How To Get Great Reviews On Social Media

Customer reviews are a powerful thing. Think about the times you’ve been unsure about making a purchase or buying a service and then followed through with the decision because other customers’ glowing reviews gave you the confidence to pull the trigger.

Today’s customers are tech-savvy and informed. In a world where 85% of consumers trust reviews as
much as personal recommendations…it’s super important to ask for reviews. Social proof like reviews, shares, likes, mentions, and so on have become increasingly important. Without you even knowing it, your prospects are most likely looking for social recommendations and searching on social media to learn more about you while you’re busy focusing on advertising.

Use your prior business transactions with clients as an opportunity to buff up your social proof and social reviews so you’ve got more for your prospects to read and learn about you and how you take care of your clients. This includes your Facebook page, Linkedin profile, Yelp, industry specific review sites like Zillow, Trulia, and so on.

First Things First:

Make sure you have your reviews enabled on your page! Many businesses make a huge mistake by
disabling reviews on their page. Doing this dramatically impacts perception … most people will wonder
why you don’t want people to review you and jump to negative conclusions.

So how do you make the ask for those online reviews? You can’t assume your clients will take the initiative to write a review for you, even when you make is easy for them, so it’s really important to ask.

People generally like to share their opinions, but many times don’t think about it, or are just unsure how to do it on social media. Here are 6 ways you can ask for reviews.

How to Ask for a Review in Person

Asking for a review in person is often the most effective approach, so if the opportunity presents itself, make sure to grab it!

Asking in Response to Praise

You gotta love when this happens. A customer approaches you with unsolicited praise. When this happens, express your appreciation for them taking the time to provide their feedback, and then make the suggestion. The conversation may go something like this:

Happy Customer: [Singing your praises]

You: That is so great to hear. We really try our best to [do what you’re being praised for].  And thank you so much for taking the time to provide your feedback.

Happy Customer: For sure, thank you for providing such great service!

You: You know, those kinds of comments really help prospective customers feel more confident in choosing us. 

If you don’t mind writing what you just said in a quick review on [platform of your choice], that would be awesome. I’ll send you the link to my page via [let them know how you are sending, whether it be email, messenger, text, etc.]

Then, make sure you send that template with the links they need to post their praising review on your profile.

Example Emails to Ask for Reviews

Taking a few minutes to ask for reviews via email is a no-brainer. Here are a couple of ways you can approach this:

Review Request Example #1

Hi [first name],

Positive reviews from awesome customers like you help others to feel confident about choosing [your business] too. Could you take 60 seconds to go to [link to review platform] and share your happy experiences?

We will be forever grateful. Thank you in advance for helping us out!

Review Request Example #2

Dear [first name],

Thank you for doing business with us. We hope you had a great experience. If you did, would you consider posting an online review? 

This helps us to continue providing great [products, service], and helps potential buyers to make confident decisions.

Thank you in advance for your review and for being a preferred customer.

Here’s the link to our review page on [platform].

Review Request Example #3

Dear [first name],

As one of our preferred customers, your feedback is of the utmost importance to [business name]. We are constantly striving to provide an ideal experience for our customers, and your input helps us to define that experience. That being said, if you could take a minute to post a review on [review platform], we would so appreciate it.

Here’s the link to our page on [platform].

We hope to see you again soon!

Don’t Only Limit Yourself to Email

You can also send these requests via Messenger when asking for a review in Facebook, or if you have a Facebook group that you run, ask your group members.  You can also ask in LinkedIn via the messaging feature.

The most important way to get online reviews is … you need to ask! Timing is important, so ask for a review after a transaction has been completed and you’ve tied up loose ends and any post-sale issues. 

You want reviewers who still have their experience fresh in their minds.

When someone writes a review for your business, they’re putting their own reputation on the line for the general public and for their friends who might see their reviews, so don’t forget to thank them!

Not everyone will get around to giving you reviews, even when you ask. That is just reality!

But if you incorporate the task of making the request into your regular business routine, it becomes second nature, and your online reputation will grow your business.

Remember: Qualified referrals will make assessments about you and your business from your online reviews, even before you have a chance to meet them. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of positive reviews. Make sure they’ve got great things to read about you when they’ve already begun their research.