Reviews mean more than you think especially in a world of algorithms. The more positive reviews you have the higher your business will rank on platforms like Facebook and Google. The problem isn’t that the reviews coming through for you are negative, it’s just that no one takes the time to leave a review. Their are always paid options, you can purchase a reputation management system like ReviewTrackers, Podium or Yotpo to help you gain and manage your reviews, but let’s be real, these things can get expensive. Good news is there are many a free(ish) tips that you can implement to help boost your review situation.
For starters, it can be overwhelming to try and get reviews on multiple platforms at once. Get on Google Analytics and see which platform is sending you the most traffic then prioritize getting reviews on that platform first.
Getting Reviews on Facebook:
It is pertinent to respond to all reviews on Facebook. Most people don’t know this but by responding to all the reviews it actually increase your chances of getting more reviews by a lot. Even if you are just liking a 5-star review, you don’t always have to comment back. If negative reviews come in, a response is alway best. Bottom line you need to be interacting with ALL of the reviews that come through.
If your website powered through Word Press? There is an easy to implement Facebook Reviews Plugin for WP. There is no reason not to have this on your site if your goal is to gain reviews. Making things as easy for the consumer as possible is key. If they see a quick place to leave a review they are more likely to do so than going out of their way to login to Facebook and leave a comment.
A newer solution is a Facebook Messenger Bot Campaign. Ask for reviews directly through messenger. It’s been proven that asking for reviews one-on-one works.
Getting Reviews on Google:
Google takes three main things into account when deciding where it wants to rank you: reviews, star rating, and recency. Meaning you want to have more reviews, a high star rating, and recent reviews.
When it comes to Google, first make sure that your business is verified. You can verify your business here.
Always have your Google page as part of your email signature!
Go through and label the most positive reviews as helpful.
General Tactics:
Train your employees to ask customers for reviews. Whether your business is in retail, restaurants, cars, or whatever, employees and sales people can easily ask for customers to leave a review. This also gives employers an opportunity to incentive employees to ask. Train them to say something like “Thank you so much for your purchase, I hope that you are satisfied. Please take a second to leave a review and if I helped you today please include my name in your review.” You will then get reviews like “(insert company) was so great and (so-and-so) was extremely helpful!”.
Send an email request. There is no shame in asking for reviews so don’t be afraid to send out an email campaign with the sole message being “let us know what you think – leave a review”.
Include a CTA on your website.
Print review requests on all receipts.
Send follow ups. After a person has purchased from you, get in touch. Whether that be by phone, email or text message, it is easy to follow up to ensure the customer is still happy and thank them for their purchase and ask them to leave a review.
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