Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of 2022. With such a massive userbase, Facebook reviews have become an important factor for businesses to manage their online reputation. Here is a detailed guide on how to do Facebook reviews.
Why are Facebook reviews important?
Facebook reviews allow customers to share their experiences with a business. They serve several purposes:
- Help potential customers make informed decisions about a business
- Provide feedback to businesses to improve their products/services
- Build trust and credibility for businesses through word-of-mouth
- Allow businesses to better understand customer satisfaction levels
- Help businesses monitor their online reputation
Positive Facebook reviews can attract new customers and increase sales and revenue for businesses. On the flip side, negative reviews need to be carefully managed to mitigate reputational damage. That’s why regularly monitoring and responding to Facebook reviews is essential.
Who can review your Facebook Page?
Anyone who has interacted with your Facebook Page or has been tagged in a post can leave a review. However, to leave a review, they need to be logged into a Facebook account. Reviews from anonymous accounts are not permitted.
Customers who have recently interacted with your business, such as making a purchase or booking services, are most likely to leave reviews based on their fresh experience. You can also proactively ask satisfied customers to write reviews.
How to find your Facebook Page reviews
Facebook reviews appear in the Reviews section of your Facebook Page. To view reviews:
- Go to your Facebook Page
- Click on the Reviews tab on the left sidebar
- Here you will see all customer reviews chronologically
You can also find reviews on your individual Facebook posts. When customers check-in, like, comment or share posts related to your business, they will have the option to leave a star rating and review.
How to respond to Facebook reviews
Responding to customer reviews promptly and appropriately is crucial. Here are some tips:
- Thank positive reviewers: Let them know you appreciate them taking the time to share the positive feedback.
- Respond professionally to negative reviews: Apologize for their disappointment and offer to make amends if reasonable. Avoid being defensive.
- Follow up on corrective actions: If you promised to address an issue in your response, follow up once it is resolved.
- Monitor reviews: Check reviews daily and respond within 24 hours.
Replying publicly shows you care about customer feedback. If preferred, you can also privately message the reviewer through Facebook Messenger after replying publicly.
How to get more Facebook reviews
While you can’t force customers to leave reviews, you can encourage more feedback by:
- Adding a link to your Facebook Page in email signatures and website
- Creating a post-interaction email that politely asks for reviews
- Running social media contests for reviews
- Giving discounts for reviews
- Proactively asking happy customers for reviews
- Following up after service/sales interactions
- Offering incentives for reviews
The key is to make it as easy and rewarding as possible for customers to review you. Remind them of the value of their feedback.
How to manage negative Facebook reviews
Despite your best efforts, some negative reviews are inevitable. Here are some tips for minimising their impact:
- Respond professionally and offer a resolution
- Address the specific issues mentioned
- Follow up to ensure the problems are resolved
- Apologize for any inconvenience caused
- Thank reviewers for the feedback to improve
- Remain calm and constructive in your replies
- Avoid deleting negative reviews, unless they violate Facebook’s policies
If a negative review is factually incorrect, politely point that out. If the issues seem unreasonable, consider privately messaging the reviewer to clear any misunderstandings.
Negative feedback is an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction. Analyze reviews to address recurring issues.
Facebook review guidelines
Facebook has guidelines reviewers must adhere to or else the platform may remove reviews:
- Reviews must be from first-hand consumer experience, not hearsay
- No conflict of interest – reviewers can’t be related to the business or compensated
- No promotional content, spam or irrelevant info
- No graphic, obscene, abusive or hateful content
- No disclosure of private information without consent
- No violation of intellectual property rights
Businesses should report reviews that violate these guidelines. Facebook will investigate and remove the reviews if they breach policies.
Managing Facebook review settings
Page admins have some control over review settings:
- Pre-approval: Admins can require they approve all reviews before public posting.
- Languages: Choose which languages reviews can be submitted in.
- Moderators: Assign other Page admins or editors to help manage reviews.
- Block words/phrases: Block specific words or phrases from being posted.
- Public visibility: Hide the Reviews section from public view if needed.
Review these settings and configure them appropriately for monitoring reviews efficiently.
Using Facebook reviews for market research
Facebook reviews provide a trove of first-hand customer feedback. This can offer valuable market research insights, such as:
- Identifying your product/service strengths and weaknesses
- Discovering customer pain points to address
- Understanding customer objections to overcome
- Receiving feature/improvement suggestions for your offerings
- Finding gaps in your market positioning
- Benchmarking your customer experience against competitors
Regularly analyzing Facebook reviews across touchpoints can lead to major competitive advantages from leveraging customer perspectives.
Pros of Facebook reviews
- Easy and convenient for customers to leave quickly
- Allow two-way interactions through comments on reviews
- Visible social proof of quality to prospects
- Integrated directly into Facebook platform
- Can be shared to spread word-of-mouth
Cons of Facebook reviews
- Risk of fake or competitor reviews
- Negative feedback is unavoidable
- Star rating system is basic and limited
- Reviewers may lack context for fair assessment
- Harder to manage than standalone review sites
Conclusion
Facebook reviews are a double-edged sword. Managed correctly, they can set your business apart and drive growth. Ignored or mismanaged, they can seriously damage your reputation. The key is being proactive – encourage honest feedback, monitor regularly, address issues promptly, and leverage insights for improvement.
With Facebook’s unmatched user base, reviews on the platform offer unmatched potential for customer insight and validation. Adopting best practices for generating and managing Facebook reviews can give any business a competitive boost.