Why do you need a social media manager for your business? Let us share the challenges of setting up a Google Business Profile recently for a law firm.
GBP Video Verification
Google required their new video verification method, so we coordinated a time to film with our client, planned out exactly what to record (to fulfill all of Google’s requirements), and captured and uploaded the video. Keep in mind this video has to be recorded in one live, continuous take through GBP.
The video was uploaded successfully, but we never received any email confirmation. That was already a red flag that this new verification method might not work. Google said it could take a couple of weeks to approve, however, so we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
We checked the Business Profile regularly to see if anything had changed with no luck. After a week with no acknowledgement or follow up from Google, we logged back in and tried to verify the profile again.
Verification by Mail
This time–without any explanation of what had happened to the video we submitted–we were asked to do mail verification. Google is supposed to send you a letter with a code that you enter to verify your business address is real and correct. Again, Google advises that it could take a couple of weeks to arrive.
In reality, of course, we know that these letters sometimes never arrive. Sure enough, the first letter never arrived, and after a couple of weeks we requested a second one.
Our client was extraordinarily patient as this process dragged into a third month. We’ve had this experience with other clients before, so we knew it would work eventually, so when the second letter arrived we were hoping to close out this latest verification process.
Submitting Additional Documentation
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. Google emailed to request two additional business documents to verify that the business was real and the address correct. We told the client the situation and he got back to us over a week later with two documents that we submitted immediately upon receipt.
This time, Google’s support team responded within minutes, asking for another document that included the business address. The client had not followed the requirements we sent, and had sent us a Texas Certification of Filing which while a valid legal business document did not actually contain the business address. We asked the client for an additional piece of documentation that included the business address and it took several days for him to get back to us with a document that met the requirements.
Finally we received the documentation we had been waiting for, submitted it and Google’s support team acknowledged our submission and finally made the Google Business Profile live and publicly visible.
Why You Need a Social Media Manager for Your Business
This process started at the end of February and ended at the end of May. Four months of frustration just to get one small part of this lawyer’s digital marketing up and running fully.
If you’re ever wondering why you would need to pay an agency or an in-house social media manager, this is why. As a business owner, you have many other things to focus on. We focus on this plus content creation, curation, strategy and customer service across multiple platforms to make sure your customers can find you and connect with you online.
If that sounds like a lot of work, it is. If you’re wondering how you could possibly handle all of that yourself, we get it, and we’re here to help. Contact us today.
