I have a confession to make: I haven’t recorded a new voicemail greeting since 2014. In the past four years, I (hopefully) have become more articulate, poised, and self-assured. But hear my voicemail recording, and you’d think I was still new to the work world, a little unsure of myself — and probably not an authority. Obviously I need toupdate it. And if you haven’t changed your voicemail greeting in over a year, you’re likely in the same boat. After all, a professional voicemail recording boosts your credibility, makes you seem more competent, and encourages whoever’s listening to it to continue the relationship. A relatively unprofessional one — like mine, for instance — does the opposite: It encourages prospects, recruiters, and potential connections to run in the other direction. With that in mind, I’ve written 18 unique voicemail greetings for every situation. Pick your favorite, practice a few times, then record your new voicemail.
It’s worth noting that BrightLocal did not include an option for messaging these businesses directly from the search results page. Google My Business rolled out a feature that lets text-enabled businesses prominently display this option within search results, and the survey would’ve been a lot more valuable if they included that. However, the feature is still relatively new, and it’s not very common to see text-enabled businesses taking advantage of this functionality yet. As it continues to normalize, texting will likely become the go-to way people reach out to businesses they find online.
