It doesn’t seem all that long ago that we all felt like COVID-19 was in the rearview mirror, but the rise of the Delta variant has many of us donning masks again and heeding social distancing guidelines. Setting aside how you feel about these precautions personally, from a business standpoint, it’s important to make sure your customers know what to expect when they visit you.
Luckily, there’s a simple way to do this: update your local profiles. We’re assuming you’re already active on Yelp, Google My Business, and Bing Places (and if you’re not, you should be!), so all you need to do is log into your accounts and use their built-in features to share updates about your business operations during COVID-19.
Yelp profiles allow you a number of options for displaying your COVID-19 protocols. You can let customers know whether or not you’re open. If you are open for business, you can list virtual consultations as an option, then check any additional safety measures your business is taking. Options include:
You can also add a banner message at the top of your Yelp page to communicate important messaging to customers or clients.
Google offers robust options for sharing COVID-19 protocol updates. Select the COVID-19 Update option in posts to create a message about your current business operations, then go to Health and Safety and select from the following options:
On Bing Places, you’ll find a COVID-19 Related Announcements option listed prominently when you log into your account. Enter the information you want to share, add a link to your website for more details, and set a timeframe for your announcement if you have a start and end date in mind.
As the Delta variant hits the US hard, more Americans are going to return to making decisions about which businesses to patronize (or not) based on their COVID-19 protocols. If this winter is a repeat of last year’s, it’s time to start preparing now.
In addition, by making sure people know what to expect before visiting your business, you can prevent potential conflicts over mask wearing and social distancing, alleviating some of the burden on your staff to enforce your guidelines.
If your business is feeling the effects of COVID-19, smart messaging and digital marketing can help you get back on your feet again. Contact us today to learn more about our services.