Facebook is a wonderful social networking tool that started out as a platform to keep people connected and has developed into a place to share important news stories and hilarious memes with your friends and family.
Yet, it’s also possible to use Facebook for business since you can use it to stay in touch with current clients and connect with new potential customers through it.
Why is Facebook one of the best places to collect reviews for your company?
While it may provide exciting opportunities for business growth, it’s also true that by integrating Facebook into your business model, you open yourself up for criticism just as much as praise.
Facebook Recommendations and reviews can be both a blessing and a curse for your company since not everyone out there will have only good things to say about you or the services you offer.
However, this can be seen as a chance to engage with your audience and address the community’s most common gripes with your business.
As you’re probably well aware, Facebook is like the neighborhood watch of the internet. It’s the equivalent of a thriving local community, yet the difference is, being digital, the word can spread beyond the community with ease.
What this means for business-owners is that the reviews customers leave on your page can potentially make or break your business, or at least impact how potential customers see you.
Why are Facebook Reviews and Recommendations Important?
Put simply: yes, reviews and recommendations can be hugely important for your business.
Why?
Well, because they can have a significant impact on a customer’s decision-making process. Just as a good review can influence them to make the purchase, a bad review can make them think twice before parting with their money.
There are three main ways in which Facebook can affect and ultimately influence a customer’s decision: awareness, consideration, and post-purchase.
Studies carried out by Social Media Link, which led to the creation of the Social Recommendations Index, point to these three factors as important factors in customers’ decision-making.
Awareness
Awareness refers to how a customer first learns about a new product, service, or business.
Since many people have an account on the social media platform and use it regularly, it is a popular way to find out about something new.
In fact, 55% of consumers, according to the Social Recommendations Index, find that Facebook is one of the top places to learn this information.
Consideration
Consideration concerns the level of trust consumers have in Facebook to deliver accurate information about products and services.
71% of those surveyed claimed that they trust content they find on Facebook, which is a larger number than those who believe other online communities.
Post-Purchase
According to the survey, around 66% of consumers take to Facebook to share their thoughts on a recent purchase.
Around 33% will go on to reach out to the business or brand afterward, which is why the reviews and recommendations features are so popular.
What are the benefits of Facebook Reviews?
As you now know, Facebook reviews can be hugely influential on public opinion surrounding your business, but what are the concrete benefits they can provide?
- Building trust
The more reviews you collect, the more trust you can build with your customer base.
Trust or loyalty in your company is a huge asset if you want to convince customers who are on the fence to go with you over the competition.
- Boosting local SEO
If you hadn’t already heard, SEO is a big deal for businesses.
If your business doesn’t appear prominently in Google searches in your local area, then Facebook reviews can be a huge help.
- Organic Exposure
Facebook reviews can make the word spread about your business like wildfire.
Before you know it, you could have hundreds of customers flocking to your business page after a slew of positive reviews.
How can you get more Positive Reviews on Facebook?
To get more positive reviews on Facebook, the best thing you can do as a business is instill trust in the consumer by consistently responding to criticism.
If you take the time to respond to every negative comment made about your business and thank as many positive comments as possible, it’ll go a long way to securing the trust of the customers.
On a practical level, set up an automatic review request system so that whenever a customer makes a purchase with you they receive an invitation to leave a review. This simple step is proven to convert interest in your business into a positive review.
How to Report Reviews or Recommendations on Facebook?
- First, go to the review or recommendation and click on the three dots that appear at the top right corner of the post.
- Next, click on the ‘report post’ button.
- Finally, give the reasons for why you believe Facebook should take it down.
To save yourself the headache of managing your business page and monitoring reviews and recommendations, you can always choose to turn them off too.
How to Turn Off Reviews and Recommendations on Facebook
Turning off the reviews and recommendations is a great option for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with them at all.
You’ll find the option to turn them off in the Page Settings menu. Once in the menu, you’ll need to click ‘templates and tabs’, locate ‘reviews’ or ‘recommendations’ and then turn them off.
It’s essential to bear in mind the significance of removing reviews and recommendations, so think carefully before taking this action.
You did everything, but still negative Reviews are mounting, what should you do?
First of all, don’t panic.
Negative reviews don’t have to spell bad news for your company, and you can use them as an opportunity for growth providing you take the appropriate steps such as the following:
Give an Apology to the Customer
While it might not seem entirely sincere, due to Facebook’s anonymity, an apology can still go a long way to repairing customer relations.
Whatever the issue is, you should try to lead with an apology, acknowledging the problem addressed by the customer.
Even if you don’t think they are in the right, it’s a good practice as it can defuse a potentially volatile situation.
Issue a Statement
If you find that many customers are talking about the same problem, you can address them all simultaneously by issuing a statement.
This is a great way of putting everyone’s mind at ease without responding individually to all of the comments.
How to Delete Facebook Reviews
While it’s not possible to straight up delete reviews or recommendations on Facebook, there are some indirect ways you can have them removed.
The first step is to reach out to Facebook and request that the review or recommendation in question is removed from your business page.
This is only a viable option if the reviews or recommendations don’t adhere to the Community Standards outlined by Facebook or they aren’t relevant to the services you offer. It also applies to content that is intended as spam.
Once you’ve filed a report, the ball is in Facebook’s court. It will be reviewed, and there’s a chance that the review or recommendation in question will be removed, depending on whether or not they go against the company’s community standards.
How to Disable Reviews on Facebook?
If you want to disable reviews on Facebook, simply follow these steps:
- Click on the ‘settings’ button on your Facebook business page
- Click ‘edit page’
- Find ‘Reviews’, then click on the settings option
- Select ‘turn reviews off’ and then ‘save’
How to Manage Facebook Reviews and Recommendations
Ok, so removing the reviews and recommendations is out of the question for you; what else can you do?
These are some of the best ways of responding to reviews:
Provide a Solution to the Problem
If the problem is specific, then you should try to provide a satisfactory solution for the customer.
This is true even if they left a 5-star review since you want to ensure customers have nothing to complain about.
It can be a good idea to sift through customer feedback to get a clear picture of what you can address.
Stay True to Your Branding
In order for your reputation to remain intact, you should always try to speak to customers in the voice of your brand.
In most cases, this should be professional, but if your brand is known for its casual and easygoing branding, perhaps that can be a better voice to adopt.
Respond Quickly
The longer you take to respond to reviews, the more agitated the customers are likely to get.
If you can respond promptly and without delay, your customers will greatly appreciate it.
Show that you appreciate them too, by thanking them for their solution or for bringing your attention to the issue.
The best way you can respond and handle all your reviews – not just the ones from Facebook – is by utilizing Trustindex’s many review managing features, such as getting notifications as soon as new feedback is posted on your platforms, or responding to them from the dashboard, and many more.