How to give and receive social reviews
Sharing the love & goodwill between local businesses is a great way to help grow each other’s companies, build solidarity and spread overall good vibes in the local community.
Whilst a good old-fashioned ‘thank you’ never goes astray, leaving a review or positive comment on a business’ social media can make a genuine difference to a business in today’s internet-driven market.
With almost 85% of all major purchases being reviewed prior to the actual purchase being made, it’s more important than ever to have regular reviews flowing in.
Lots of positive reviews on a business’ socials will…
- show they can be trusted
- help in their search rankings
- improve their engagement
- improve their sales & enquiry conversions
But how do you get these little nuggets of business gold onto your own pages?
Naturally, you need to do a good job and give a great customer experience – but that goes without saying. This alone isn’t enough, sure you might get a few trickle in from time to time but when it comes down to it, you have to ask!|
There are lots of ways to get your customers to review you and your products:
- email them after the sale with direct links to your favourite review sites
- create a post about them on Instagram or Facebook and make sure to tag them in it
- use postcards or stickers in your packaging with a request to review
- use video! This is a great way to stand out – at Brand Hero, we use Bonjoro to get reviews on our socials with great success. It’s easy to use and has direct links to review sites built in.
Make sure you engage
If someone leaves a review (positive or negative), make sure to acknowledge it and comment back. A simple “thank you, see you soon!” is enough. Should someone leave a bad review, make sure you use this opportunity as a PR exercise. Respond respectfully and take the discussion offline – there is nothing worse than a public slinging match between two parties!
It’s not all about receiving…
Whilst receiving positive reviews feels good and is good for business, like all things in life, it’s about give and take. Return the favour and give a few out yourself! This can apply to customers or suppliers.
Why do this?
- it makes you feel better that you recognised & contributed to someone’s business success
- it makes them feel valued and acknowledged for their efforts
- it helps their business gain more followers through displaying trust
- it helps their Google ranking (especially with Google reviews)
- increases the likelihood that they will do business with you again
This February at Brand Hero, we have turned our attention to sending shout outs & reviews to some of our best customers – plumbers. These guys are always obliging, easy to deal with and are grateful for the work we do for them. We’ll be doing this throughout the month of February on our Instagram & Facebook so please check it out.