REELING ‘EM IN: Tips for Getting Your Business Reviewed Online

Reviews Are Incredibly Influential

I recently wrote about the fact that getting your business reviewed and engaging with those leaving reviews is a great way to help your business and improve your SEO efforts.

The fact of the matter is, it can be downright difficult to get your customers to take the time to leave you a review.

In the interest of helping you get more reviews, we have compiled some useful tips.

Being There

While it may seem like a no-brainer, being easy to find online is key- both in terms of your own business site and popular review sites such as: Google+, City Search, Yelp, Facebook, and Foursquare. Actively maintaining your profiles with fresh content, high quality photos of your location and products, and information that is up to date- such as your hours and physical address is vital.

Ask, and You Shall Receive

Sometimes, it’s as simple as just requesting reviews from your customers. Whether it’s through an email list or a post on social media, a simple reminder is a great way to both follow up with your customers and get them to leave reviews.

Keep it Simple

Put links to your review profiles in multiple places. The more chance somebody has to leave a review, the better. Locations to consider linking are: follow-up emails, your newsletter, and your website itself. In addition to leaving multiple opportunities for your customers to leave reviews, iGetReviews is a powerful new platform that makes it easy to lead your customers through a review funnel- positive reviews are published online, while negative reviews are filtered back to your company so you can follow up with them.

Give ‘em Something to Talk About

Showing recognition for the people leaving reviews is important. Sharing their reviews and thanking them publically on social media is a great way to reward them. To take a more active step, offering a chance to enter a contest or giving a discount in exchange for a review is another great means to encourage reviewing. Outright bribes (“I’ll give you $100 if you say you love us”) should be avoided, but, contests and coupons are commonly used- restaurants, bars, even doctor’s offices incentivize their review processes.

Let’s Get Physical

Physical signs and flyers encouraging customers to leave reviews probably won’t convince somebody who rarely uses a computer to leave a review, but they will remind and encourage someone who does to write one for your business.  As an added bonus, the sign will work for you quietly in the background- as soon as it’s up, you won’t need to think about it.  Designing a simple flyer or sign with your logo, a cheerful photo of your staff, and the logos of the major review sites, and some text like: “Nothing makes us happier than reading positive reviews online. If you like our work, please take a moment to go online and give us a great review”

Get Business Reviews Online

Even if your business has a strong presence online, with fresh content and updated information, and you’re reminding your customers to leave reviews, actively, passively, and with some incentives, it can be difficult to get them to take the time to do it.  iGetReviews can streamline the process of getting reviews for you, and we can help get you more visibility online. Contact Us at (801)413-7734 to learn more.