Business Review Sites

Business Review Sites are websites where people can write about their experiences with a business, a product they bought, or a service they received.  Southern Timeless Candles Candle Bar & Boutique, also referred to as STC, gets reviews on all three of those categories. Customers review the products they buy in the store, the service they get while making a candle of their own, and the store itself. While many sites can be used, four main ones are used outside of social media for STC.

 

One of those sites, and the main one, is Google My Business, a review site. Google My Business is the most popular searched place for businesses on the web today.  If a customer leaves a bad review, a business cannot get the review removed. It is said that you can dispute bad reviews however, even if the review doesn’t apply to your business, Google My Business will not remove any reviews. This site holds a strong influence over a company’s reputation as it is mostly trusted by anyone searching for a business. Therefore, the status of reviews makes a big difference. STC had a 4.6 rating with 11 reviews. One review is a 1-star rating, meaning a bad review. The one bad review took the 5.0 rating down to a 4.6 rating. It still shows good standing. However, it will take quite a few good reviews to raise the rating back up. To see STC reviews, please click here.

 

The second top review site is Yelp. Yelp is just like Google My Business, only the big difference is that it is more directed towards Apple users. While anyone can use Yelp, if someone uses voice service on their Apple devices, it will use Yelp as the website for reviews. People can search for a business and leave reviews based on their experience with products or services. STC currently does not have a listing on this website set up or an account. However, it is something that is a priority to do as it will greatly benefit the business. Similar to how people prefer Instagram to Facebook and vice versa, that is quite similar to this site compared to Google My Business. To see statistics on Yelp and features, please click here.

 

A newer review site that has come to the web would be called Nextdoor. Many people, especially local people, tend to use this app to communicate with others. Not only do they review businesses on this site, but they will refer businesses on posts to alert other neighbors to check out new or “hot” spots. STC has just created a business page, so there are no reviews quite yet, however, if you would like to check out the page, please click here.

 

One of the last review sites I wanted to discuss is the Better Business Bureau. I saved this one for last because there is quite a bit of information with this one from experience. First, I will start by saying that if your business is listed with the BBB, either you have paid for the business listing, or someone has referred you. While BBB is a reputable and well-known company, it is also a company that you normally check for bad reviews. Typically, if a business is listed with BBB, they are fighting very hard to have a good standing, if they have one at all. For a business, this seems to be a magnet for bad reviews. STC had one customer refer them to the BBB however, that customer lived in Atlanta, Georgia, and that office could not open an account because the store is in Tennessee. The case was never passed through to the Tennessee office, and this was shortly before a hurricane came through, so it was not a priority to chase down at the time. Most people who look at the BBB are looking to see if a business is a legit business or if the business can be trusted. Therefore, there are some positives to having your business listed with the BBB. To check out the BBB website, please click here.

 

There are many more review sites out there, such as Reddit, Manta, Trustpilot, and many more, including social media. YouTube can also be considered a review site, in my opinion, as people review videos all the time on restaurants, products, and places. Social media reviews have the most impact on retail businesses. A review can make or break a business no matter what site it is on because it is the view of how people see a business. People are more influenced based on what others think than just viewing a business’s website directly. This is why getting good reviews is important for any business, and if you happen to get a bad review, answering appropriately will show character.

 

Sources

Google Business Profile. (n.d.). https://business.google.com/reviews

 

Yelp for Business. (2024, November 6). Plan, start, grow, and advertise your small business. https://business.yelp.com/campaign/brand-claim-alt/?utm_source=type:claim_ad_google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=Branded_Paid-Claim_Main_Promo_FT1024&utm_content=Original-RSA&utm_term=yelp&matchtype=e&promo=FTGAPCSMDV1&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0MG5BhD1ARIsAEcZtwQObv3gRFD_TK64qZ8iGFASnqnXZHlN9QtpKo-eNWJg6WWcQTynxGYaAme7EALw_wcB

 

Nextdoor. (n.d.). Join Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where you can get local tips, buy and sell items, and more. nextdoor.com. https://nextdoor.com/business-profile/preview

 

BBB: The Sign of a Better Business | Better Business Bureau®. (2023, November 1). https://www.bbb.org/

 

 

ROI of a Campaign

Abstract

A campaign is a way to bring attention to your business. This can be done through social media, TV, radio, flyers, and many other methods. A business will run a campaign to bring awareness to the company, promote new products, increase sales, or bring in customers to a location. A campaign can also be used to highlight an event coming up, such as non-profit charity events or big sale events.

 

Title of Paper

Introduction

Airbnb has a unique way of advertising. While they do not run typical campaigns, they use social media to do the work for them. Airbnb will post odd and lavish locations that will spark interest. The campaign “so to speak” could be considered the rental they are featuring at that time.

First Section

Airbnb

Airbnb has many styles of rentals that are unique and would suit anyone. For example, I am a huge fan of Prince and come August, I could rent a stay in Prince’s Purple Rain House hosted by Wendy and Lisa, members of The Revolution, the band that played with Prince (Airbnb, 2024). For those who aren’t a fan, many other options are as exciting, fun, and eye-catching as you can imagine. The campaign that I chose was Airbnb because they chose to partner with other brands to get results. For example, Airbnb gave visitors a chance to stay in the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile in a way to promote the listings (Comcowich, 2019).

Screenshot of Purple Rain Airbnb House

 

The goal of partnering with other brands was to raise awareness of the listing site however, it also boosted the property owners as well! This was a clever PR technique that was used. Airbnb uses social media such as Facebook, Instagram and its own website and YouTube to promote these properties. At one point it ran a publicity stunt involving a floating house on the Thames River in London, so I would say they do go outside of the normal to reach clients’ attention. Airbnb does use TV and other sources such as radio ads to advertise, this is based on personal observance.

I believe the way that Airbnb was able to measure if this campaign worked or not was by the uptick in post likes, or social interactions as well as the number of bookings. The ultimate goal was to get people to use Airbnb to book rentals, so if this was successful, I would say the goal was reached. Since the article states “outstanding PR result” this would mean that the method that Airbnb used seemed to have worked and been very successful (Comcowich, 2019).

Based on what I learned in Google Analytics Training, if Airbnb has their webpage set up through GA4, they would be able to see where people are coming in from, how long people are staying on the site, what people are searching for, and all kinds of reports. If I were running the campaigns, I would want to know what people are looking at first when they come to the site. Are they looking straight for a destination and date or are they looking for ideas? Google can show you everything and give you reports for just about everything you need to know regarding your customer. These reports are important because they allow you to see your ROI. Roi is what you earn vs what you have paid out.

Conclusion

            Campaigns are a great way to advertise your business. They can be done in various ways. Whether you run a campaign through social media, TV ads, flyers, billboards, or whatever way you think will benefit your business it is important to accomplish your goal. Get creative and be unique. While not everyone will have this approach, which is ok, the newer generation is focusing in on it! Know your audience and know your business!

References

Airbnb; 2024; Stay in Prince’s Purple Rain House; https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1131089498040701183?adults=1&category_tag=Tag%3A8851&children=0&enable_m3_private_room=true&infants=0&pets=0&search_mode=flex_destinations_search&source_impression_id=p3_1715714009_ngyL5Wf3RAF%2BAKig&previous_page_section_name=1000&federated_search_id=664a1a8c-278c-4b9d-8ff1-92bded1b6afc

Comcowich, W. (2019, December 13). 5 outstanding PR & marketing campaigns of 2019. glean.info. https://glean.info/5-outstanding-pr-marketing-campaigns-of-2019/?doing_wp_cron=1715712792.6224339008331298828125

SEO Research Assignment

For this assignment, I am required to input my PR website into three different sites as well as my client’s website. My client has a coffee shop that was recently taken over by new management in March of 2024 and because this coffee shop was already previously opened and has a familiarity around the area, my client is coming into a busy stage right now. Where we are located is in a tourist town and the business has recently started to increase. The reason this is relevant is that my client does not have a website. I tried to encourage her to create one, but she refused as she does not sell products online. I did suggest to her that she could sign up for UberEATS and DoorDash, and that from personal experience, I had noticed that there was a need for coffee in the area for those who can’t get away but need the pick me up in the day. She is open to doing that However, she wants to do that when things slow down. With that being said, because I do not want to lose points on this assignment, I am not sure what to do other than use my own company so I can get the full benefit of this assignment. I also tried to use my client’s social page, but it did not work as it requires a sign-in so it was unable to score the actual page. Should I need to redo anything or if using my business website in place of my client’s just for this assignment was acceptable, please let me know. It is out of office hours, and I did not want to disturb so I just took a chance on what to do.

 

WebsiteGrader.com

 

Soaring Griffin Communications Website (PR Website)-

  • Overall Score- 83/100
  • Performance Score-18/30
  • One Good Thing in Performance- Image Size- images can take a long time to load, the images on this site to respond in a timely manner.
  • Mobile Score- 30/30
  • SEO Score-25/30
  • One Good Thing in SEO-Content Plugins- sometimes search engines can’t understand content that relies on browser plugins such, as Flash.
  • One Bad Thing in SEO- Meta Description- missing data
  • Security Score-10/10

https://website.grader.com/tests/www.soaringgriffincommunications.com

Southern Timeless Candles (Business Website)-

  • Overall Score- 79/100
  • Performance Score-14/30
  • One Good Thing in Performance- Minimal page redirects, straight to the point
  • Mobile Score-30/30
  • SEO Score-25/30
  • One Good Thing in SEO- Permission to Index: search engines must have permission to store it in their index, if not no other change matters.
  • One Bad Thing in SEO- Meta Description- missing information
  • Security Score-10/10

https://website.grader.com/tests/www.southerntimelesscandles.com

 

WooRank.com

 

Soaring Griffin Communications Website (PR Website)-

  • 3 Good Things-
  • 3 Ways to Improve- Open Graph Protocol which means social media is having a hard time communicating with the website. In this case, it is missing descriptions. Missing Twitter Card which means the website detected Twitter cards but can not find images, title or descriptions that describe that type of content. Those were the only two listed.

 

Southern Timeless Candles (Business Website)-

  • 3 Good Things- Font size seems to be legible for both website and mobile. No plugins are needed for the webpage, which means my site doesn’t need Flash or Adobe to operate. No broken links were found on this page.
  • 3 Ways to Improve- My homepage is sometimes shared on Social Media, this is accurate. I need to update my webpage to reflect my new candle bar services and we recently added a boutique that has consumed a LOT of time so between that, school, and working, I have not had as much time as I would like to post adjust the webpage. Since I need to work with my client and not my business webpage this has been put on the back burner. I hope to find some time soon to get this done. However, I would like to focus on helping my client set up a DoorDash if I can first. The Title Tag seems to be a bit too long. This is something I am going to adjust as well since the boutique needs to be included. Not to mention it is always a mouthful to tell someone to go to blah blah blah blah blah.com as opposed to go to blah blah blah.com As with the PR website, this page as well has Open Graph Protocol listed as needs improvement. It seems that the “online store” is missing a description causing an issue with open graph tags.

 

 

BlueWireMedia-

Soaring Griffin Communications Website (PR Website)-

  1. Email newsletters are not an option; however, they should be. This is a strong struggle with me, and I am aware of this and working on finding a way to fix it. I do know that email marketing within businesses is very effective and know how important it is to stay in contact with customers. I do hope to figure this part out.
  2. This website does not have an option to purchase anything at the current moment. It also is not currently set up to shift easily in that direction when I am ready to start offering packages so that is something that I plan to fix. This is a brand-new website so there are a few things I am still working on.
  3. Currently, no backlinks are set up. Since I am building this, I intend to wait just a little bit before I insert this as a backlink somewhere.
  4. I plan to dig deeper into the SEO with this page once I fix a few things. First, I still need to fix my YouTube video as I am not happy with that and then I want to fix a few things on the web page itself.
  5. I plan to use organic SEO search for this company as I build it. When going through the Infographic, I realized that this class as well as previous classes has really taught me how to set up a web page and maintain a web page. As well as how to have a professional appearance and what works for getting attention. While looking at the Infographic, there weren’t any other things I could list on here as going through the checklist because I have awesome Professors who have taught me along the way how to nail this. I am sorry to disappoint but number five will just be that I will need to update my webpage along the way.

https://www.bluewiremedia.com.au/web-strategy

Southern Timeless Candles (Business Website)-

  1. This website does not include a blog- This could be added.
  2. Email newsletters are not an option and should be considered as an opportunity to get return customers, offer sales, and keep customers coming back.
  3. This website does not offer upsell or continuity programs. I found this option the other day and I will work on getting this set up.
  4. This webpage needs an order form as well as an update to the homepage. From taking all of my classes up to now, when I look at this page, to me it looks messy or out of place and I need to fix it PRONTO. However, I am only one person doing what I can.
  5. I think this is the most important, this one would fall under the organic SEO. This webpage needs an update to include many words such as “indoor activity” or “creative, Fun, Family event” This webpage not only misses the entire boutique from the webpage but also misses keywords that people search Google for when they are in the area. Learning all the stuff this past week really helped me to know and understand the customer base much better and how to use that to my advantage. This means that I guess I am learning what I am supposed to and absorbing much more than I thought, YAY!