3 Ways Small Businesses Can Dominate with Google Maps

When small businesses talk about Google, it’s often in reference to search engine optimization or paid advertising. While Google has an impressive suite of products, it’s often easy to just think about it as a search engine rather than going down the rabbit hole of products and offerings.

But even if you’re using Google Drive to exchange documents or promoting your content through Google +, you might be missing out on one of Google’s very best offerings.

Google Maps.

That’s right. The guiding hand that makes sure you find a restaurant and plan your travel appropriately can also do massive things for your business.

The obvious use for small businesses usually pertains to Google Places. Making sure your storefront is findable is crucial. But having a brick and mortar store is not a requirement for leveraging the awesome power of Google Maps.

Let Google guide your business to bigger and better things using functionalities within Maps.

Create Content with Google Maps

So you don’t have a store that your customers can walk in and buy your product. No big deal. You can still provide value through the old (and perhaps overly simplified) strategy of Location, Location, Location.

Instead of luring them to you, send them to where they could use your product or service.

Create dynamic, share-worthy maps that will help inform your offering and add major value for your target customers.

For example, if you’re selling workout guides and videos, you could create a Google Map of “The Best Beaches to Workout At” as a summer content promotion. Couple that campaign with a beach-specific workout offering and you have a gold mine of value and fun.

Or take this Shark Tank water bottle prodigy for another example. (Found this yesterday and couldn’t help but fall a little in love with the product.) They may not have a physical Define Bottle store to put in Google Places, but they could rock the fruit water bottle world by making maps of the best fresh fruit stands and farmers markets in big cities. 

The point being, no matter what you’re selling, you can probably find a way to create amazing content using a custom Google Map as a free resource for your customers.

Network like a Pro

If you’re a small business owner, odds are you have attended an event or two in your time. And you know it can be a beast to find the right people to connect with. Too often you get bombarded with elevator pitches and business cards and leave a conference feeling a little empty.

Use Google Maps to own your event experience.

Create a map of where you’ll be during a conference and what you want to discuss – time, location and subject. Then send that map out to the people you really want to connect with.

Let’s say you’re attending ICON 2014 (*wink, wink*) this year and on top of attending sessions and workshops, you want to meet and brainstorm with other small business owners in your niche.

You can create a map pinpointing a nearby coffee shop and tell the right people you will be there at 8:00am on April 23^rd to discuss marketing wins and pitfalls for real estate agents. Using social media and the conference’s communication platforms, you can create mini networking sessions of your own that are easy for your networking targets to find.

Create Some Viral Local Buzz

Using Google Maps doesn’t have to be a complicated maze of creating interactive landscapes. It can be incredibly simple and still go a long way.

Announce to your followers through your social platforms and email newsletter that you will be sending out a Google Map of your location at a specific date and time and offer a giveaway of your choosing.

It can be copies of your new book or just a few minutes of your time where customers can ask questions relating to your expertise. The rewards can be two-fold for you and your business.

You will stir up some local attention amongst your customer and follower base and you will likely get some incredibly valuable face time with your target audience.

Google Maps is a big deal for businesses of all sizes. Make sure you’re leveraging it in a way that works for your small business. And be prepared for the future of Google Maps, because according to this infographic, you may not be able to function without it.

Source: Business-Management-Degree.net

This post 3 Ways Small Businesses Can Dominate with Google Maps was first published on the Big Ideas Blog.