Google My Business Posts: Your Unexpected Holiday Hero
In 2017, Google released a versatile advertising spot for businesses to use within their Google My Business listing. Google Posts were designed to highlight events, products, coupons, announcements, and beyond. These spots, though difficult to manage at an enterprise scale at first, were the free advertising space local SEOs had been dreaming about. The ability to leverage a creative spot with compelling CTAs and content created a revenue opportunity totally new to this space.
Fast-forward to 2020, and we’re in an era that allows enterprise businesses to tap into the API and upload posts at scale (with help from a local platform management partner). Year-round, businesses can feature new product launches, new store openings, in-store events, and more, but perhaps one of the best times of year to leverage this space is during the months of November and December, when shoppers are gearing up for the holiday season.
Let’s walk through the top five best uses for Google Posts over the holiday season.
Holiday Coupons and Deals
There’s nothing more compelling to the everyday shopper than a solid holiday deal. Google Posts is a cost-effective medium to display your deals and coupons at scale. Some of the most compelling offers in Google Posts are:
- Percent-off messaging
- Buy one get one
- Limited-time pricing offers
Attaching a coupon to a deal is a strategic way to track performance of a post. Use coupon codes to understand opt-in and conversion metrics. Make coupons either in-store-only or eligible both in-store and online. Google Posts is not the space to promote online-only offers, as the viewer intent of a post is typically to go in-store.
Buy Online, Pick Up In Store
After Covid, BOPIS strategy skyrocketed as a compelling business model for retailers. Google Trends data showed an increase in searches for “In Store Pickup” jump 70% compared to pre-Covid times.
With this spike in demand, retailers had to answer fast and provide innovative options to buy online and pick up in store. Google Posts are one way to feature this ability or even feature products that would really drive the in-store pickup demand. A few types of BOPIS-successful items would be:
- Heavy products that are expensive to ship
- Same-day-need items
- Grocery
New Product Launches
Google Posts are an easy localized outlet to promote your new products. It’s an affordable spot of real estate in the SERPs to catch the customer’s eye. Some of the better new product promotion types would be:
- Promoting an in-store event around a launch
- Sneaker drops
- New brand assortments
- Tying a promotional offer to a new product offering
Highlighting what’s new can lead to instant sales or encourage the customer to enter your store and shop around.
In-Store Holiday Events
Is your location offering a special holiday shopping event? Are you planning a day with Santa in your store? Google Posts are the ultimate creative spot to get your event in front of potential visitors at a localized level.
Be sure to include the what, where, and how details in your post. If customers need to sign up, include a link to your sign-up page. If you feature more information on your website about the event, linking to that information page and attaching a UTM parameter to your URL can help you track the success of your post.
Store Services
Google Posts are an impactful and cost-effective way to highlight your in-store services, especially during the holiday season. Highlighting for your customers what special services your location provides, from dog grooming to golf fitting, can help increase awareness of your business.
During the holiday season, this is especially important. Posts can help showcase if you offer free gift wrapping or if you’re including a free service with the purchase of an item. For example, if your location sells bikes and you offer a free tune-up with any bike purchase, make sure you highlight that.
The bottom line is that Google Posts are a compelling way to draw attention to your business, especially during the holidays. Make sure you’re maximizing their potential by providing copy rich in details, a compelling CTA, and attaching UTM parameters to any link you provide in order to help measure success. The holidays are here; make sure your business is front and center.
Kaci Cramer is a Strategic Account Manager at Brandify.
