Everything you Need to Know About Google Posts | Vicinus.ai

  Google Posts have been available on Google My Business since 2016 for local businesses. Although they were originally called ‘Business Cards’, they are now fully integrated into the business listings. They offer a wide variety of forms, perfectly adaptable to your individual business category.   Even though Google posts have been around for quite a few years now, many businesses still aren’t taking advantage of everything they have to offer. In this article, we will break down the types of Google posts available as well as detailing their benefits for local businesses.

What Types of Google Posts are Available?

There are a few different types of Google posts available. 

Google Posts: What’s New

This is great for sharing general business updates. These can be things like company updates as well as new additions to your team, any blog posts which might be useful or even to showcase new reviews/testimonials too. In a what’s new post, you have a limit of 1500 characters and you can choose to represent your post with an image, GIF, or even a 30-second video.  Adding a CTA (call to action) button is also an option in a what’s new Google post. These links can be for bookings, ordering online, buying, learning more, signing up for a service or something else, or even just a call now button. What’s new posts are active for 7 days (although product posts always stay on the Business Profile until you remove them). 

Google Posts: Events

Using the Events post on your Google My Business listing is a great way to promote any company events. These events can be in-store, online, or even promoting a local charity’s event.  Just like thew What’s new post, an image, GIF, or 30-second video can be used to represent your event. In the events post, you can add 10 images, videos, or GIFs.  Adding an event title is a great way to hook in your potential customers too. However, there is a character limit of 58 characters so the title will have to be short and punchy.  There is also an area in the events Google Post to select the start and end dates for your event. There is no limit to the end date of your event, so this can technically span a few months. You can also add event times too and can even edit to the minute if that’s what you want to do! Remember that event posts always take priority over featured posts which means that they sit above any of the previous posts.  Again, just like other Google posts, there is an area for CTA’s such as add a button, book, order online, buy, learn more, sign up and call now. There is also a section for a thumbnail preview where visual information can be displayed in the Knowledge Panel and results too. One of the best things about Events is that searchers can come across your events posts on desktop, mobile, and the Google Maps app.

Google Posts: Offers

Offers are an effective way to promote sales, coupons, discounts, specials, and more for your business. With your Google My Business listing, there is even an option to create an exclusive offer for your business. Much like the points above, offers also have the option to include images and videos to create a more compelling offer post to your customers. These can be images, GIFs, or a 30-second video. The Offer title is a requirement (unlike the title for events) and has a maximum of 58 characters (including spaces). You also have the option to create bold text which will really make your offer pop on Google and bring in more potential customers too.  Remember that some of the titles of your offer will be cut off in the post preview section in your branded Knowledge Panel. A standard 1,500 characters can be added to your offers section. This helps you to post a description and any important details. Much like events posts you can also enter the dates that the offer is valid for. There is also an optional option for coupon codes too. If you add a special coupon code to your offer post, you can track conversions that you are getting from your GMB listing. This also works to enhance the offer post and can attract more potential customers too. Additionally, another optional section on your offers post is the link to redeem an offer. You can add a URL to the landing page which can provide searchers with some offer details. Add a terms and conditions section to offers posts. This can link back to your website or even the contact us section. It is a small section that won’t clutter your post. However, it will help your business to lay out all the terms your customers have to adhere to when using your offers.

Google Post: Welcome Offers

Welcome offers are a great way to convert followers into customers. This is because welcome offers are only visible to those who follow your business in Google Maps. Your welcome offer can be an exclusive offer, coupon, or even a freebie.  Again, images, GIFs, and videos can be used for welcome offers as well as 58 characters for the title with spaces, and the title will be bold. A coupon code can be added to your listing too. This helps to track engagement and as a way of seeing which customers are taking you up on your Welcome Offer. However, there is a 2-week expiry/time frame for new users. This means that when someone starts following your business they have 2 weeks to use it. Terms and conditions should be used for your welcome offers (just like normal offers). You can also add a URL to the landing page. This will provide your customers with more information about the offer. It will also cover you in the event of any misunderstanding too. With a no-option CTA button, an automatic “Save (download)” button is added.

Google Posts: Product Post

Under the products feature, you can add product posts with one image. These products encourage you to highlight specific merchandise or services that your business sells. Each type of product post is added to your products section. You can add a CTA button using the primary phone number featured on your Google My Business listing. Again, you are able to add an image, GIF or video to the product post. Additionally, you have 58 characters with spaces for your product name. Product posts will show up on the desktop, mobile, and in the Google Maps app too. For more information about Google Posts, please contact us below!