Your Google+ Page Is About to Get Some Traffic

Whether you want to or not, it’s time to jump aboard the Google+ ship. As a marketing professional, it’s your job to not only perfect your own Google+ page to ensure its continued success.

Finally integrating its purchase of Zagat, a replacement of Google Places called Google+ Local has combined the forces of Google Search and Google Maps, creating, as you can imagine, the Incredible Hulk of Google services.

The Basics

The essential function of Google+ Local is to provide recommendations and reviews of local businesses and restaurants. Whenever you search a business or restaurant, Google+ Local gives an overall ranking based on Zagat’s 30 point system (with 30 being the best) as well as individual scores based on decor, service, and cost.

Since this new software is linked with Google+, reviews and recommendations from anyone in your circles will show up front and center—giving you reviews from people you trust, rather than Joe Schmoes you’ve never met.

Why You Need to Know

Although this recent update to Google mainly affects eateries, the same 30 point ranking system will be used on any businesses searched using Google Maps, Google Search or Google+.

The ultimate goal of this update from Google+, from our perspective, is to encourage local businesses to enhance their current Google+ pages (or create them) and bring more usage and engagement to Google+.

So, like it or not, it’s time to get your Google+ page looking fine and fancy, as more and more Google traffic will now be directed to those pages.

Study Shows Continued Dramatic Growth in Personalized Mail

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with addressing your direct mail to “Occupant,” but a recent study of mail trends conducted by DirectMarketingIQ uncovers the skyrocketing appeal of personalized mail. In 2009, 28 percent of mail pieces were personalized. In 2010, that figure jumped to 34 percent, marking a 21-percent increase. But last year, personalization saw even bigger increases. Overall, the 2011 numbers represented a 46-percent leap from 2009.

SOURCE: Deliver Magazine, May 2012

Data Hygiene – 5 Best Practices

Business contacts represent a lot of value, so it is both important and potentially profitable to invest in data hygiene. Here are some ways to keep your customer and prospect data fresh and up to date.

• Begin by entering the data correctly in the first place. Create a standard operating procedure for data-entry, and train your key personnel on it.
• Standardize your format of business addresses. For additional details, refer to Publication 28 from the United States Postal Service. For examples of recommended field selection and layout of business addresses, visit: http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/welcome.htm.
• Pay for postal returns and update your files with the returns. This should be done before every mailing.
• Take regular statistical samples of the data and check it manually using an outbound phone call.
• Ask for customer data regularly, and make it very easy for the customer to provide the information. Always ask for the information the same way – no matter where you ask for it.

At Professional Print & Mail we’ve always known that printing and mailing go together and have offered both services for over 25 years. From maintaining your existing list or purchasing a new prospect list to designing, printing and mailing your direct mail campaign – have it all done in one place.

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