Week 12: Business Specific Online Tool                                

                               (Part B)

I understand that using Yelp can be risky and that Yelp has gotten some pretty negative reviews itself, however, for my business, I think could be useful providing people with honest feedback regarding their experience with my baked goods.  The majority of negative feedback Yelp has gotten seems to affect businesses that are in more competitive fields and I think because my business is small enough and not terribly competitive, it would work for me.  I also think that responding to any negative reviews I'd receive, I would handle there, which I think give a business better credibility.  I know people pay for other people to review their products favorably, but once again, I do not think I would be in that category to feel threatened by that.  It's simple to use and basically, it's the users that use it.  I would just check it out a couple of times a week to see what everyone is saying and respond accordingly.  Engage and respond.  Besides, I think it would still reach an audience that I wasn't reaching on Facebook or Instagram, and that's what I want to do, reach a larger audience.

Google My Business is totally worth it!  I think any business that wants to grow needs to at least use this.  People Google everything from restaurants to services and everything in between.  It's super easy to set up and why not be more visible to a potential consumer who is looking for "your" business.  It doesn't require a lot of interaction, but once again, it's important to make posts, create relevant content, and use strong keywords.  It also cross references to Google Maps and Google Search.  You can ask for customers to leave feedback and you can respond to it there on the platform.  For me, this is a no brainer.  As I said before, Social Media requires constancy and regular posting, but some platforms don't require as much of your time as others, like this one.

I plan on using LinkedIn to find groups for my business, but I was having trouble getting into my personal profile this time around.  The LinkedIn profile for this particular business is under my friend's business, so I've reached out to her so I can gain access to her business profile since it's under her name.  I am looking forward to networking with the different groups.  I can think of many ways to leverage the groups to grow my business organically, without having to pitch or sell anyone.  I also love the idea of networking with like companies who can either do a promotion together with me or to share costs at a local farmer's market, that way we can both benefit and pocket more of the profits.