to find talent in your own company. If you need help, ask your reps for additional social media content and what they think would be interesting for your customer base.
- Plan as far ahead as possible. Schedule content around holidays or special offers, and have evergreen content ready for the times in between.
- Use your Yelp reviews for content. Highlight your good reviews on your social media feeds, through videos or posts, and praise employees when they do a great job.
To hear directly from Lara and Emily, listen to the episode below, and subscribe to something behind the review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday.
Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, staplerand sound cloud
