By: Michelle Uchtman-CoulterPublic Relations in Agriculture March 30, 2013 1

Introduction The purpose of this guide is to provide a simpleoverview of and how to use the social media platformYelp. This guide is directed towards individuals andbusinesses, so it will be divided into two distinctsections to serve these entities. This guide is part of agraded assignment for Missouri State UniversitysPublic Relations in Agriculture course. 2

Agenda Overview of Yelp Yelp for individuals Establishing a Yelp profile Connecting to Facebook and other social medias Yelp App for iPhones Searching for places Posting a review Yelp for businesses Yelp for businesses video overview Summary 3

Yelp Overview Yelp is a local business directory service with networking features that was founded in 2004 to help people find great local businesses like dentists, hair stylists, restaurants, bars and mechanics. Yelp had an average of approximately 86 million monthly unique visitors in Q4 2012 Yelpers have written over 36 million local reviews In addition to reviews, you can use Yelp to find events, lists and to talk with other Yelpers Every business owner (or manager) can setup a free account to post photos and message customers Yelp makes money by selling ads to local businesses Paying advertisers can never change or reorder their reviews Yelp has an automated filter that suppresses a small portion of reviews, targeting suspicious ones You can access Yelp via iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and more The Weekly Yelp brings locals updates on the latest and greatest business openings & other happenings 4http://www.yelp.com/about

Yelp for Individuals Yelp is a combination of local reviews and socialnetworking that creates a local online community forpotential and experienced patrons of localestablishments. Yelp also has a forum for collaborationand socialization about local businesses and events.Yelp provides individuals the opportunity to readreviews of local establishments posted by patrons withor without a profile. In order to post a review, anindividual must register with Yelpsomething easilyaccomplished with the internet and an email address asseen on the next slide. 5

Establishing a Profile 1) Go to https://www.yelp.com/signu p?return_url=%2Fmail 2) Fill in all required information and Sign Up! 6https://www.yelp.com/signup?return_url=%2Fmail

Connecting to Other Social Medias 1) Go to https://www.yelp.com/profile 3) Connect to your Facebook or 2) Click External Applications Twitter account to share reviews and ideas! 7

Yelp App for iPhones The Yelp app for iPhones allows users to: Search for businesses and browse reviews near you Narrow searches by neighborhood, distance, price and whats open now Add tips, photos, and draft reviews Check-in and share on social media Look up addresses and phone numbers 8https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/yelp/id284910350?l=en&mt=8

Searching for Businesses 9

Writing Reviews The chicken enchiladas were awesome!! Best Mexican restaurant in Springfield! 10

Yelp for Businesses Yelp provides local businesses the opportunity to advertisefor free or pay an advertising fee for an upgraded accounton one of the largest and most influential online review companies that exists today. Local businesses can add comments to local reviewer posts, allowing them to respond to negative reviews and appreciation for positive reviews. However, businesses cannot add to or delete reviews. Businesses can update their own listing information.http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/02/ratings-boost-restaurants 11

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Summary In summary, I covered a brief overview of Yelpfor individuals and businesses by providingadditional information for each entity. Forindividuals, I offered steps to establishing aYelp profile, how to connect to other socialmedias, searching for businesses and postingreviews. I also gave an overview of the YelpiPhone app. Lastly, I provided an informativevideo presentation on how businesses canutilize and benefit from Yelp.I hope you learned from and enjoyed thispresentation! 13