forbes.com
Online shoppers trust buyers that have first-hand experience with the products and services they are interested in buying. More than half say they always check reviews before investing in high-ticket items. Almost three-quarters say ratings and reviews are part of the drill when deciding what to buy.
According to Jason Romrell of the Telli App, an app that allows you to rate and review people in your contacts list, that’s why “it is essential that businesses get a handle on effectively integrating reviews and ratings into their overall social media strategy.” And that means going beyond simply checking your reviews and responding to complaints.
You need to strategically use this type of consumer-generated content in your social media marketing efforts. It is priceless when shared across all your platforms, leveraging your credibility exponentially.
Here is a look at four ways to make the most of your reviews and ratings by fusing them with your social media strategies.
1. Stay on top of reviews and ratings, wherever they are
Consumers rate products where they buy them because it is simple to do. Think Amazon. But they also use third party sites to write about their buying experiences. The fact that reviews are located on different websites makes it difficult to stay on top of them, but it can be done with some advance organization.
If you’re checking just Angie’s List and Yelp, you may get blindsided by a critical review left on Google+. If you aren’t monitoring it, that single negative review can convince numerous prospects that your product isn’t for them.
Research where your products and services are getting posted. Make a list and check these sites regularly. Then develop a system to respond to negative reviews and to distribute positive reviews into your social media feeds.
2. Quickly reply to negative reviews
One negative review can have more pull than a dozen positive ones. That’s why you need to answer questions and offer to solve problems as quickly as possible.
Responding right away makes your buyer feel like he is important to you. The sooner you clear up questions, find a lost shipment, replace a faulty product, the happier your customer will be.
It also makes a good impression on visitors to your site when they see how quickly you move to solve the problem, whatever it is.
3. Post positive AND negative reviews to your social media accounts.
Consumers love to read reviews. Posting them on your Facebook page, tweeting them and adding them to other accounts boosts engagement from shoppers, encouraging them to buy. According to Ephraim Tinoco, founder of Instagram promotion service IGWildfire, “We see much more engagement from posts relating to before and after or product reviews than just about any other type of Instagram post.”
As tempting as it is, you don’t want to respond only to rave reviews. If you do, you won’t look believable. Choose a few that are in the two- and three-star range. Show your visitors how you fixed the problem mentioned in the review. And at the same time be sure to thank the reviewer for his honest comments.
The more authentic you are, the more engagement you will get. Visitors are positively impressed by honesty. It builds credibility, loyalty and sales.
4. Track the response on social media to the reviews you post.
There are numerous ways to monitor the impact of the reviews you post on your social media accounts. You do it the same way you track metrics for other types of content generated by users.
To get an accurate picture, tag each review according to the product being rated, the URL for the product, its keyword and category, and by location. The more details you can measure, the better you can interpret what is working and what isn’t.
Is all this effort worth it? In a recent survey by Millward Brown, 87% of consumers said Pinterest was their go-to site for checking the advice and opinions of other shoppers. And that’s just one social media platform.
It’s a fact. Your prospects are making up their minds about what to buy by reading social media content. Make use of this behavior. Integrate real reviews and ratings into your social media feeds to increase customer engagement and get more sales.
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