Boost Your Salon's Visibility: Mastering Google Business Profile & Apple Business Connect
Maximising your salon's visibility online is a necessary part of business ownership, and in this episode, we dive deep into how to leverage Google Business Profile and your Apple Business Showcase to make that happen. As a salon business, it’s an essential part of your client journey to ensure potential clients can easily find you, and these platforms are game changers for this task. We explore how setting up these profiles not only boosts your local SEO but also enhances your credibility and engagement with clients, all at no cost. I’ll walk you through the steps to get started, share insights on optimising your listings, and highlight the importance of keeping your information fresh and relevant. Tune in to discover strategies that can transform your online presence and attract more clients to your salon.
Sue Davies provides a wealth of insights into maximising online visibility for salon businesses through Google Business Profile and Apple Business Connect and the Apple Business Showcase. The episode highlights the importance of these platforms in the digital marketplace, where potential clients are primarily searching for services through Google or Apple Maps. Sue stresses that if a salon is not listed or listed but not optimised on these platforms, they are likely to miss out on numerous opportunities, as clients will gravitate towards competitors who are more visible online or have completed and are maintaining this shop window.
Sue gives an in-depth analysis of Google Business Profile - formerly known as Google My Business - and breaks down its functionalities. She explains how it serves as a vital tool for local SEO, enhancing a salon's online presence by providing essential information such as contact details, operating hours, and customer reviews. Sue shares specific strategies for optimising these listings, including the significance of using high-quality images and creating a welcoming business description that resonates with potential clients. The ease of interaction that the platform offers, such as booking appointments directly from the profile, is highlighted as a major advantage.
Transitioning to Apple Business Connect/Showcase, Sue reveals the significance of being present on this platform as well. With a large number of clients using Apple devices, having a presence on Apple Maps can significantly boost business visibility. Sue discusses the similarities and differences between the two platforms, encouraging salon owners to utilise both to extend their reach. She concludes the episode with a sneak peek into her upcoming course aimed at helping salon business owners navigate these digital tools effectively, underscoring that this knowledge is essential for anyone wanting to thrive in the salon industry today.
Takeaways:
- Utilising Google Business Profile effectively can significantly enhance your salon's online visibility and client engagement.
- Apple Business Connect & Showcase offers a new opportunity for salons to reach clients on Apple Maps and increase trustworthiness.
- Both Google and Apple platforms provide free tools that can help attract warm clients who are already interested in your services.
- Regularly updating your business profiles with fresh content is crucial for maintaining an active online presence and credibility.
- SEO strategies are important in optimising your profiles and relevant keywords will help potential clients find your salon first.
- Being listed on both Google and Apple platforms increases your chances of being discovered by clients searching for your services.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Jena
- Google business.google.com
- Apple businessconnect.apple.com
- YouTube
- Clubhouse
Transcript
Welcome to Inspiring Salon Professionals.
Speaker A:The podcast that allows every therapist, nail tech and stylist to level up, build their career and reach for their dreams.
Speaker A:Each episode we'll be looking at a different area of the industry and along the way, I'll be chatting with salon owners, industry leaders and experts who'll be sharing their stories on how they achieved their goals, made their successes, all to inspire you in your business and career.
Speaker A:I'm Sue Davies, your host, award winning salon owner and industry professional.
Speaker A:Welcome to Inspiring Salon Professionals.
Speaker A:Are you a solo beauty professional struggling to juggle everything from the endless client organizing, no shows, double bookings, or maybe find the thought of a website and building and maintaining it a little overwhelming?
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Speaker A:If you're ready to simplify your business and get your time back, check out Jenna today.
Speaker A:Find the link in the show notes and see how Jenna can transform the way you work.
Speaker A:Hi there and welcome to this week's Inspiring Salon Professionals.
Speaker A:And this week I'm going to be talking about something really important to your salon businesses visibility.
Speaker A:And that is Google Business profile, but also the Apple version of that as well, so that you appear on Apple Maps.
Speaker A:So whether you're a salon owner, a mobile therapist, a beauty professional, ensuring potential clients can find you easily online is a game changer.
Speaker A:And it's something that I work with salons on when I'm doing Salon Inspector is to just try and elevate their visibility online.
Speaker A:And one of the key ways we can do this is by utilizing search engines.
Speaker A:Google is one, Apple is one.
Speaker A:There's many different ways of being a search engine.
Speaker A:Pinterest is one, YouTube is one as well.
Speaker A:So there's many different ways that you can access all of these things.
Speaker A:But today we're going to be focusing on Google and Apple.
Speaker A:So today we're going to just look at the features, advantages and the benefits of using these platforms.
Speaker A:And also I'm going to just talk you through a couple of bits to get you started.
Speaker A:But also just to let you know, exciting things I'm just in the process of, of creating is something that's been in the offing for a really, really long time.
Speaker A:But I'm just in the process of signing up and sorting out my online education world for business skills.
Speaker A:So there will be a course coming very, very soon that's going to give you all the information that you need to get your Google and Apple accounts organized.
Speaker A:So let's face it, if clients can't find you online, you're missing out on so many opportunities.
Speaker A:And we do live in a world where the first thing people do when looking for a salon, spa, beauty service, mobile service, whatever, they're going to hit Google or maybe check on Apple Maps.
Speaker A:But Google Maps and Apple Maps are the biggest search pieces of information that we have out there.
Speaker A:And if you're looking for anything in your world, they're generally the first places you go to.
Speaker A:You may go to Facebook afterwards or to Instagram afterwards to see what those businesses look like in a more in depth way.
Speaker A:But generally for the majority of people, they the first port of call is is Google or Apple.
Speaker A:If your business is not listed properly and is not optimized because it isn't listed properly or it's not listed at all, then your competitors could be getting the clients that could possibly be yours.
Speaker A:So what can you do to ensure that you stand out?
Speaker A:Well, that's where Google Business Profile and the Apple Business Showcase come in.
Speaker A:They increase your visibility, they help you build trust, and they help you attract the right clients, all for free.
Speaker A:And this is something that is really probably the biggest advantage to this is it's free.
Speaker A:Yes, it takes a little bit of time to get it set up, but they can help bring you the right clients.
Speaker A:And those clients, when they do land at your doorstep, are going to be warm clients because they've already gone through your world, seen what you do, and so they're coming to you because they've liked what they've seen.
Speaker A:So let's just break them down a little.
Speaker A:So first up, let's have a look at Google Business Profile.
Speaker A:If you've been on it for a while or you've heard of something on Google previously, you might have heard of Google My business.
Speaker A:And if you've ever searched for a business on Google and seen that info box with the name, reviews, address and contact details, that is a Google Business Profile in action.
Speaker A:And that's what you need for your business.
Speaker A:And here's why it's essential for your salon business, it gives you a local SEO boost here.
Speaker A:If you don't know what SEO is, it's search engine optimization and it just really means making the most of being on a search engine.
Speaker A:It's probably the easiest way to do it.
Speaker A:Yeah, there's a few little bits and pieces you need to do in the background, but using a platform like Google Business Profile, it kind of does it for you and you enter your details and then Google kind of does all the back end stuff for you.
Speaker A:But you just have to be clever about how you word things within your listing.
Speaker A:The local SEO boost will help your salon appear in a Google search and on Google Maps.
Speaker A:When people search for whatever services that you provide, whether that's hair, whether it's beauty, whether it's waxing, whether it's massage, wellness, hypnotherapy, whether you're a plumber, whether you're an electrician, a carpenter, whether you provide website services, all of those things.
Speaker A:Any service driven or even product driven businesses, people go in there looking for find me an ex near me.
Speaker A:And this is where the SEO boost helps massively.
Speaker A:It also gives you business credibility.
Speaker A:You can have on there.
Speaker A:You, well, you want you on there massively.
Speaker A:Your clients to give you reviews.
Speaker A:You can also post photographs of your work, photographs of your venue up to date information and offers to make your business look trustworthy and professional.
Speaker A:It's kind of like having a mini website and I have a website and, and I also have Google business profiles for both my businesses.
Speaker A:And it's a little bit like having a mini website but that kind of to the public looks a little bit like a kind of Facebook feed.
Speaker A:So on there you can have pictures, you can have videos, you can put all different sorts of information.
Speaker A:You can create posts that you can share information about your business.
Speaker A:Also it encourages client engagement.
Speaker A:Clients can call you, message you or book directly from your profile.
Speaker A:And on mine I have my booking system links, I have my phone number and there's many, many ways that you can interact with your clients via Google.
Speaker A:You can also have performance insights and Google shows you how many people have you in your profile, clicking your website or calling you so that you can track the analytics and see how successful it is and then you can make tweaks accordingly.
Speaker A:So it may be that you know you want to promote your waxing services one week and you can push that for a week or a couple of weeks and see how that tracks for you.
Speaker A:So you can see if you're getting an increase in waxing clients coming to your door or, or you can flip it and you know, if you do lash extensions or massage, you can kind of highlight and have a primary target area for your business and that is interchangeable.
Speaker A:It goes into a pending place and Google will Approve it on the back end.
Speaker A:But basically you can push your business into a direction that you want it to grow in.
Speaker A:So how do you set up your Google business profile?
Speaker A:If you just visit business.google.com and sign in with a Google account.
Speaker A:If you don't have a Google account, you will need to sign up for a Google account and click add your business and enter your salon details.
Speaker A:Choose a category that best represents your services, whether that's hair, salon, now, salon, spa.
Speaker A:The list is quite endless.
Speaker A:It can be a little bit limiting if you are very niched, but generally there's usually some kind of category that sits very well alongside the kind of services that we offer.
Speaker A:Add your contact details, your website if you have one, and your business hours and also in business hours.
Speaker A:There's also a thing you can do for special hours.
Speaker A:So when it's Christmas or Easter or you're going on holiday, you can add special hours that are just for a limited time period.
Speaker A:You will need to verify the profile and this may be done via postcard, literally in the post or by phone or email confirmation.
Speaker A:They do also do.
Speaker A:And I had, and I did have a bit of a technical difficulty with this.
Speaker A:They did when I was trying to move my business, they asked me to do a video.
Speaker A:Now, where I live, I'm quite rural.
Speaker A:I live on quite a large plot of.
Speaker A:Of land.
Speaker A:We've got about an acre that we sit on and our house sits only about, probably about 50 foot in from the end of the road.
Speaker A:But it then to get in from where.
Speaker A:Where my office is and the video thing is just a drama and I could not do it, but I think it's because of the distance I had to travel.
Speaker A:And the video thing will you to start at your local street sign to evidence that you are on the roads that you say you are and you have to do this.
Speaker A:I think you get a minute to do this video and it's all done live.
Speaker A:You have to like sign on.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm going to do the video now.
Speaker A:And I had to go from my road sign, which is literally at the end of my lane and is at the end of my property because we live on the corner and then come back down our lane into the, into our driveway, back across the driveway, into the house, walk all the way around the house because our office is at the back of the house and then try and also video documents to evidence my business.
Speaker A:So like a bank statement or whatever that had to be in an office, like in my office environment.
Speaker A:Oh dear.
Speaker A:I tried.
Speaker A:I Think I spent three hours trying to do this and I could, I couldn't get it done quick enough.
Speaker A:It was, yeah, frustrating to say the least.
Speaker A:However, that's just because of the nature of my setup.
Speaker A:If you work in a place that's less challenging, video verification may not be such a big problem for you.
Speaker A:And I think generally, I know when I first set up my Google business profile back, oh God, probably about 15 years ago, I didn't have to do that and I don't think it's something you have to do all of the time.
Speaker A:I think if you're a new account, the video verification comes in with, with changes further down the line, is my understanding.
Speaker A:So then you will want to have high quality photos, service listings and a really good business description.
Speaker A:And this is where you need to be clever and you need to think about what people are searching for and there's some great information that you can find that.
Speaker A:On askthepublic.com is a really good one to go and see what people are searching.
Speaker A:That is something that I'm going to cover in the course as well because there's the whole thing around the keywords and the long tail keywords and what people are searching for, the, the areas that you need to cover when you're putting that, that listing together and just making sure that you're using some words that people want to see.
Speaker A:Because if you were searching for somewhere to get waxed, what are you going to be searching for?
Speaker A:If you're searching for where you're going to get your curly haircut, what are you going to be searching for?
Speaker A:So you've got to kind of think about what all of those indicators may be that are going to pop up on a search engine.
Speaker A:And yeah, it sounds simple, right?
Speaker A:It really is.
Speaker A:It doesn't take that long and it doesn't have to be complicated.
Speaker A:Yes, it's going to take.
Speaker A:If you've never registered before, it's going to take you a little while because you're going to have to get verified and that, as I say, can come in the post.
Speaker A:So you may have to rely on the Royal Mail, but you know, with within a few days and if you can do the telephone verification, you can be on there on the same day.
Speaker A:So just kind of have a think about when you've got some time to do that and just make the magic happen.
Speaker A:Because when you optimize it with the key words and the right keywords, this will help Google match your salon business to potential clients that are searching for your services.
Speaker A:And that's where this SEO thing comes in so brilliantly.
Speaker A:Because if you get it right, you will, it will bump you to the top of Google.
Speaker A:Do a search now.
Speaker A:If you haven't registered, do a search now for a service that you offer and the area that you are based in and see what comes up.
Speaker A:And the chances are even if you've got a website, chances are you may not come up that highly on the Google list because you don't have a business profile.
Speaker A:So just do a search and see what comes up.
Speaker A:All of this stuff, I learned all of this stuff just by trial and error over the years and Google it tends to stay pretty similar all of the time.
Speaker A:It doesn't really change that much.
Speaker A:There's a few nuances and things that have changed over the years, but generally it doesn't change that much.
Speaker A:So once you've done this, you just need to maintain it and it needs to another job on the list, but it needs to become part of, you know, when you're doing your weekly scheduling of your posts on social media, it just needs to be something that you just go on and just pop a couple of things on each week onto that feed just to keep it active and keep it current.
Speaker A:Because keeping it current will help Google realize that you're an active business and that you are looking for clients.
Speaker A:That's what it's going to help you do.
Speaker A:Next we're going to talk about Apple Business Showcase.
Speaker A:Now I discovered this recently when I was updating my Google Business Profile and something I typed in on some search and up pops Apple Business Showcase.
Speaker A:Now here's the new kid on the block.
Speaker A:It's there to.
Speaker A:I don't know about rival Google Business Profile because Google Business Profile has been there for a really long time and it's so well established.
Speaker A:But something like I think it's like 45 of the UK phone market have an iPhone and I tend to, I have an iPhone and my go to does tend to be Apple Maps.
Speaker A:I do use Google Maps but it depends on where I'm going.
Speaker A:But I do use Maps on my phone and I've never even considered the fact that on that map it was different to the map that Google provided.
Speaker A:It hadn't really registered with me.
Speaker A:So I went down the rabbit hole and what did I find?
Speaker A:That there's another whole thing that is virtually the same.
Speaker A:It's the same premise as Google Business Profile but on Apple.
Speaker A:And why not?
Speaker A:You know, they've got a map system, it is newer but it is important and especially for clients using Apple Maps and Siri to find local businesses.
Speaker A:So here's what it offers Apple Maps integration so your business appears when people search via Apple Maps on iPhones, iPads or MacBooks.
Speaker A:It provides again trust and reputation.
Speaker A:Verified businesses stand out as more legitimate Siri searches clients who are Siri Find a salon near me will see results from Apple Business showcases and a seamless user experience.
Speaker A:Apple users can contact you, check opening hours and get directions instantly.
Speaker A:So it's a bit of a no brainer isn't it?
Speaker A:But as I say, it's new and this is always a really good time to be in on these things because you'll be one of the first people on there, one of the first salons in your area on there.
Speaker A:Unless someone else has heard me going on about it.
Speaker A:How to get started with Apple Business showcase so visit businessconnect.apple.com and sign in with an Apple ID again if you don't have an Apple ID you will need to get an Apple ID again quite simple, just follow the procedures that they ask you to do.
Speaker A:Because if you go and try and log in to create your showcase and you don't have an Apple ID like everything, you'll give you the option to sign up, search for your business and claim it or add a new listing because it may be that someone has been to your business and they've registered it that they've been there.
Speaker A:They may have done something on the Apple system or even on Google system to say that they've been there.
Speaker A:So there may already be some form of your business there.
Speaker A:Enter your business details same as you would on Google address, phone, website, opening hours etc and upload high quality images as well as a strong business description and use the same one you use for Google.
Speaker A:You know don't make this complicated.
Speaker A:They are both search engines, people are searching for the same things on both platforms and so just reuse it.
Speaker A:You may want to tweak it depending on if you want to, I don't know do you want to test them all or do you want to do like an A and a B test and see what brings you more.
Speaker A:But the one thing I would say with Apple was that it was the photo side of Apple is far less user friendly.
Speaker A:It does work.
Speaker A:I consider myself to be relatively tech savvy.
Speaker A:I've been around tech since tech started funny enough Actually slight digression.
Speaker A:The other day I saw a photo of someone with a Microsoft computer like with Microsoft on a computer with a mouse and they were like oh, were you here at like the beginning of time kind of thing?
Speaker A:And I was like actually no, I was there on the generation before that when I had an IBM and I was the first person, you know and it's funny, when I worked in the NHS I was the first PA to actually get an IBM computer.
Speaker A:And I begged and pleaded with my boss at the time, the personnel director, please Chris, please can we go and have a look at this?
Speaker A:And we had to drive like from Southeast London across to Asia in Surrey to get this computer was like how rare they were and, and it cost about 650 pounds and that's going back like about 35, 34 years.
Speaker A:I think it is something like that.
Speaker A:Long, long time before that it was telexes and fax machines.
Speaker A:But hey ho anyway shows how old I am just to evidence that I've been around all the techy stuff and I've kind of been always involved in, in new technology and new developments of technology.
Speaker A:Doesn't mean I'm a tech whiz but, but I kind of, I get by in a, in a very suitable way that gets me what I need to do.
Speaker A:But this challenged me slightly and I don't want to scare people from doing this because it's just a case of getting the right size images and Canva can help you do this, but you need to have the right size images in a certain file size.
Speaker A:So you just need to make sure if you're on Canva and you've got an image, put your images into Canva is the easiest thing to do if you put them up.
Speaker A:First of all, when they say no, go to Canva, upload your images into a file and onto a document and then you can resize it to the size that you require and when you download it, you can download it as a JPEG or a PNG file and you can limit the size of the file because that seemed to be the issue with Apple was it needed to have a particular file size and you can limit it to less than 512kb.
Speaker A:And that was what I needed to do and it took me a while to kind of get the hang of making that happen, but now I know so and I'm helping you by telling you because that was, that was the, the disconnect with this a little bit for me.
Speaker A:But ultimately I now have my home clinic set up on Apple on Apple Maps.
Speaker A:So then you will need to verify your listing and that again will be either phone, email or document verification.
Speaker A:And that was, that was Quite a simple part of the process, to be honest.
Speaker A:The biggest challenge was getting those photos up because.
Speaker A:And it will be, it's fairly instant.
Speaker A:If it doesn't like your photos, it will tell you fairly instantly.
Speaker A:But it's a really, really good way of just adding yet another profile.
Speaker A:And we have to remember that all of these profiles anywhere online will, if you've got a website, particularly if you've got a website, and I really cannot stress enough how important it is to have a website, if you have a website, whenever you appear anywhere, all of these, they're called backlinks and anything where you have your website address somewhere else that can be clipped through to your website improves your visibility on Google for your website.
Speaker A:So whether you're on a directory, and I'm going to digress here slightly and just refer you back to the episode with Helen Wald recently about the hair and beauty directory.
Speaker A:You cannot be on too many directories.
Speaker A:And yes, a directory like Helen's, you can have a free listing on Helen's which is, I would recommend highly that you do.
Speaker A:But any local business directory, if you have a website address, get yourself on all of those directories because they do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
Speaker A:They optimize their website and they should be optimizing the pages, the individual pages of the website so that when someone searches, you come up.
Speaker A:And my good friend Sarah Cogan Smith, who has Sun Industry Networking Group, she also has Salon Industry Networking Directory and this is targeted much more at suppliers.
Speaker A:But if you are, if you supply anything, if you're a coach, if you are a product supplier, any service driven supplier to the salon industry, get on, get on her directory, get on Helen W's directory, get on all of your local business directories.
Speaker A:If you're a salon business, if you are providing salon services of any kind, get on your local directories because this will help your visibility.
Speaker A:I cannot stress enough that when, when I have my salon and it is that, that wonderful phrase, and I hate saying it because I even now I do appear on quite a few of my local directories.
Speaker A:I have a home clinic that I don't, I kind of do so that I keep my hand in.
Speaker A:It isn't something that I'm trying nowadays, I'm not trying to create an award winning business with it.
Speaker A:I have something that just turns over with a few clients and just keeps my hand in so that I'm still speaking from experience.
Speaker A:Because to me it's.
Speaker A:You can't just walk the walk, you need to talk the talk as well, it's, for me, it's like a dual, a dual part of what I do.
Speaker A:And so I don't need it to be massively successful, I just need it to tick over so that I have a few clients coming in so that I'm still practicing my customer experience, I'm still practicing my customer journey.
Speaker A:I still have a need to be on top of things like Google Business Profile and Apple Business Showcase so that I know what I'm talking about and how that impacts on a business.
Speaker A:So directories are really, really a vital part of that journey for your clients because you never know where a client's going to find you.
Speaker A:And yeah, they're not going to be going to, you know, I mean, most local business directories say, I don't know, like north, where I am, Norfolk Local business directory, dot com, whatever it is, if you go, most people are not necessarily going to go on there and look for it.
Speaker A:But because of the way those websites are optimized, their SEO, because of how they work on their back ends, if you are listed on them, it pushes you up Google.
Speaker A:And this is why, you know, I mean, I've watched and supported Helen as long as I've known her around the Hair and Beauty directory because what she's trying to do for salon businesses like you, she's trying to, to help you get seen.
Speaker A:And it is, you know, yes, you, yeah, you might have to pay, but you know what to pay.
Speaker A:Well, you've, you, sadly, if you, if you're not on there already, you've missed her, her launch offers, but to pay for what she provides, it's like if you think about all the advertising, all the marketing that you do, Helen's searches or her search results are coming up significantly higher than most people's own websites because she is spending time and she is honing your SEO personally.
Speaker A:And Helen and I have a lot of conversations because we both do quite a bit of work around our SEO in our own businesses and I've done it for other people as well.
Speaker A:Just getting people to have the right wording within their SEO title, meta title and meta description and the SEO description, these are really, really important factors and if you have those right on many directories, it will pull you to the top of Google.
Speaker A:So go, if you haven't checked it already, go and check the Hair and Beauty directory and if you're a supplier or your coach or you provide any kind of service, accountant, anything like that to the industry, then get yourself on the salon industry networking directory too.
Speaker A:It's free.
Speaker A:Go create a profile, go create a listing.
Speaker A:It doesn't cost you anything.
Speaker A:These are free services.
Speaker A:And I know with the work that Sarah's doing at the moment that she is also, if you, if you end up, she does have a paid service and if you end up on her paid service, you can be featured in her new newsletter that goes out to her fairly sizable email list.
Speaker A:And I'm an admin on the group and I, I know the, the quality of that group and I know the quantity of people she has on her email list.
Speaker A:And being in that newsletter and going out to that quite large email list is another win.
Speaker A:So it's worth being on her business to business.
Speaker A:She's got several levels of doing it.
Speaker A:So I'm not here to promote Sarah's thing, but she has got several levels to do that.
Speaker A:If you are a business to business supplier and even if you're not, even if you're like, if you're a, whatever you are in the industry on Sarah's site and on Helen's site, take blogs.
Speaker A:Blogs are one of the biggest things for your visibility.
Speaker A:You cannot believe how much a blog can do for your website.
Speaker A:You cannot believe how much a blog can do for your profile.
Speaker A:So if you like writing, if you've got something to say, if you've got an opinion about something, send it to Helen, send it to Sarah and it will go on their website.
Speaker A:And within that you can backtrack it to your profile on both of those sites and from there backtrack it to your website and all of that helps your profile, helps your SEO, helps your visibility.
Speaker A:So it's a no brainer.
Speaker A:It takes time to build all this stuff and to build your visibility, but it's all available and most of it's available for nothing and it doesn't cost you a penny.
Speaker A:Anyway, the digression is over.
Speaker A:Back to what we're supposed to be talking about, which is Apple Business Showcase.
Speaker A:So as I've said already, Apple is expanding its business tools and this is part of that process.
Speaker A:Getting listed early means that you will have an advantage over your competitors who aren't yet using this feature.
Speaker A:Be on there first.
Speaker A:Get in there early.
Speaker A:It isn't often that we get this opportunity to be somewhere at the beginning.
Speaker A:And I, I don't know if you recall in Covid there was a big swell and a frantic please, please, please everywhere.
Speaker A:Get me an invitation, get me an invitation for Clubhouse, which I would quickly add here as well.
Speaker A:Sorry, another digression.
Speaker A:If you, if you have got Clubhouse, go redownload it.
Speaker A:If you haven't got Clubhouse, go download it.
Speaker A:Because in the coming weeks, I'm just trying to get the dates finalized, we are going to be hosting a live inspiring Sun Professionals podcast which is like mind blowing and you will need Clubhouse.
Speaker A:But if, I don't know if you recall what happened when Clubhouse went live and everybody wanted to be on there, the only way you could get on there was to have an invitation.
Speaker A:And the only way you could get an invitation was from someone that was already registered to use, give you one of their five invitations that they were gifted and it was, it was a bun fight trying to get those.
Speaker A:So an Apple Business showcase is kind of in the same place at the moment and it's, it's starting its journey and they aren't making a big thing about this at the moment.
Speaker A:I have not seen this advertised anywhere.
Speaker A:Should you really pick whether you're going to be Google or Apple?
Speaker A:And the answer to me is both.
Speaker A:The same as I've done it.
Speaker A:Both.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Why would you want to waste your time doing it on both profiles?
Speaker A:And it's because people are searching for both platforms on both platforms and you need to maximize your chances of being found.
Speaker A:Google is dominant and it's weird, isn't it?
Speaker A:It's like, you know when you consider like, you know, the Google phone and I know that I don't use them because I'm an Apple phone, but the Google phone is like a really small part of the market and yet look how huge they are in this area of business profiles.
Speaker A:Apple has the biggest share of phones in the UK and yet their business profile business is tiny and they still haven't got it off the ground fully.
Speaker A:Apple is growing and many higher value clients are using Apple Maps and Siri.
Speaker A:So get on that bandwagon.
Speaker A:Being listed on both will ensure visibility no matter how a client searches.
Speaker A:And you know, even if you go, if you use Safari on an Apple phone, the browser they use is Google.
Speaker A:It's just be on there.
Speaker A:So I know this seems like a real lot to take in.
Speaker A:I hope that you know I've got you started and you just need to go through the process really.
Speaker A:As I say, I am going to be launching a course to get this fully mastered for you because I do appreciate that sometimes it just helps to have someone hold your hand to go through this stuff.
Speaker A:And what I'm going to do is going to cover a course that how to set up and optimize both your Google business profile and Your Apple Business Showcase.
Speaker A:I am working on this at the moment along with everything else.
Speaker A:So it hopefully will be in the next few weeks.
Speaker A:How to use keywords and some SEO strategies to rank higher in the in the search results and how to encourage client reviews and engagement to boost your credibility.
Speaker A:And Apple Google does this really, really well and you can pick up I'm still yet to find out more about Apple.
Speaker A:I'm going to be doing a lot more research on Apple while I'm pulling this course together just to see because I've kind of put myself on there but I haven't really gone back in and done a deep dive on how to make it work for you and your clients and how to do all the review process and stuff.
Speaker A:So I'm going to be looking into that.
Speaker A:But also we're going to be looking at what the analytics can show you and just yeah, understanding how those things can help you.
Speaker A:And if you want to be the first one to access this game changing course, stay tuned for updates because I will be sharing details about it as soon as I have them and I'll be sharing that information over on my Sue Davies Inspiring Business Excellence page and on my group.
Speaker A:So links for that are on my link tree that you can find in my profile or you can find all that information on my website too.
Speaker A:So action plan from today.
Speaker A:If you haven't set up your Google Business profile, go and do it.
Speaker A:If you haven't set up your Apple Business showcase, go and do it.
Speaker A:Just start registering, just see it, it really does kind of flow.
Speaker A:But if you are tech, if you are tech phobic, I really understand that you may need that handhold.
Speaker A:So watch out for the course because it is coming and if you already have them, go back on and check.
Speaker A:I did some work recently with a salon and they hadn't updated theirs for three years.
Speaker A:And if a client goes on there and actually does look at your profile and it hasn't been updated for three years, what does that tell them?
Speaker A:It tells them that you aren't necessarily an active business or that you aren't bothered about what your public perception is.
Speaker A:So make sure you keep it up to date.
Speaker A:And yeah, keep an eye out for the course, keep an eye out for all the stuff I'm about to do because I literally have just found this amazing platform and I've been looking for so long.
Speaker A:I know many of you have been listening for a really long time and you'll know that I've gone through quite a process over the last 11 months.
Speaker A:Since stopping my, yeah, my massive platform that I had been involved in building for six years and then the magazine and you know that I've had a lot of changes and I've been looking for this, this platform in a different guise for so long.
Speaker A:Last week I found what I was looking for, which means that now I can actually get started and make sure that I get everything I want my whole world in one place and I can build a community on there as well, which is going to be amazing.
Speaker A:So watch this space, Find me on Facebook, find me on LinkedIn, just drop me a line, whatever.
Speaker A:Anyway, thank you so much for listening and thank you for joining me on Inspiring Selling Professionals today.
Speaker A:And if you did find this helpful, don't forget to subscribe and share and do leave a review.
Speaker A:I haven't had a review for ages and it would be nice because I know it's it's weird one with podcasting, but we all know reviews are really, really important.
Speaker A:So if you are listening and you've got a spare two minutes, just pop over to whatever your provider is and leave me a review.
Speaker A:Or go on to my Facebook page and leave me a review.
Speaker A:Always gratefully received.
Speaker A:And if you do have any questions about anything that you've had heard today, then just send me a dm.
Speaker A:I'm always open, my inbox is always open.
Speaker A:Send me a DM and hopefully I can give you a hand.
Speaker A:And until then, just keep plodding forward and getting through that Google business profile and that Apple Business Showcase and I will see you next time.
Speaker A:Bye for now.
Speaker B:Is your salon delivering the exceptional client journey you've always envisioned?
Speaker B:The Salon Inspector, led by industry expert Sue Davies, is here to help you elevate every step of the client experience.
Speaker B:From the moment clients discover your salon online to the ease of booking and the clarity of your service offerings, every detail counts.
Speaker B:The Salon Inspector's Client Experience Audit offers a digital mystery shop of your business, featuring a thorough review of your branding, consistency, online presence, client communication.
Speaker B:Sue assesses the touch points you've created to ensure a seamless and memorable experience that keeps clients coming back again and again ready to transform your salon's client journey.
Speaker B:Visit su-davies.com to schedule your audit today.
Speaker B:The Salon Inspector Turning Good Experiences into.
Speaker A:Great Ones thank you for listening to Inspiring Salon Professionals.
Speaker A:If you've enjoyed the podcast, please do subscribe, leave a review and don't forget, share with your fellow industry professionals and other business owners that you think may enjoy the show.
Speaker A:Links and further information can be found on the Show Notes or on my website, www.sue-davies.com.
Speaker A:all links and further information can be found in the Show Notes.
Speaker A:And there's also now the option to support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee.
Speaker A:The links for that you can find in the Show Notes.
Speaker A:Thanks for listening.
Speaker A:See you next time.
