It’s still here – the pandemic. And if you’re a business owner, you’re probably still facing many of the same challenges.
A big one? Staying connected to your audience while the pandemic lingers.
Here are three free things you can do right now to help customers easily connect with your business and get the most up-to-date information.
1. Update your Google My Business listing
First off, is your listing claimed? If not, do that. Right now. The benefits of having a claimed listing include showing up on Google Map searches, an increase in traffic, a higher rank in SERPs (search engine result page, like Google or Bing), and earned trust from customers.
A claimed listing also allows you to keep your customers up-to-date with how you’re operating your business during COVID times. You can update your hours and let your audience know of any changes in your operation that they can easily find within a search results page. For example, here’s Swim’s listing (below). You can see when we’re open, our contact information and a COVID specific callout:
If you’re wondering what best practices are for your listing, Google has plenty of resources for you to use to make sure your online presence is optimized for your customers.
2. Increase your social media presence
Right now, people are interacting with your business in many different ways, depending on their individual comfort levels. Some of your audience is comfortable shopping in-person, while others still prefer online.
Stepping up your social game is a great way to stay connected to all of your customers (no matter what their preferences) – including those who may still be keeping their distance by shopping online.
3. Keep your website up-to-date
Now is a good time to review the COVID information section of your website. Make sure it reflects the current state of the pandemic and not what was relevant back in 2020. Check for references to lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, or any of that early pandemic lingo that immediately dates your content.
Yes, we’ve all grown tired of the pandemic but the fact is, it’s still a major concern for a lot of your customers. So don’t forget to keep the COVID-19 information up to date on your website.
Now, get to it!
If you’re already doing all of this, great job! If not, never fear. That’s why we put this together!
Just start working these steps and you’ll make it easier for your customers, clients or patients to interact with your business.