| Channels For Reviews and Testimonials
Categories: Content Development966 words3.7 min read

Channels For Reviews and Testimonials

Creating Different Channels For Reviews and Testimonials

Did you know that over 90% of online consumers incorporate reviews and testimonials into their buying decision? Thus, for your business to keep attracting new customers, you need to collect more reviews.

Today, consumers have become increasingly blind to advertising and marketing strategies. Also, the buyer’s journey is becoming increasingly longer, and most consumers are slow to trust companies. So, what should a business do?

Build Credibility

The answer is to build credibility. The best way to build credibility starts with customer reviews and testimonials. Reviews are influential, so it’s essential to engage with those reviews and collect testimonials to provide your product or service credibility. Creating different channels for customers to review your business and give their testimonials should be the first step in creating a solid customer review strategy.

All businesses are different, with different target customers who have different interests, habits, and needs. Thus, choosing where to collect reviews and testimonials is key in connecting with your target audience and motivating them to review your business. While creating more than one channel for collecting reviews is essential, not all of them will be appropriate or even necessary for your company. Focus on your target audience and the nature of your business when choosing which of the popular review sites is suitable for you.

This article will discuss four popular channels for reviews that will help develop your review strategy. Take a look at each to help decide which one(s) are best for your business before creating your review channel.

Four Different Channels for Reviews and Testimonials

Google My Business

Google My Business is a free tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Maps and Search. Google is the best place to leave reviews and testimonials because more and more consumers conduct multiple searches on Google daily. As a result, many businesses are competing for top SERP (search engine results page) results.

To complete your Google My Business registration, you must verify your information. Once verified, Google My Business puts your business information on Google+, Maps and Search. This makes it easier for consumers to find your business location on their smartphone or desktop. Google reviews also appear in search results, which bolsters SEO and helps build your brand’s credibility. The platform makes it very easy for customers to review a business on Google, making it more likely that they’ll do so.

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site where users create profiles, upload images and videos, send messages, and connect with friends, family, and favorite brands. Businesses can also create business profiles on Facebook to allow their customers to follow them and leave reviews based on their experience with the company.

Today, it’s very common for customers to leave reviews on social media, and more and more consumers are interacting with brands through social media. With Facebook being one of the most prevalent social networks, business reviews are widely seen and shared with many potential customers. Facebook is becoming an increasingly popular review site, especially because of the sheer size of its user base. And because many consumers already have a Facebook account, reviewing any business is relatively frictionless.

It’s important to remember that consumers are always talking about a business, whether that business knows or not, and regardless of whether that business has claimed its business profile. Therefore, it’s crucial to monitor your social mentions at all times.

Yelp

Yelp is a popular business review site where users publish reviews about local businesses. With over 102 million reviews and counting, Yelp also helps small businesses respond to reviews, hosts events for Yelp reviewers, and provide data about companies, such as health inspection scores.

Because Yelp is so commonly used, most consumers won’t give a small business any attention if all they see are negative reviews on their Yelp customer review page. Therefore, it’s time to focus on what consumers say about your business online, especially their Yelp reviews. With the growing popularity of review sites such as Yelp, it’s crucial for small businesses to monitor their reviews to manage their online reputation.

On Your Site

If you aren’t displaying reviews and testimonials on your site, now is the time to start. After collecting your business reviews, place them on one easy-to-access page. You can showcase your reviews and testimonials on your testimonial page and even show the most recent ones on your home page for easy access. According to research, 91% of 18-34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from their friends and family. So it’s essential to make your business reviews easy to find.

The goal of creating a testimonial page is to make it easy for visitors to see your most glowing reviews at once, instead of having to search across the internet to see what people are saying about your brand. To do this, credit the original review site. For example, if the review came from Yelp, Facebook, or Google, it’s a great idea to link back to the original source.

Start by seeking permission before posting third-party reviews on your site. Once you get that permission, waste no time. You’ve worked hard to create something others are excited about, so don’t be afraid to promote your review page.

Final Thoughts

Customer reviews are essential because they are the best way to measure customer satisfaction as well as build your business’s credibility. They are also a great way to improve your customer service and marketing efforts. Every company needs to have channels for reviews set up that make it easy for current customers to discuss their experiences and for potential customers to read about what they can expect. This could be any of the four we discussed in this article – or all four!

 

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