Having negative reviews on your Facebook business page can be damaging to your brand reputation and make potential customers think twice before doing business with you. While you can’t delete reviews directly, there are some steps you can take in response to bad reviews on Facebook.
Responding Professionally to Negative Reviews
The first thing you should do when you get a negative review is respond professionally. Thank the reviewer for their feedback and apologize for their poor experience. Let them know you take all feedback seriously and are looking into how you can improve. This shows customers you are engaged and aim to address any issues brought to your attention.
Don’t get defensive or argue with negative reviewers – this will likely make the situation worse. Kill them with kindness and take the high road in your responses. Other customers will respect a professional response, even if you can’t satisfy the original disgruntled reviewer.
Address Any Legitimate Issues Raised
Next, look objectively at the negative review and see if any valid points were raised. If the reviewer complained of poor product quality, delayed shipping, or rude customer service, make it a priority to address those issues.
If possible, reach out to the reviewer directly to resolve their problem. Offer a replacement product, refund, or coupon if relevant. Or assure them you’re retraining staff on better service procedures. While you may not convince the original reviewer to change their rating, your public response and actions could improve your standing with other customers.
Hide Reviews Temporarily
If a negative review seems particularly damaging or abusive, you can temporarily hide it from your Facebook page. Hiding a review doesn’t delete or remove it completely. But it can buy you some time to respond appropriately and protect your page reputation.
To hide a review:
- Go to your Facebook page and click on Publishing Tools in the left menu
- Click Reviews and select the review you want to hide
- Choose Hide Review and specify a duration (anywhere from 1 hour to 30 days)
The review will only be hidden from general public view – you and the reviewer will still be able to see it. At the end of the specified duration, the review will become visible again automatically.
Report Inappropriate or Fake Reviews
If a negative review violates Facebook’s standards or seems inauthentic, you can report it to Facebook for further investigation:
- Click the three dots next to the review text
- Select Report Review
- Choose the option that best describes why you’re reporting the review
For example, the review may contain hate speech, nudity, harassment, or otherwise go against community standards. Or it may seem suspicious, like it comes from a fake account or doesn’t describe a real customer experience.
Facebook reviews all reported content. If they agree it violates policies, they will remove the review. This allows you to maintain the integrity of reviews on your page.
Actively Encourage Positive Reviews
To counteract the impact of any negative reviews, make an effort to proactively get more positive reviews. Here are some ideas:
- Follow up with satisfied customers asking them to leave a review
- Offer a discount or incentive to customers in exchange for reviews
- Place review request links in your email signatures and website
- Spotlight great reviews on social media to show potential customers
The more quality positive reviews you can accumulate, the less potential damage a few negative reviews will inflict. Aim for at least 15-20 solid 5-star reviews to start.
Monitor Reviews Frequently
Be vigilant about staying on top of incoming reviews, both positive and negative. Set aside regular times to login and check for new reviews – daily is ideal. The sooner you see and address reviews, the better.
Consider enabling notifications so you are alerted when new reviews come in. Responding promptly shows customers their feedback is valued and being heard.
Staying engaged with the reviews on your Facebook page protects your reputation and helps provide the best experience for customers.
Learn and Improve from Feedback
While no business wants negative reviews, try to see them as opportunities to grow and improve. Honest feedback allows you to identify weaknesses and fix aspects of your products, services or operations that may be lacking.
Talk to your team about any valid critiques raised in reviews and brainstorm changes to address them. Even your most dissatisfied customers are taking time to provide feedback you can use to get better.
Conclusion
While you can’t remove or delete negative reviews directly on your Facebook page, you can take strategic steps to mitigate the damage and manage your online reputation.
Respond professionally, address any legitimate issues, encourage positive reviews, report policy violations, and learn from the feedback. With time and effort, you can overcome the impact of negative sentiment and demonstrate how seriously you take customer satisfaction.