Chatbots are definitely my favorite thing happening in Social Media right now!  We’ve built a number of them for ourselves and our clients and they are absolutely awesome!   If this is a strategy you want to incorporate into your 2019 marketing mix, you only have until December 31st to get your business page approved for subscription messaging.  

I have two resources to share with you that will explain Facebook Policy and a great article by Social Media Today with instructions for getting your business page approved to send those subscription messages through Facebook Messenger.  Be sure to check these out and act fast. There’s a possibility you’ll be denied, so you want to give yourself time to reapply if necessary. 

We’re loving the #SmallThanks personalized marketing packages from Google and I’m sure you will too!  This website is simple to use, just type in your business name and they’ll connect to your Google My Business and pull your business info and Google reviews to create posters, social media posts, and a cool little video.  And it all takes about 2 minutes!  Be sure to check out the “Choose Other Styles and Reviews” where you can choose your favorite review snippets and customize your colors, etc.  You can download as many different versions as you’d like. 

Here’s the link to get started: https://smallthanks.withgoogle.com/ 

Such a proud mom moment today on my Thinking Big with Bobbi B. Show!  You can watch the episode with Coral Baehne here. 

In the interview, we talked about a game-changing article that Coral wrote to position herself as a thought leader.  You can read that article here.

Publishing an article versus just a post can build a lot of authority and credibiliy – give it a shot! 

If you’ve been using a 3rd party platform to buy likes, followers or engagement, you better stop now! Instagram announced that they are working OT to put a stop it and will be providing you with a warning on your account if you follow those practices.

The reality is, you’re better off with a smaller, more engaged audience. So don’t focus on the numbers, focus instead of showing up consistently, providing as much value and you can, and building meaningful relationships with your audience.

Read the full details directly from Instagram here.

I absolutely LOVED this week’s interview with Cindy Jacob from RE/MAX Plaza in McHenry County.  I don’t want to give away too much because you really should go watch this one!  But I asked Cindy to join me on the show because she’s growing her brand by highlighting other business owners in our community on her weekly Facebook live show!  That’s what I was looking forward to talking about, but Cindy offered so many more amazing insights and tips than I expected.  Here are my top 4 show highlights – leave me a comment and tell me what resonated with you!

1.  Use Facebook Live to “Plant Seeds” – meaning BE PATIENT!  Social media isn’t going to change your business overnight, it takes time, patience and is often a longer-term strategy.  You have to be consistent and SHOW UP!
2. Have fun!!  (no explanation needed)
3. Live Your Life Outloud!  By this she meant BE YOU, be authentic, share your business but share your life too!
4. Take Care of You!  We all have so much on our plates and as business owners we don’t just have to worry about caring for our families, but our clients and staff too.  None of us can do that well if we aren’t taking care of ourselves first!

If you haven’t watched before, I do this show every Monday at 2pm (CST) over on our Think Big Go Local Facebook page.

Here are a few ways you can help others and in turn, but relevant relationships that will result in a better reputation, more leads and more sales!  Don’t be afraid to share your involvement in social media and in your LinkedIn profile. These types of activities show others what your values are and build trust and credibility.

1. Volunteer with a local non-profit
2. Take your chamber of networking group memberships to the next level by getting on committees and boards
3. Get involved with your local government by helping with community events and committees
4. Teach and train whenever and wherever you can!
5. Promote and refer others

Join me today on the Think Big Go Local Facebook page where I’ll be interviewing Cindy Jacob from RE/MAX Plaza. She’s doing exactly this by leveraging the power of Facebook Live to build relationships with other business owners while offering value to the entire community. Tune in at 2pm CST and hear how she’s doing and what the results have been so far!

Get started claiming and setting up your Google My Business profile here.

I mentioned in our flash briefing that we got to visit Google last year and let me tell you, it was awesome!!  I wrote a blog as soon as we got back about our top 4 takeaways that you might find interesting and very helpful!

Have an awesome weekend my friends!