It’s a fact that local or enterprise businesses ignore online reviews at their peril. From haircuts to teeth cleanings to trendy cocktails, consumers freely give their opinions online about their everyday experiences. Online reviews are a never-ending stream arriving on a smartphone near you, complete with stars (one to five!), angry rants and glowing praises.
When you think of the big players in the online reviews space, you probably imagine Yelp and Google, of course. But did Facebook come to mind? It should, and for good reason.
Facebook Reviews quietly rolled out in late 2013. Some local industry experts called it a “Yelp copycat” and predicted its irrelevance. They were wrong. Facebook Reviews have grown rapidly due to the platform’s ubiquity. People naturally trust their friends’ recommendations on where to buy kids’ clothing, find organic produce, eat Sunday brunch and get their tires rotated. And due to Facebook’s deep reach into our everyday lives, it may be easier to search out the star rating on that new farm-to-table restaurant within the platform, rather than open the Yelp app.
By some surveys, Facebook is coming on strong in the reviews race. Local expert Mike Blumenthal’s 2014 survey found that when he asked the question, “When you leave an online review for a local business, which site are you most likely to use?” respondents ranked Facebook second, just ahead of Yelp and behind Google. Predict It’s recent findings showed that Facebook has four times more restaurant reviews than other popular review sites.
Facebook’s rise in the reviews arena should be welcomed by local and enterprise businesses because most reviewers use their real names, hopefully decreasing the number of fake or blatantly dishonest reviews. And with more than 1 billion users, Facebook’s coverage is vast, to say the least.
We hope we’ve convinced you to claim or update your business profile on Facebook. If you need help claiming your profile, download our free guide that offers step-by-step directions for claiming profiles on Google My Business, Yelp and, of course, Facebook.
Here’s a quick primer on how to make Facebook Reviews show up on your local business page:
If your Page’s category is Local Businesses:
- Click About below your Page’s cover photo
- Click Page Info in the left column
- Click to edit the Address section
- Add your business address and click to check the box next to Show map, check-ins and star ratings on the Page
- Click Save Changes
What is your experience with Facebook Reviews? Tell us below in the comments!
Olga is a Senior Manager in Sales and Marketing Operations at Connectivity.
