Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/738894
DON'T ESCHEW THE REVIEW Many business owners don't realize that participating in online review sites is virtually unavoidable in this day and age. I've heard many massage therapists say they don't want to have anything to do with review sites like Yelp!, so they have refrained from setting up business profiles for their businesses. What these folks fail to acknowledge, however, is that even if a business owner does not set up a profile for his or her own business, many review sites (Yelp! included) allow anyone to create a review profile for a business. This means that if you don't take control of your own business profile, there's a real chance someone else will. Spend some time investigating the various review sites to find out whether your business is already featured. If you do discover existing profiles for your business (that you did not create yourself ), then it's important for you to contact each site to gain control of those profiles. Mind you, gaining control of these profiles won't mean you'll be able to edit, remove, or filter your business's reviews, but you will be able to update pertinent information about your business and respond appropriately to reviews (we'll discuss this shortly). If you discover that your business is not featured on the review sites you search, you'll want to set up a profile on each site and fill the profile with plenty of helpful and useful information about your business. • Ensure that your business address and contact information is listed correctly. • List information like your business's hours of operation and parking options. • Include a brief, but informative, bio about your practice and the services you provide. • Post lots of complimentary photos of your office (inside and outside). • Include a link to your website. Once you've set up these profiles, be sure to monitor what clients are saying, respond to reviews accordingly, and ensure that all your business information is still current. It's not a bad idea to add a calendar event to your schedule every so often (say, weekly) that reminds you to check on all your online review site profiles. A REVIEW HOW-TO Most review sites are free for business owners and reviewers to use. While businesses can opt to pay for advertising on some of these sites (including Yelp!), there are many features businesses can utilize in order to get the maximum value out of their free business profile pages. Other sites that allow business owners to set up their own free review profiles include: 86 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6 Since being featured on review sites is inevitable, you might as well utilize your business's profile to your own advantage.