This week, leave a positive online review for five of your favorite local businesses

By Jim Marshall, President of Bluefoot Digital Marketing

One of the best ways to be supportive of local businesses is to recommend them to others, including friends, neighbors and family members—but also to total strangers. It’s a bit of an honor when a stranger asks if we can recommend an Italian restaurant or an automotive repair shop. There is a suggestion of trust as we go through our mental Rolodex and give a heartfelt reply, which seems more genuine when accompanied by some detail, such as “Try the lasagna” or “Be sure to ask for Fred.”

Of course these days it’s less common for others to ask our opinion. Instead, we simply refer to Google then skim through the reviews of each listing in the search results. But this doesn’t mean your personal opinion doesn’t matter. In fact, it matters more today than ever because your online review can be read by thousands of people instead of just the one person who asked you.

Sadly, it’s human nature to be more driven to complain when we experience poor service than to share accolades when we experience good service. That’s why it’s so important to leave positive reviews for your favorite local businesses.

So why not take the Mimi Online Review Challenge and leave a positive review for five of your favorite local businesses this week? You can do it on any platform—from Facebook to Yelp to Tripadvisor—but by far the most important place is each business’ Google Business Profile. These reviews are seen by many more potential customers.

If you’re unsure how to leave a review, simply google it or you might want to ask the business owner by saying, “Hey, I’d like to leave you a positive review, do you have a Google Business Profile?”

At Mimi, we are so committed to helping local business owners manage and grow their online reviews that we have developed systems for doing just that, including Local Search and Review Monitoring along with Review Generation, which encourages genuine and authentic positive reviews.

Your opinion matters and so do those of your friends and neighbors. So take the Mimi Online Review Challenge and leave a review for five of your favorite local businesses this week and encourage other to do so, too. You can be sure the national chains are doing everything they can to grow their positive reviews, and we can all help locally owned businesses do the same thing by supporting them together.

If you’re a local business owner, schedule a free analysis of your current online reputation by calling 330-220-8610 or emailing Mimi@MimiVanderhaven.com.