A not-so-secret weapon that can really help your small business is the power of positive reviews. Potential customers can be quickly steered away from giving your business a try if you don’t have many reviews, or if most of your reviews are negative. While the quality of your product or service will play a large role in what kinds of reviews you get, there are also some things you can do to encourage happy customers to leave reviews. Here are 5 ways you can optimize your brand’s presence to bring in reviews.
1. Set up profiles everywhere you can
There are a number of different sites people can leave reviews on. A few of the biggest ones are Facebook, Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and retailers that sell your product, such as Amazon or Target (depending on the specific nature of your product or service).
One of the simplest ways to increase the number of reviews your business is getting is to increase the number of places people can leave reviews. You’ll want to make sure you have a profile set up for your business on every relevant website where consumers could be leaving you reviews. That way, no matter what source potential customers are going to for their information, your brand will have a presence. Furthermore, the more sites you have a presence on, the more opportunities you have for your brand to rank highly in search engines.
Each site has a slightly different process for establishing a presence, so be mindful as you are going through the process of establishing your presence. For instance, if your business has multiple locations, you will want to create separate Yelp pages for each location, but will probably just want to create one Facebook page for all your locations together.
2. Monitor all your profiles
Once you have established your online presence and cast as wide of a net as possible, your work is far from over. To encourage people to keep leaving reviews, you will also want to engage with the reviews people have already left. When consumers see that your business takes the time to thoughtfully respond to reviews and comments, it makes them feel like their voice is being heard and their opinion is being valued. Make sure you respond quickly and appropriately to as many of the online reviews you receive as possible.
3. Make use of social media
Social media is a great tool to use in tandem with the various review sites your business has a presence on. First off, some social media platforms like Facebook allow customers to leave reviews directly. Your Facebook reviews can be just as impactful as Google or Yelp reviews. But additionally, you can also utilize all your social media platforms to encourage people to leave more reviews in general. You can post on your channels asking people to leave a review about their latest purchase, and direct them to Yelp or the review site of your choice. When a happy customer comments on your photos, you can engage with them and ask them directly to leave a review if they are so inclined. Harness the power of your social media sites to encourage reviews
4. Utilize email marketing
Your email marketing list probably contains some of your most loyal customers. This list can be a great source for reviews! Be sure to include links in each email you send that subscribers can click to quickly and easily leave a review. Many times, people are just not motivated enough to go through much effort to leave a review, unless they had a truly extraordinary experience. By providing direct links and making the process easier for your fans, you will help increase the number of reviews you’re getting
5. Encourage reviews during in-person interactions
Finally, in addition to the many great digital channels and methods described above, you can also go old-school to solicit feedback from your customers. In-person interactions are a perfect opportunity to let people know how valuable reviews can be to your small business. You can create marketing materials that encourage people to leave a review, maybe even with a QR code that will take them directly to Yelp or Google.
By taking the five steps above, you will be well on your way to increasing reviews for your small business. If you want even more ideas and expert tips to increase reviews, or for your digital marketing strategy in general, contact us today for a free consultation!
