It’s hard to believe that holidays are just here around the corner and the season of joys and festivities is about to unwrap more happiness and gaiety.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah are already cherishing our hearts and giving us a time to rejoice, celebrate, and appreciate all the blessings we have.
This also means that 2020 is finally about to over-the-year of disaster and disruption for all of us that has changed the world drastically in just a matter of months.
That’s why I think this year is different! In fact, far scarier for small businesses due to the corona outbreak as 83% of businesses were not prepared to fight against this pandemic-impacted situation. So, as a result, they suffered financially and experienced a great reduction in sales & profit.
The most terrific thing is, two-thirds of businesses reported that they won’t be able to survive if the lockdown lasts for more than 3 months.
So, I don’t think this festive season is going to be normal this year as the Covid19 has already flared up again and may force the world back into lockdown in upcoming months!
Anyways, under all this pressure, I think we need some kind of celebration, yes certainly we need it so bad!
Especially if you are a business owner and trying to get potential leads in the holiday season, then nothing could be a better way to do it through Google my Business.
Yes, Google Map Marketing has already introduced new features that could brilliantly fuel this season to bring immense success and may end this year remarkably for your business!
Create an offer post for the holidays
If you want to feature any special holiday promotion for your customers, here you have a chance to create offer posts using Google my Business feature.
Doesn’t it look like the best way to promote your sales and business?
Not only this, but every business can use it extensively to draw maximum attention to their holiday giveaways or any free services they provide.
Oh, and one thing more. If you are planning to support a canned food drive for needy and poor ones, or even supporting charities this holiday, then it definitely looks like an exceptional way to create more noise about your services.
Don’t worry, offer posts are easy to create.
You can visit the Dashboard area, choose the option of ‘Posts’ on the left side, and then select ‘Add Offer’.
Have fun. That’s it!
Add photos of holiday decorations to Google my Business
Are you decorating your office for Christmas?
Or hosting a small holiday party at home for your employees? If so, you can help people visualize the experience better by posting photos on your Google my Business profile.
Especially if you have decorated the place with snowflakes, handy candy canes, enhanced the office lobby with playful objects, and decorated desks and doors with Christmas wreath, then you can showcase the photos of these special moments and let people know how you celebrate holidays.
It increases immediate trust and increases the customer’s engagement level. Because when you add photos, you simply give the audience a virtual tour of your company so that more & more people show interest in learning about your services.
So, if you are ready to add some colorful photos, switch back to the Dashboard, click to add photos on the left side, click the plus sign and start uploading whatever you want!
Post chain restrictions are removed from Google my Business!
You might have known about the feature ‘posts with Google’ that allows all the businesses and large organizations using GMB listings and update their knowledge panels by adding special news, information about occasional events, changes in operations, offers & discounts, or update people about the new location of the business.
Now technically, Google has never allowed big chains (businesses having multiple locations) to create Google posts automatically due to the downside of having different destinations for the same business.
However, when the Covid19 pandemic took hold, GMB lifted such a hard restriction and made it easier for companies that are serving to more than 10 places so they can easily respond to people about the critical situation and ongoing status of their business.
So here I recommend you to take full advantage of this amazing feature to fuel your holiday sales.
Create all the posts wisely to promote your holiday sales, create special offers, and show promotions while informing people about how carefully you are following all the protocols to permit these activities safely.
Sometimes I think Google might reinstate all the chain restrictions soon, so use the feature intelligently & reasonably until it lasts.
‘We are temporarily closed’
As long as coronavirus remains a part of our lives, every small and medium business may experience that disturbing roller coaster of temporary closures, set-backs, and re-openings.
That’s why I believe, monitoring your Google my business features closely can give some relief to your business.
Especially that, ‘Temporarily Closed feature’ has already made it possible for all the SMBs to show some distinction between their temporary and permanent closures, particularly in this COVID-19 scenario.
All the businesses were looking for some way to mark temporary closures so they can guide people well and direct them towards their online service.
So, when the pandemic hit the world, Google responded to the user’s concerns by introducing that feature which may impact their business operations but also giving them the best way to earn online success.
The best part I like about the feature is, it won’t even harm the local ranking and we can make a comeback any time.
Add special hours for your business
You might already know about this special feature, but if you haven’t, let me tell you in detail!
Google My Business introduced a feature that allows you to add your special hours so you can show people when you will be back in the business and what are your closing hours.
For example, if you have a grocery store, you can update the hours of operation so you can accommodate people easily.
Now I like most about this feature is, business with special hour needs were not allowed to publish-secondary hours previously due to Google my Business restrictions. But with COVID-19 took hold and constantly rising business requirements, Google stepped up.
You can easily add this feature to your profile now, and tell people what you are up to, and when you will be able to serve them even in the holiday season.
The good news is, that feature is not going away even after the pandemic is over.
Share standard posts and Covid19 update posts side by side!
The Covid19 post type helps every business to post some new information about the virus and then make that content prominently appear on Google my business profile.
When that content is posted successfully, it will be labeled as COVID-19 post information that is affecting your business predominantly.
The fact is, these posts will always show up at the top and much prominently as compared to other posts. For example, you have shared something about Covid19 on Monday and then you have created another standard post on Tuesday that defined all your services.
Now your Covid19 post will appear above your other promotional post but never undermine the importance of the standard post.
Because obviously, that covid19 post will remain active long as the virus is part of our lives.
You can use that feature to your advantage. On one side, you can associate your services or business with COVID-19 and on the other side, you can create a holiday deals post that reflects Covid19 and your services together.
But make sure you are deleting these posts in time when the purpose is served.
Shopping options on GMB
If you belong to the shopping and retail industry, then this feature is definitely going to amaze you.
Many stores and shopping retailers operate differently than normal hours in the Covid19 scenario so it becomes essential to manage their delivery options.
While using this feature for holidays, you can easily indicate to your trusted audience that whether you are available for carryout, curbside pick-ups, or offering deliveries.
Final thoughts
See, it’s not that hard! I know it boggles your mind when you think that you are surviving the most tumultuous year in history, but if you are a business owner, you must need to capitalize more and invest in every tool that offers some kind of benefit.
The most cherishing part is, your customers are already paying attention to Google Map Marketing. According to recent research, Google my Business clicks have actually rebounded than previously which proves that your profile is getting more clicks and views than last holiday season.
People want to connect with you, buy from you, and are interested to learn more about you- and that’s what your Google my Business profile exactly supports!
So, make sure you are enjoying your holidays to the fullest while utilizing all the new features of GMB for your business. Happy holidays! 
