“We’re living in an era where word-of-mouth is on steroids. People aren’t just talking to their neighbors and the folks they run into around town; they’re talking to the world via social media.”
Gary Vaynerchuk
I have seen so much lately on the web about small businesses being mad at YELP. Rants on Facebook and other pages, and quite frankly, many of them are just small business owners who do not understand how YELP or social review and referral platforms work.
Is YELP perfect? NO! Is any social platform perfect? NO. But these platforms can be used for good, and my suggestion is to learn more about them, and to realize they are here to stay, whether you “like” them or not.
So here is my attempt to clear up any misunderstandings and hopefully inspire you to take the energy you are using to hate on YELP and turn it towards understanding YELP and how it can empower and gorw your business.
The Facts
1. YELP has more than 15 million reviews and over 40 million visits to its site every month.
2. Five star reviews lead in terms of percentage of reviews given.
3. YELP uses a formula called an “algorithm” to catch fake reviews or pages that get several reviews in a short period of time from new YELPERS, and filters them in an attempt to keep the site as authentic as possible.
4. Most frequent YELPERS know about filtered reviews and check them out.
5. YELP is one of the number one new traffic drivers to small business, both online and offline.
6. You DO NOT need to advertise on YELP to make it work for you, just like Google or Facebook, you have the choice of PAID discovery and/or ORGANIC discovery.
Here is a graphic that shows the average number of reviews by star. My friends Pilates Studio in Los Angeles, Whole Body Method, who I have the pleasure to work with has received over 1500 visits to their website this year alone directly from YELP.
Over 60% of those visits were first time visits.
They stayed on the website over 2 minutes and viewed 2.5 pages, more than any other social or digital referral visit.
Many of those visits have turned into new clients, as in hundreds of new clients.
In fact, besides existing client referrals and traditional word of mouth, YELP is their number one referral tool.
One of the keys to this is they also offer online booking and the ability to purchase packages online.
Their business is up over 50% from last year. While there are several factors that made this happen, their choice to embrace the social + digital web is a significant part of their success.
My tattoo shop here in LA, Velvet Grip Family, attributes over 90% of new client traffic to YELP. How do they know? It’s the first question they ask when you walk in. “How did you hear about us?” Nine times out of ten the answer is YELP.
So here’s the deal. You can choose to NOT do business with YELP, whatever that means. But you must understand your business will remain on YELP, Citysearch, Google Places and all over the Internet. That is the reality of social business, and it’s not going away.
So you have a choice, bury your head in the sand, or take advantage of these powerful platforms, begin paying attention to what people are saying about your business on the web, and use them to grow. Your choice.
If you want to learn more about YELP and the other social referral platforms on the web, click here to see if our one-on-one mentoring program is right for you. You can also visit our YouTube channel PassionSquaredTV to view a webinar on YELP we did several months ago.
“Your passion must come from the things that fuel you from the inside.”
Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture
As I sit here on the eve of the last day I ever spent with my Dad alive, to say I am in a space of reflection is an understatement. Everyday for the last 5 weeks, I have replayed every moment. If you have lost a loved one, I know you can totally relate.
From the rainy Monday morning in early last November when I first got the call, to the long drive to the hospital that morning, the three week vigil at his bedside praying that he would wake up, to these last two weeks, when he was awake, and we were promised he would be home by Christmas.
It was Thursday, December 8th 2011, the last day I spent with him, just he and I. I brought him an Americano from Starbucks, we talked, watched a movie (As Good As It Gets), did his physical therapy together, I gave him a manicure, we played Skee-Ball on my iPad, and even wrote a love note to each other on it, this is the note.
I had no idea, as we never do, that four days later, I would get a call, on another rainy Monday morning, telling me it was time to say goodbye.
The Last Lecture is one of my favorite books. The year it came out I read it and gave it to everyone on my list. This book and video helped me realize that we have a choice of what we do with our limited time on this planet.
If you have not seen the video, or read the book, I really recommend you do. While it’s a tearjerker, they are also filled with inspiration and are well worth the tears.
In this first video, Randy speaks about passion. I just love his simple yet profound wisdom. Here are some of his wise words.
Find your passion and follow it.
Don’t give up on finding your passion.
You will not find it in things or money.
Passion must come from what fuels you from the inside.
Passion is grounded in people and the relationships you have with people.
Be sure to set aside some time and check out The Last Lecture. It’s worth it, and may just be the spark you need to help move you towards living the life of your dreams, with no regrets.
Lastly, while it may sound cliche, be sure the people in your life know how much you love them. Pick up the phone and call them. You just never know when it will be your last opportunity to do so.
(shared with LOVE and dedicated to my Dad, from your passionista Nina)
“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”
Walt Disney Company
We all know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, and on your social pages, a picture can be worth a thousand likes, comments and shares. This is a pretty simple one. Images evoke the highest engagement on social platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and of course Instagram. But what is important to take away from this super cool infographic is the types of images and the context in which we post them that makes all the difference.
Self-promotion and hard selling is NOT what the social web is about. What it is about is creating value, engaging, listening, sharing, two-way communication and building relationships. So instead of posting an image of a product you have for sale, think about posting a super cool hair image created with the product or client or team member using the product. See the difference?
Understanding these simple “rules of engagement” can transform your content on your social pages and dramatically increase engagement with your community. Awesome.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
(n) man·i·fes·to
A written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.
Nearly all of us have seen this image floating around our social pages. But what many of you may not know is the story behind the Holstee Manifesto, which has been shared over 500,000 times and viewed 60 million times online. It started as an idea for a different kind of clothing company, in the height of the recession in May 2009. The rest, as they say, is history.
A manifesto is a story. A statement of values and beliefs. And as we have talked about several times in our blog, webinars and workshops, people buy stories, not things. Will your story go viral and ignite 500,000 shares and an online business? Who knows. Is it worth taking some time to create yours? Absolutely.
So you may be thinking, isn’t this the same thing as a mission statement? No. Let’s be honest, most mission statements are lame, stale, passionless and old school. Manifestos are the new mission statement. They are real, authentic, emotional, relevant, public and immersed in passion. They are stories. Not just words typed on a piece of paper and filed away.
What is your manifesto? Are your team and clients aware of it? Do you share it on your website, social pages, in your salon or business, your communications and materials?
If you are looking for guidance and inspiration to create your story, we offer one-on-one mentoring to help you craft the ultimate manifesto. Click here to inquire about our programs. We are super excited to be part of your growth and success.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Charles Dickens
As all of you know, Hurricane Sandy was an incredibly devastating event that destroyed many lives, homes and businesses. And even though the nightly news has moved on, we have not.
There is still so much to be done to help our own. As we first wrote about on October 31, there is a fund in our industry to help beauty professionals during disasters. It’s called the NCA Disaster Relief Fund.
While the Fund has been around since 1955, our very own passionista Gordon Miller, former Director of the NCA, lead the effort to raise over one million dollars during Hurricane Katrina. Now with the devastation of Sandy, it’s time to step up again and give back.
We are so honored to be supporting a fundraising event on December 9 in NYC called Hairdressers Helping Hairdressers. We are asking each of you to get involved any way you can.
How you can help:
ATTEND
Purchase a ticket and hang out with some of the coolest in the biz. While you are there, please consider bidding on some of items being offered in the Silent Auction. One of those items is a Month of One-On-One Mentoring with us. Yay!
DONATE
Donate whatever you can to the Disaster Relief Fund. A day of tips possibly? Every penny counts.
SHARE
Post, tweet, share, comment, like, re-tweet, pin, repin to spread the word. Be sure to use the hashtag #hhh on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
A great big shout out of awesomeness to all the people and companies helping make this event come to life. We heart you.
behindthechair.com
Betty Dain Creations / Colortrak
Canoe Studios
DePasquale Companies
Goldwell / KMS
Hairbrained
InSync
Joico / Zotos International
Kerastasse
L’Oreal Professionnel
Matrix
Modern Salon
NickEd
Oribe
Passion Squared
PBA
Pivot Point International
Pureology
Redken
Sally Beauty Holdings
Salon Centric
Sassoon
Ted Gibson
The Temple: A Paul Mitchell Partner School
TIGI
Wella
Zotos
While we are only two passionate people with a new baby company, we are doing what we can. Will you join us? Click here to get involved.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
My friends Pilates Studio in Los Angeles, Whole Body Method, who I have the pleasure to work with has received over 1500 visits to their website this year alone directly from YELP.
