Live Marketing Meetup May 10, 2024

Go. Yeah, let's go.

I have 20 GMB locations right now across the US for my National Singing Telegram company. Yeah, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to add more.

And so wanted to see if anyone's having any success with a service based business like mine still starting in a new city. And any suggestion starting in a new city.

Hold on. When you say you're having challenges adding more, is it just oh, where'd you go?

I don't know if we lost him or maybe you just lost your camera. Jeff, are you still there?

This block is still there.

Oh.

Okay. There you are, There you are. Okay. So just so on.

Back in the day it used to be a lot easier.

What I've tried recently is to use a subcontractor in a certain city since they're the one performing the signaling telegrams. And we were on our third attempt, for example to prove Tampa, Florida with my Tampa performer and he's doing his third video walk showing his address, showing his costume that he uses for telegram. And anyway, somebody else said there are human will review all those videos and so one day the right human is going to approve it.

Yeah.

So anyway, I just want to see if you're having any success with service area business.

Yeah. So one of the things that I had to do and so we are also virtual meaning home office and other clients. I've had do this too and they've had some success. Somebody else has just entered the room really quick. I literally went and took a sign that has MSW interactive designs on it. So I don't know, maybe two and a half feet like this. And I attached it with just removable sticky notes. I'm talking about those detachable, non damaging things to the outside of my house by my house number and took a picture from the street in order to get our GMB listing verified. We have recommended to other businesses that approach and that has worked. I don't know if you guys have done that beyond just the walkthrough of the home office, but.

That could bypass or at least get through faster if it appears from the street and there's a sign on the building and they don't have any way of knowing that it's a temporary sign. Does that make sense?

Yeah. So you also don't want people visiting your apartment or home. You are a service based business as well and that's what you found to work put some kind of signage.

During the walkthrough. The video walkthrough.

Yeah, I literally put it up the day that I did it and took it down when I was done.

Now I've had some that there's an option where you can live chat video with somebody at Google that I know. Sometimes though, the options don't all pop up for everybody. And I haven't figured out why. But in the future, do you have a website up for this?

Yeah, Rockstar, Singing Telegram.

Do you connect all of those, all your locations to the same website?

Uh, yeah.

Okay.

Cause I've learned in the past if we try, if I try to get something verified before the website's live, they make me jump through hoops. If the website's already live, sometimes that.

Speeds it straight through.

Yeah. Like I said, when I try to verify some cities.

They just want a phone number and I'll get a quick call, say, okay, great, put in the verification number. And then it did get denied.

At that point.

Really?

Yeah. And so their new algorithms are such they know that my business is not in this city. I don't know anyway, but Sandy, that's good advice. I'll try some signage, even if it's a little magnetic type of sign.

To my former. And try to get a room.

Yeah. That's how I have seen the best luck happen. And then making sure. I'm looking at your website right now, Jeff. And is there a place on here? Okay, I see the cities. Let me just look at Austin as an example.

Sure. You're welcome to share the screen if you'd like.

Okay, one second here.

Okay. I'm sharing my screen for the few people who just jumped on. This is Jeff Silverman. He owns Rockstar, our singing telegrams. If you are ever in need of a singing telegram service, I'm gonna tell you what. This guy is the guy to call and he is. How many locations, Jeff, are you doing this service?

Everywhere.

Okay.

There are some remote locations that we don't have. Performers, Hawaii, Alaska, Las Vegas, like we did for you.

Yeah.

And everywhere in between.

Nice. Yeah. So his question was.

Google business profile, formerly Google. My business was in order to get verified in there with your location, you have to jump through some hoops with Google. And he's having some challenges with certain locations. And in order to verify the business, Google will sometimes require you to do a video walkthrough to prove that it's actually a business in the location. And still that can get denied. I was sharing that one thing that we did because MSW Interactive Designs is also a home based business. But I ultimately ended up doing was taking a sign that I had gotten made for like a trade show booth it wasn't huge I don't know maybe 3ft by 2ft that has our logo on it and I literally temporarily attached it to the outside of my house near the street number and took a picture and did the video walk through showing the sign the house number and then into the office space Jeff what I was actually looking for on your website here was if you actually had any of those.

Addresses on your website but just like me I actually do have my address on my website and that could have move the needle a little bit I don't know and I know you don't want people visiting the homes of your performers but even temporarily or in a in a non super public location and by on mine if you go to our website it's by it says by appointment only but that could be a difference too I don't obviously I'm just guessing on because I didn't I don't know you know.