Syed Balkhi November 17, 2021 When you want to buy a product online, what’s the first thing you do? If you’re like most people, you look for reviews. Studies show that, on average, 72% of shoppers refuse to take action on a website until they read feedback from real customers.
Before the age of the internet, it was difficult for shoppers to determine if a product or service was worth their time. Word-of-mouth was basically the only way folks could hear what kind of experiences other people were having with a company.
Now, consumers from around the globe can share their thoughts with a few clicks on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This dynamic has changed the way businesses and consumers interact with one another. Business leaders and marketers know that reviews are necessary for building social proof and securing sales. Meanwhile, shoppers expect companies to have online reviews so they can make an informed purchase.
If you want to increase your followers, build trust with new visitors, and keep your audience engaged, creatively gathering and sharing reviews from your customers can help you reach your goals. Today, I want to share several tactics you can use to get more positive customer reviews on social media.
Let’s dive in!
Find Fun Ways to Ask
The easiest way to get more reviews on social media is to ask. Consumers are more than happy to voice their opinion on a product or service, especially if they feel strongly one way or another.
You could do something simple like share a poll that asks followers to rate specific products or aspects of your business. We’ve had tremendous success posting short weekly polls across our various social media accounts.
There are other fun and creative ways to ask your audience for feedback. Giveaways are a powerful way to engage with your audience and get more share-worthy reviews. On average, giveaways have a conversion rate of 34%, which means there’s a good chance your followers will participate in this type of event.
The key to getting customers to leave positive feedback is to tie it to your entry methods. For instance, you could create a contest rule that asks users to share your original giveaway post and say what they like most about your brand.
You can also create a community post that asks followers to share photos or videos of themselves enjoying your product or service with a memorable brand hashtag. This type of user-generated content (UGC) is known for driving conversions and building trust with new visitors.
Share Feedback from Other Users
Speaking of UGC, let’s talk about how and why sharing this type of content can actually get you more positive reviews. UGC is comparable to the domino effect. Once you discover and share one piece of positive feedback from your audience, more are likely to follow.
The good news is there are plenty of ways to find out what people are saying about your business. You could stick around and look for mentions on the most popular social platforms. I suggest checking things like your brand name and any relevant hashtags created and shared by your target audience.
Another way to find positive reviews is to check the feedback forms on your site. There’s a good chance someone completed a survey, left a product review, or otherwise said something positive about your company that other people should see.
Once you find social mentions or reviews that you want to share, engage with the comment by sharing their feedback on your social media page. There’s an excellent chance some of your followers haven’t committed to actually buying something from your online store. If these people see that you have customers that genuinely value your product, service, or brand, they are more likely to take action the next time they browse your site.
Follow-Up with Your Email Subscribers
Did you know that it’s possible to get more reviews on social media by reaching out to your customers through email? Think about it. When someone buys a product from your website, they typically sign up for your email list at the same time.
It’s safe to assume that not all of your email subscribers follow you on social media. As your list grows and you build rapport with your customers, you can reach out to these people and convince them to visit your social page and leave a review.
I suggest segmenting your audience based on their interests, so you can create targeted email marketing campaigns. Research shows that 80% of people want to engage with businesses that focus on building a personalized experience.
Customers expect businesses to use their name, reference the product they purchased, or allude to the content they’ve enjoyed in the past. If you can merge these personalization elements with a call-to-action that encourages subscribers to share their experience, you’re bound to see more traffic and engagement on your various social media profiles.
Respond to Positive AND Negative Review
Finally, if you want more customers to leave reviews on your social media, you should respond to those who’ve already left their feedback. Here are a few statistics so you can see why this step is crucial to your success:
- 53% of shoppers expect businesses to respond to their reviews in under one hour.
- Customers find companies that respond to reviews nearly twice as trustworthy.
- 63% of customers say businesses never respond to their reviews.
- Not responding to reviews can cause your churn rate to increase by 15%!
As you can see, quickly and politely responding to reviews can have a massive impact on engagement and customer satisfaction.
I want to also mention the importance of responding to negative reviews. It’s pretty easy to answer someone when they have nothing but nice things to say about your product or service. On the other hand, it’s challenging to form a response when someone is critical of you or your business.
I recommend going out of your way to respond to negative reviews and do everything in your power to make things right. Sometimes, there’s a simple misunderstanding that you can fix if you act fast.
Not only do you build rapport with your existing customers by responding to reviews, but you also encourage other people to share their experiences. If you need more convincing, consider this; would you be more likely to leave a review on a social media page if you knew they habitually show that they care what their customers think?
Back to You
There you have it! Social media is a powerful marketing tool that you can use to build brand recognition, skyrocket engagement, and boost sales. If you want to make the most of this strategy, gathering feedback is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Once you gather enough reviews, you can share them across all of your social networks and on your website. Before long, you can use this data to adjust your marketing strategy for even more growth.
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