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Reviews and Testimonials in Your Marketing Plan
DIY Sprocket Solutions
Fresh and relative content is a benchmark in any effective social media marketing strategy. Customer testimonials and reviews are perfect, custom made, marketing tools. Businesses have exploded on nothing more than reviews alone. Look at sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. Leaving a review can make or break a business. So, as the business, how can you put testimonials and reviews to work for you?
There are several ways. The more creative the better. I would always encourage a client to allow space on their website for testimonials. You can screen them, if you are wary of being blasted with negative and nonconstructive feedback. Reviews are great for a number of reasons. They allow you to see what you're doing right, what you can improve on, and they allow the rest of the world to see what they're missing.
When you do receive a glowing review, you want to feature it. Post it to your website, share it on social media, respond and thank the reviewer for the feedback. Social media is unique in that anyone, anywhere can give your business a testimonial. So use that to your advantage.
Ask customers to check in on Facebook and tag themselves in a photo at your store or restaurant. Maybe you have a new product that you've launched. Get customers talking. Ask for feedback in a controlled way. Have people post photos, videos, and reviews. This does a number of things. It gets a conversation started, it boosts engagement, and it allows potential customers to see the satisfaction of current customers.
It's all well and good to have a Yelp page that you keep up to date and monitor well. It's even better to take those positive reviews and run with them. Figure out a way to consistently feature them in your marketing plan. Also, don't be afraid of a negative review. It happens. What you do with it, makes all the difference. You can use negative reviews to improve your brand and bring down the wall between yourselves and your customers.
Look at companies like Dominos pizza. A few years back, there were under major scrutiny for videos posted on social media showing some very disgusting food prep. The reaction was instant and merciless. But, what they did after they finally found their feet, is what the difference. They used the negative feedback, put a human face on their brand, and let the world watch them as they genuinely worked to improve.
The first step is to make a plan. Start today and use what you have.
How can you incorporate testimonials and reviews into your marketing strategy, in ways that you haven't already? How are you already using them? What can you improve? How can you be more creative? Comment below!
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Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
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