One of the most important things a small business can do to protect their brand is to actively manage their Yelp page. But this imperative is doubly important for financial bank branch Yelp pages. That's because of the customer-focused nature of banks. Every experience is a Yelp comment in the making: the ease of opening a checking account, a helpful customer service rep, a low auto refinancing loan. Banks who fail to take charge of their Yelp presence run the risk of unhappy customers doing it for them.
Today we're going to look at the four main components of claiming and optimizing your Yelp page: the unglamorous act of claiming it, the 'bare bones' information it should include, easy steps to optimize it and ongoing management. Let's begin!
Claim and activate your page. If you're a local bank branch, get in contact with whoever manages your firm's primary Yelp page (if one exists). There's a chance they may have set up your local bank page. If so, assume ownership. If, however, a branch page exists andyou're not sure who set it up, you have to claim the page. To do this, enter your business name on Yelp here. When it pops up, click the Claim button, set up an account, and follow the necessary steps. The logic here shouldbe obvious: by claiming your branch's page, you'll ensure all information is accurate and timely.- Your page's 'bare bones' content. If your Yelp page has been gathering dust for months, now is the time to populate it with a minimal amount of necessary content. This includes: address, telephone number, hours, a link to the home page and social media, a summary of your services and photos. The photos element is particularly important, as carefully selected pictures can go a long way to strengthen your brand. We're thinking smiling customers and staff, plus photos of your local community to add to the 'neighborhood' feel. In fact, you'll notice that unlike, say, social media, you'll be relatively limited in terms of unique content you can add. So make the photos count. Lastly, make sure your company information includes keywords to help improve your search result placement.
- Optimize your page. As we just noted, you may be constrained in terms of adding content, which means you should ask followers on social media and happy customers to do it themselves. Respond enthusiastically to positive comments. Of course, there's the ever-present risk of customers posting negative comments, and here's where the true challenge lies. Ignoring a negative comment can validate it and hurt your brand. At the same time, responding to it can potentially add fuel to the fire. The bottom line here is to address each comment on a case by case basis. (Click here for some helpful guidance around managing this unenviable task.)
- Ongoing management. OK, you've done everything within your power to ensure your page effectively reflects your brand. Now comes the ongoing management. Check your Yelp page at least two times a week to make sure any negative comments are immediately addressed. You don't want them festering at the top of your page for weeks on end. Make sure your information remains timely and applicable. Don't forget to add new photos. And don't be afraid to ask a satisfied in-store or phone customer to comment on Yelp.
Ultimately, reclaiming your branch's Yelp page is a rare phenomenon in the world of marketing: the act of reclamation isn't particularly difficult or time-consuming, yet the pay-off — a strengthened brand and a reputable marketing channel — can be huge.
Which reminds us: have you revisited your branding strategy recently? If not, check out our Brand Audit ebook.
