{"id":10189,"date":"2018-07-13T04:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T09:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/?p=10189"},"modified":"2018-07-13T04:00:03","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T09:00:03","slug":"changes-impacting-enterprise-brands-smbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/blog\/changes-impacting-enterprise-brands-smbs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Only Constant Is Change \u2013\u00a0These Digital Changes Will Impact Enterprise Brands & SMBs Alike"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you one of those digital marketers hoping \u201cthe more things change, the more they stay the same?\u201d I really hope not, because the reality is that the more things change, the more other things will change too!\u00a0<\/em>You can safely say this applies to pretty much everything.<\/p>\n

Today I want to focus on how changes made by Google, Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and many others are impacting brands and local businesses both online and offline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Only Constant Is Change \u2013\u00a0Digital Changes Impacting #Brands & SMBs by @BernieColeman<\/a><\/div>\n

Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s Start with Google<\/h2>\n

Awhile back I asked if there\u2019s a two-headed monster taking over the web<\/a>. Yes, in reference to Google and Facebook. These behemoths continually change things up, both claiming it\u2019s for the good of the consumer or user. But is that really the case?<\/p>\n

While Google is certainly adding some new features to their products, making it easier for local businesses to get more visibility in search, they\u2019re also making it harder for smaller businesses that are not as tech-savvy.<\/p>\n

Perhaps these SMBs have an old, outdated website that\u2019s slow to load or not mobile-responsive. Did you know Google just quietly rolled the speed update out to everyone? That\u2019s right \u2013\u00a0now in mobile search all\u00a0<\/em>website placement is determined based on speed.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s only impacting the slowest sites on the internet, how many websites is that? Google\u2019s original announcement said it will \u201conly affect a small percentage of queries.\u201d But soon we\u2019ll all be seeing just how many that really is. For the slow sites, website traffic will start dying on the vine.<\/p>\n

What About Apple<\/h2>\n

Personally, I\u2019m excited to see that Apple is taking local a lot more seriously! Will they start making it easier for brands to control their data<\/a>? Time will tell. And as you know by now \u2013\u00a0I love to help brands and businesses take control of their data. <\/em><\/p>\n

While we\u2019ve been submitting to Apple Maps for our agency, brand and SMB partners, with Apple rebuilding their map product, we\u2019re crossing our fingers, hoping there will be all sorts of new integrations, feature sets, and perks to help brands and local businesses get more exposure.<\/p>\n

Apple is always \u201cmum\u2019s the word\u201d about too many details, but this article in Tech Crunch<\/a> shares a few specifics. It seems Apple is extremely concerned about privacy and accuracy of data \u2013 apparently that\u2019s one reason they haven\u2019t made maps more of a priority in the past. And actually, much like Google, they now have Apple vans on the streets collecting data for the Apple Maps product. Hmmm.<\/p>\n

Seriously, Social Media Too<\/h2>\n

While I\u2019m not going to talk about all the social media platforms individually, social networks seem to be in a pattern of constant change as well. Have you been watching Facebook Page reach continue to decline? Well, you can thank Mark Zuckerberg. But can you blame Facebook for wanting to get more advertising dollars? We can\u2019t really blame them, but it sure makes us want to curse them! More and more brands and businesses (even with the biggest of pages) are having to put money towards their page to get reach.<\/p>\n

Video is taking center stage. Have you logged into LinkedIn lately? LinkedIn Video Creators are a thing now, with Goldie Chan being at the top of the heap. LinkedIn even recruited her to create the first-ever LinkedIn Video Marketing for Personal and Brand Pages training. (BTW\u2026 Goldie was a presenter at Rocks Digital 2018. You can access the live blog here<\/a>, if you missed her talk. Yes, everyone loved her!)<\/em><\/p>\n

IGTV \u2013 err, say what? Well, that\u2019s Instagram TV. Like Facebook Watch, users can now subscribe to a channel to follow their favorite creators\u2019 videos on IGTV<\/a>. Who is willing to admit that YouTube started all this years ago?<\/p>\n

Can These Changes Really Impact a Local Business or Brand?<\/h2>\n

Looking at these changes individually you may think, \u201cthis doesn\u2019t impact me or the businesses I represent.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>But you need to look at the whole picture \u2013\u00a0and analyze how each change triggers other events \u2013 or a lack of events in some cases.<\/p>\n