When I first started of putting reviews for locations I visited, I didn’t think much of it. I was simply sharing my thoughts on the places I visited as a reminder to myself of places I really enjoyed visiting in the past. At first the Local Guide program meant I could access perks for writing reviews. It wasn’t until I looked back at my first ever review 4 years ago I stumbled across the number of views the photo had.
I was surprised that the photo had received that many views (considering the photo orientation was incorrect), as I didn’t think a small cafe amongst a hundred cafe’s in London would garner many people to look at it. This made me intrigued on the impact of Google Review’s, and I decided to then do some further reading into how Google Review’s can impact businesses. After sifting through many articles I read Podium’s great article called 5 Advantages of Google Reviews Backed by Data Science . To bore you of the details, it made me realise how 1 or 2 reviews can instantly boost a small business to higher positions in search results for that area to attract more people to their pages to find out more about them beyond the results page. Additionally, adding a photo can have a greater impact, as generally people like to have something visual to backup what’s said in a review as an indictor for legitimacy. To sum up my research: one review > boost search page position > potentially more customers > more reviewers > increase business reputation.
Now I don’t usually eat out, so I don’t write that many reviews for restaurants and cafe’s. However, I’m a museum nerd, so I regularly frequent museum’s across the UK. I usually post photo’s on my social media pages of places I have visited with a short description of what was on and my experience, which usually has a positive impact as I get people asking more about the location. This got me thinking, why don’t I start reviewing these places on Google Maps, seeing I’m sort of doing it already.
A lot of museums in the UK luckily receive funding, which means visitors can go for free, however the money museums they receive is a very small amount. To help fund for new exhibits to attract visitors they rely on donations and events. This is what encouraged me to write reviews for all the different museums I visit, whether big or small. By writing reviews I can help boost more visitors to go to museums, by giving searchers a look into what to expect by posting pictures of awesome displays I see at museums. The Local Guide Program to me meant I could get my reviews reaching a wider audience. As I keep posting reviews it builds up my Local Guide level, which in turn increases credibility for my reviews and hopefully encourages more visitors to go to these museums.
The ultimate thing the program meant to me is I could help my local community and meet new people as I discover hidden gems that are on my doorstep.
