There are many places you can get online reviews – on your own website, your GMB profile, local citations, social media, and online marketplaces. It’s important to get online reviews on all possible channels and platforms, but no matter where they show up, here are six reasons why they are crucial for your business.

1. Potential Customers Really Value Online Reviews

Did you know that 91% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase? While that might only show you how many customers read reviews and not how much they value those reviews, here is another statistic that might shock you: 84% of customers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations from family and friends.

Yep, that’s right – people value reviews from strangers on the web as much as they value personal anecdotes from people they are close to in real life. If their sister or friend speaks highly of a product or service, they’ll be more likely to trust it, and the same applies to random people who express their satisfaction online.

Not only that, but customers value online reviews so much that almost two out of three customers say they will not buy products from brands that censor online reviews. They look to online reviews to inform them about a product’s quality and reliability. A censored review profile obscures the truth and prevents them from trusting the product.

Don’t think that online reviews are only critical on platforms like Amazon and eBay and that businesses with a physical presence can rely on walk-in traffic. Eight out of 10 consumers consult online reviews for local businesses – yes, people do their research before visiting your business.

2. Online Reviews Make You More Visible in the Digital World

Research by the Spiegel Research Center at Northwestern University indicates that products with five reviews drive 270% more conversions than products with no reviews. Products and businesses with no reviews are virtually invisible to consumers.

Most consumers, when looking for local businesses on Google Maps or Google, will pay little attention – or none at all – to businesses that have zero reviews. That’s particularly true if other businesses are showing up with lots of reviews.

It’s hard to trust a business with no reviews – it’s hard to even know if it’s a real listing and that the business really exists. Online reviews give you the most important thing in the digital world: visibility. People will start paying attention to you if you have online reviews.

You don’t need to have thousands of reviews, either. The majority of customers say that they have a higher trust in products with 11-50 reviews. Aim for a minimum of 11 reviews, but you don’t need to stop there. Also, get reviews on as many platforms as possible, including on all your local citation profiles, providing the platform supports reviews.

Examples of platforms that support reviews include TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook, and many others.

Reviews on Google My Business are particularly critical because they help your website rank. Businesses ranking in the first three spots of Google have 47 Google reviews on average, so you don’t need thousands or even hundreds of reviews before they start providing powerful SEO benefits.

Furthermore, as I mentioned, online reviews drive engagement and cause people to pay attention to you. By encouraging reviews, you’ll increase your click-through rate and get more sales. Since 74% of businesses have Google reviews, not having reviews makes it almost impossible to stand out.

3. Online Reviews Give You Some Online Clout

Online reviews give you clout! Chasing clout online is something that many businesses are familiar with. We all want to be listened to and respected – we want people to notice us and pay attention to what we’re doing.

While there are plenty of ways to get clout, including being featured on famous podcasts or by prominent bloggers in the industry, online reviews effectively provide online clout as well.

When it comes to clout, both user-generated reviews on sites like GMB and independent reviews by bloggers and YouTubers are critical. However, the latter type is a bit more effective for giving you clout.

If you can get bloggers and YouTubers to talk about your products and give you reviews, that’s the very definition of clout – especially if that blogger or YouTuber has a sizable following.

While platforms like Google My Business have strict rules about incentivizing reviews, the same doesn’t apply to independent bloggers and vloggers.

One way to incentivize reviews is to send free products or samples to bloggers influential in your niche in exchange for reviews. Ask them to be honest in their reviews and provide their true thoughts. If you provide services instead of selling products, you can give them a discount or a free service.

Another way to incentivize reviews is to create an affiliate program. An affiliate program rewards people for sending customers your way by giving them commissions on the sales they bring you.

Either way, third-party reviews not only help you get clout, but they also give you more visibility. When someone reviews your product on their YouTube channel, whether they are trying to send you sales or not, people will hear about you, click on the link they provide, or search for you on Google or social media.

If people review you in their Instagram stories, they might @mention you, thus sending new followers your way and helping you grow your profile. Finally, reviews on social platforms like Facebook help you get more likes, engagement, and followers.

4. Social Proof Can Increase Your Conversions

The bandwagon effect is a term that refers to our tendency, as humans, to follow the crowd and do whatever other people are doing. If public opinion leans a certain way, people will tend to adopt those opinions and beliefs. We all want to be accepted by our tribe or the group we are in, and we have evolved to care what others think of us.

That helps us understand why social proof is so important in marketing. Having a lot of glowing reviews will show people that other people value you and think you are great. That will cause those newcomers to adapt to public opinion and think highly of you as well. In turn, that will lead to more conversions.

5. Online Reviews Help You Understand Your Customers Better

Online reviews aren’t only critical for getting more clicks and sales. One of the main benefits of online reviews is that they help you better understand your customers. You can glean important information from both negative and positive reviews.

Negative reviews help you understand where you went wrong and where there is room for improvement. That part is obvious, though how to respond to negative reviews is a topic for another article.

However, even positive reviews help you learn a lot about your customers. Some positive reviewers might leave some constructive criticism at the end of the review, saying they were satisfied overall but pointing out some ways you can improve.

That kind of constructive criticism is perhaps even more important than negative reviews, as taking it into account can help increase customer retention rates.

Furthermore, even positive reviews that have no criticism altogether provide an opportunity to learn about which parts of your service made your customers happy. Are people constantly mentioning a certain aspect of your service or a certain feature of your product as part of what made them satisfied?

If so, that can give you some guidance on where to focus your efforts, which new features to introduce, and so on.

6. Online Reviews Snowball and Help Generate More Reviews

Finally, an awesome thing about online reviews is that they have a snowball effect. When your business has no reviews, getting people to leave the first ones can be difficult.

However, once you get the snowball rolling down the hill, to speak, it will start picking up more snow. More people will pay attention to your product and end up buying it, and more people will end up leaving reviews.

People might also want to join in on the conversation and reaffirm what others are saying or add to the reviews of others.

The same applies to reviews from third-party bloggers and YouTubers. When a few bloggers start reviewing your product, others will want to review it as well to drive traffic away from the other bloggers’ sites to their own.

Getting your foot in the door and getting those first reviews is the most difficult part, but everything will become easier after that.

Final Thoughts

If you don’t yet have any online reviews, it’s time to start getting them. Encourage customers to leave their feedback on platforms like Google My Business and Yelp. Respond to both positive and negative reviews – consumers typically look at the company’s responses in addition to the reviews themselves.

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So what makes a great ad? I’ll speculate that a great ad should be original, creative and clear.

Original

With the amount of advertising that’s out there, it’s key to design a concept with a new twist. The same old same old just won’t cut it. Your product should interest consumers, and an ad that looks like the last one isn’t going to help you reach that goal.

Creative

Creativity is also important to capturing your audience’s attention. This is where the hook comes in, the thing that’s going to stick in the minds of consumers. Creativity can come in the form of humor, artistic qualities, drama and more. Find what works for your brand, and make a statement.

Clear

However, the most vital part of any ad is the message, and creativity can’t cloud its meaning. In this case, I’d argue that form should follow function. A clear, concise message can make the difference between a good ad and a great ad.

Making great ads is what we’re about. Our team is highly skilled and willing to do what it takes to help take your brand to the top. For more information, visit our website or social media pages!

link

tell your story

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#1 Grammarly

• • Grammarly is an online automated grammar checker. It can correct over 250 grammatical errors and easily integrates with Microsoft, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and many other websites. We use Grammarly to recheck our writing and make sure we do not have any misspellings or grammatical mistakes that could have been overlooked. Go to https://app.grammarly.com to learn more.

#2 Canva

• • Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to create a variety of content. Canva has millions of images, fonts, templates and illustrations available for use. It is the perfect application to create a graphic if you’re in a bind or not confident in your Photoshop skills. Canva can help create a lot of social media posts for your school clubs, internships and even personal pages. Go to https://www.canva.com to learn more.

#3 Sprout Social

• • Sprout Social is a social media management platform for brands and agencies to publish, analyze and engage across all platforms. Here at C&C, we use Sprout to manage not only our own social media but our clients as well. It helps to keep everything in one place and well organized. When managing several clients, it can get hectic, but Sprout Social helps to eliminate some of the stress and make uploading to different platforms easier than ever. Go to https://sproutsocial.com to learn more.

#4 Unsplash

• • Unsplash is a completely free platform with over 1 million free high-resolution images to use. This is a great website to use if you are looking to add images to your blog or social media. Each image on Unsplash is completely free to download and use in your own way. You can use Unsplash to add pictures to different social media platforms or blogs. Go to https://unsplash.com to learn more.

#5 LinkedIn

• • LinkedIn is a social media platform every working professional should have. As public relations and advertising professionals, we understand the importance of networking. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform for connecting with employers and finding job opportunities. Any professional should use LinkedIn to its fullest ability by uploading their resume, connecting with co-workers and work associates, and posting updates about your professional career. Go to https://www.linkedin.com to learn more.

These are only a few of the hundreds of tools public relations and advertising professionals can use. These tools will help you create your best work and stay connected with others. No matter what you decide to use, it is important to stay updated on current events and the latest trends.

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Choose good values

Choose a job that gets you motivated and has good values versus poor ones. Examples of poor values include material success, a need for attention and adoration, and a desire to be popular. All of these are “superficial, selfish and dependent on external events”, and “they lie outside of our control, which means we continually struggle to attain them” (Quy, 2021).  On the other hand, good values stem from internal goals. They are “honest, considerate of the greater good and controllable”, and when you face good problems, you will likely work harder because what you’re pursuing is of value and meaning to you (Quy, 2021). 

Start the important work

Do you procrastinate on important work? If you’re like most, the answer is probably yes- at least every now and then. If you want to be successful, however, “you’ll need the mental toughness to commit to what is important to you” and continue to strive for your goals (Quy, 2021).  When you’re pursuing something important to you, quitting is never an option. 

Forge solid relationships

Being a part of a solid community is incredibly important not only for success at work, but also for psychological success and well-being. Not all companies offer close, communal atmospheres, so if you find yourself struggling to connect at work, find your “tribe” elsewhere (such as church, book clubs, etc.)  Strong relationships are linked to better health and happiness, so find your niche and people you can closely interact with! 

Make do with the hand you’re dealt

Life is tough. That’s just a plain, unfortunate fact. We all face challenges, but it’s how we approach them that allows us to overcome them.  It’s all about mental toughness. In other words, you must believe “you will prevail in your circumstances” instead of believe that they will change (Quy, 2021). Once you accept the fact that pain is inevitable, you can choose to grow and strive to overcome.

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Being creative is something we value here at Campbell and Company. It is a vital part of the human experience, and in fact, it is quite healthy.

A study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine showed that writing improved the immune system of HIV patients at a cellular level.[1] Additionally, Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at Harvard’s Technology & Entrepreneurship Center, says that “imagining and creating gives us a sense of purpose” and can keep us from feeling empty in our lives.[2]

Not only are these things true, creativity can be a very personal form of growth. It can relieve stress, improve your mood, and keep your mind active. Whether it’s writing, designing, drawing or painting, nurturing the creativity inside will benefit you overall.

We love advertising because it is a practical way we can express and share creativity. We work to produce excellence in all we do, whether that be a TV commercial, a brochure, or a website. Beauty is all around you; let it inspire you to be always growing, always changing and always creating.

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-clear/make-more-art-the-health-benefits-of-creativity_b_8868802.html

[2] http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/25/health/enayati-innovation-passion-stress/

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So, what do each of them really mean? And how do they fit together? 

It shouldn’t have to be a puzzle, so we’ll break it down for you. 

Marketing 

Marketing is the image you want to portray to others. It’s the way you see yourself, and it begins with “how you dress, the colors and patterns you choose, and how you groom” (Gasca, 2018). Everyone has their own daily routine for this, or “strategy”, which is incredibly important to define. 

Although we don’t love admitting it, the way you appear to others is vital for business, especially since what most people notice during first impressions is how a person looks. Think of it this way: the way you dress is how others believe that you “dress” your company.  

A marketing strategy, therefore, is how you want others to perceive your company, and so “it should convey the vision and values of the business and express these in a way that the public will recognize and associate with your company” (Gasca, 2018).  

Advertising 

While marketing is how you see yourself, advertising describes your actions. The way you act and who you hang out with (among many other things) should be “considered with your marketing strategy to assure that you have consistency between your image and your actions” (Gasca, 2018).  

If you execute your advertising strategy in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong appearance/message, customers will become confused and disinterested. You don’t want to show up to an OKC Thunder vs. Golden State basketball game with your fellow Thunder fan friends wearing a Golden State jersey… That would convey the wrong message to your friends and perhaps even alter their perceptions of you.  

Always remember this: consistency is key to successful advertising. 

Branding 

Marketing is how you see yourself, and advertising describes your actions. So, what could be left to describe branding? 

Branding is how people actually see you. Your marketing strategy needs to consider your personal brand and how strong or weak it is. You must make sure your reputation is strong, or at least work on building your reputation to gain positive perceptions from your audience. 

It’s just as important to understand how and why your audience perceives your business the way they do in order for you to decide how to execute a marketing and advertising strategy. Keeping your brand consistent is also important to the success of your business.  

If you had any confusion before about these three terms, hopefully this article helped break it down some for you. We understand that it can be tricky to accurately differentiate these terms, but once you do, you’ll see the immense effect it will have on your business and/or business endeavors.

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March Madness is the Division I men’s single-elimination basketball tournament. It consists of 68 teams and a total of 67 games over 19 days. This mass sports event leads up to the Final Four National Championship, which will take place in New Orleans this year.

Similar to the Super Bowl, advertisers have the opportunity to promote their products and services to a mass audience focused on a single event. According to Kantar Media, the 2019 college basketball tournament raked in $1.285 billion in ad revenue, trailing only behind the NFL playoff games (including the Super Bowl).

The United States is prideful about college sports, so it is no wonder why companies would use this event to their advertising advantage. Aside from televised commercials, some advertisers offer bracket contests and giveaways on social media to attract new customers.

According to Chron.com, advertisers during March Madness also:

1. Focus on local teams
2. Create promotional items & events
3. Target sports fans where they watch the games
4. Be careful of trademarked terms

Millions of people across the country are tuning in to watch the basketball madness. Thus, advertisers can promote their businesses across several media platforms before, during and after the tournament. This March, be on the lookout for the different ways advertisers promote themselves during the games.

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Burnout – We’ve all been there. The days run together, but the hours drag on. You feel uninspired, drained, apathetic. Maybe you just need more coffee, you think to yourself. Maybe it’s something more. 

What Is Burnout?

Welcome, my friends, to the world of burnout. It’s been a very real feeling for longer than we know (I’m sure cartographers and scribes hated their jobs, too), but only recently has it been officially diagnosed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), occupational burnout is a syndrome linked to long-term, unresolved, work-related stress.¹ Burnout is characterized by three symptoms:

• Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
• Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
• Reduced professional efficacy

Some may tell you to tough it out or that it’s all in your head. However, mental illness has a serious, tangible impact in the workplace. According to the WHO, “Depression and anxiety have a significant economic impact; the estimated cost to the global economy is $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.” Not only that, the organization cites that for every dollar put into scaled-up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity.² Workplaces addressing burnout is not only beneficial for the individual but also the company. 

What Can I Do?

On the individual’s side, a few things you can do to help manage burnout³ include the following:

• Discuss specific concerns with your supervisor, and work together to change expectations and reach an agreement. 
• Set goals for what must get done and what can wait.
• Seek support from coworkers, friends or loved ones and take advantage of any employee assistance programs or HR resources.
• Try a relaxing activity to manage stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi.
• Exercise. Regular physical activity can help you to better deal with stress and take your mind off work.
• Sleep! If you have trouble sleeping, consult your doctor on how to catch every last Zzz.
• Practice mindfulness. Focusing on your breath and finding awareness of what you’re sensing and feeling can help you face work-related situations with openness and patience and without judgment.
• See a medical professional. It’s okay to ask for help, whether that’s from your primary care physician or a licensed counselor. 

For Managers & Supervisors

If you’re an employer wondering how to handle burnout in your team, Workplace Strategies for Mental Health offers plenty of resources on how to care well for the people who work for you. Some of the strategies for addressing employee burnout include:⁴

• Understand the issue.
• Consider what you can change at your level.
• Recognize signs and symptoms.
• Develop a workplace recovery plan.⁵
• Help employees understand their value to the organization and their contributions to the organization’s goals.
• Enforce reasonable work hours, including, if necessary, sending employees without good boundaries home at the end of their regular workday.
• Help assess workload for those who feel pressured to remain working beyond normal business hours.
• Encourage social support and respect within and among work teams.
• Support physical activity throughout the workday.
• Strongly encourage the taking of breaks away from the work environment.
• Make sure that employees have the necessary resources and skills to meet expectations.

Fostering a healthy work environment will be better for everyone in the long run. If you still have questions, do your research! Follow the links from this article and figure out the best strategy for your company to support mental health in every employee. 

————————-

¹ https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/burn-out/en/
² https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/en/
³ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
⁴ https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/managing-workplace-issues/burnout-response
⁵ https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/managing-workplace-issues/developing-a-workplace-plan

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