Local search and social platforms are consistently making changes to their platforms to improve them for both businesses and consumers, alike. Our industry news blog brings you all of the most recent platform updates and explains how, as a multi-location marketer, you can implement them into your localized marketing efforts. Staying on top of marketing trends, or finding them before they become big, is a great way for you to stay ahead of the competition and make your mark in localized marketing. 

This week, we’ll dive into new updates and changes from Facebook, Instagram, and Google My Business (GMB). 

Facebook Business Suite Merges Facebook and Instagram Posting

Facebook recently announced a new solution, Facebook Business Suite, that provides various features designed to make it easier for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to post content across all of Facebook’s applications. While we typically highlight updates geared towards multi-location businesses, we thought this update was still worth mentioning, as local store pages can harness this. 

While Facebook is launching Facebook Business Suite for small businesses first, the goal is to eventually make it the primary interface for companies that use Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, explained that the new solution allows businesses to post on Facebook and Instagram simultaneously and receive messages, alerts, and notifications all in one location. 

While this feature is not yet available for multi-location businesses, it’s something to keep an eye on in the future. If your multi-location business is looking for a solution that allows you to post across all of your business locations’ social channels from a single platform, look no further than SOCi’s social media management solution. SOCi’s social media management solution empowers enterprise and local teams to publish localized content, manage content libraries, respond to social engagements, and analyze performance — all within one powerful platform.

Google Adds Option for Google Guarantee Badge on GMB Listings

We’ll keep this one short and sweet! GMB has recently provided an opportunity for multi-location businesses to purchase the ability to display the Google Guarantee badge directly on a GMB local listing. The Google Guarantee badge is available for companies that pass a Google screening and qualification process through Google Local Services. Previously, the badge was only found on a Google Local Services ad. 

With the badge, not only will you appear more legitimate to your consumers, but you’ll also gain additional upgrades to your local listings. For instance, with the Google Guarantee badge, you will also be able to: 

• Get dedicated support with your subscription
• Use your call recordings to provide better service
• Watch your booking stats increase

If your multi-location business has the budget to purchase a Google Guarantee badge, it may be worth testing out.

Instagram Adds New Features to Instagram Shop

While Instagram Shops were released in the earlier stages of the pandemic, Instagram has made some recent additions to the platform that will allow businesses to improve their shops. For instance, the new features will allow businesses to tailor their social storefronts with new layouts and see real-time previews of their collections as they set them up. 

Instagram also updated the Commerce Manager, which will allow businesses to track their sales efforts more effectively. This update will help your multi-location business analyze the performance of your Instagram Shops, which then provides you an opportunity to make optimizations based on performance. These updates align with the consumer shift towards a more digitally-focused world.

Google My Business Launches New Health and Safety Attributes

Earlier this month, GMB launched a new feature that will allow multi-location businesses in the food, retail, or service industries to add attributes to let consumers know what safety measures they are taking at their business amid the current pandemic. Many consumers are still hesitant to visit a store in person, especially if they aren’t aware of the safety measures a company has in place. This feature resolves that problem and can help consumers feel more confident in going to a business. 

Some of the attributes your business can choose from include: 

• The requirement of masks for customers and staff
• Temperature checks for customers and staff 
• Appointments or reservations required 

If your business is doing any of the safety measures mentioned above, you should be sure to select those attributes in your GMB profiles across business locations. It’s essential to keep your consumers updated with the most recent information about your business to help them feel secure. These new attributes can allow you to do so, while also setting consumer expectations ahead of time. 

If your multi-location business doesn’t fall under one of the industries listed by GMB, you should consider finding other ways to let your consumers know what safety measures you have in place – through email, your social media channels, or your website. 

Now that you have all of the latest industry news, what are you going to do with it? You have two choices, you can take this information and move on, or you can start implementing these new updates into your localized marketing plan. If you do incorporate these new updates into your marketing efforts, your business will stand out from competitors, and consumers will likely notice. 

If your multi-location business needs help building a winning localized marketing plan or assistance improving what you already have, SOCi is here for you! SOCi is the central command for multi-location marketers and the all-in-one platform for your multi-location marketing needs. Don’t sit back and wait any longer. Get started strengthening your localized marketing efforts! Request a demo to learn more about SOCi today.