It's true when you hear the phrase "People don't buy businesses, they buy from other people". And that's why word-of-mouth marketing still holds a valuable place in the digital landscape. The person they could be buying from could be a salesperson, sure, but they could also be influenced by a post from an employee, existing customer, or influencer.
As a brand, you need to make sure that you have people who can vouch for your products and services positively online. And there are multiple places where people could be reviewing your products either positively or negatively. Maybe people are leaving reviews on Amazon, but several more may also be leaving them on social media platforms. And you need to be on top of both.
When it comes to leaving and collecting reviews on social media, one of the best platforms that you could use to get recommendations and reviews from customers and users is Facebook.
The more reviews you have on your Facebook account (even more so if those reviews are positive and have a high star rating), the more likely it is that potential customers will trust you, and buy into your business. In this article, we share everything you need to know about Facebook Recommendations for their business.
Table of Contents
Why Your Business Needs Facebook Recommendations
Who Can See Your Facebook Recommendations?
How to Enable Facebook Recommendations on Your Business Page
How to Disable Facebook Recommendations on Your Business Page
How to Ask for Recommendations on Facebook
Tips to Manage Facebook Recommendations
Why Your Business Needs Facebook Recommendations
Did you know that Facebook's algorithm, known as EdgeRank, impacts what will appear on a user's News Feed? Yes, the content shared on your Facebook Page is susceptible to this algorithm, which means that as marketers, you might want to pay attention to how the Facebook algorithm affects the reach of your content.
But how exactly does EdgeRank affect Facebook Recommendations? Firstly, EdgeRank is calculated based on the below formula:
EdgeRank = Affinity (the interaction between a Facebook user and a brand) x Weight (the importance of that action e.g. Like or Comment) x Recency (how long ago the edge was created).
Knowing the components EdgeRank uses to determine what type of content to display to users, it's clear that recommendation could impact both your Affinity and Weight score. A low or high score based on the volume of interaction the recommendation generated can determine the overall visibility of your Facebook Page and the organic reach of the content you share on your Facebook page.
Recommendations make your business more discoverable across the Facebook platform when people are searching for, or talking, about your business. One of the best advantages of Recommendations is that Facebook will first show the recommendations provided by your closest friends or users, which can have a positive impact on the purchasing decisions of other customers. As Facebook Recommendations encourage other customers to rate your business, the opinions of others build brand transparency and increases trust in your business altogether.
The reviews and recommendations that users post on social media platforms are also very important for any business’s online reputation.
Who Can See Your Facebook Recommendations?
According to Facebook, only Business Pages that allow Facebook Recommendations will show a rating, and a Business Page may not have a rating if the Page has not received enough Recommendations.
However, when a customer recommends a business, they have the option to choose which audience to share that recommendation with. So, if a Facebook user posts a recommendation and selects 'Friends' as the audience who can see that recommendation, then only their Facebook friends are able to see it; you won't. It is only the recommendations that have been posted for the 'Public' to see, will it appear for everyone to view and this will be included in your own Business Page's overall rating.
If you discover a negative recommendation or review on your page, unfortunately, you cannot delete it (or at least, you cannot delete individual reviews). The platform doesn't allow you to delete a Facebook Review the way you can delete comments or content. Instead, you would have to report the review or recommendation that does not meet Facebook's Community Standards.
How to Enable Facebook Recommendations on Your Business Page
You can enable reviews by going to Facebook Recommendations under Facebook Business Page settings.
Note: This section replaced the Reviews tab, which consisted of only ratings and comments. Additionally, Facebook users no longer give a simple rating. Instead, they click on either the “recommend” or “don’t recommend” button and give extra information, with the added possibility of attaching text and photos, allowing for customers to create more in-depth Facebook reviews.
The changes that Facebook made in its reviews system to allow users to post recommendations, provided more options for customers to give their thoughts and opinions about the businesses that they purchased from. Recommendations act as a personal endorsement from your customers, and so when you get recommended by customers on public platforms, like Facebook, these recommendations will also appear on your own Facebook Business Page.
Any user with a Facebook account can publish a recommendation on your Facebook Business Page, as long as you have actually enabled Recommendations on your Page.
To do this, follow the simple steps below:
1. Open Your Page Settings
Click 'Page Settings' in the bottom left of your Facebook Page
2. Go to Your Templates Section
Click 'Templates and Tabs' in the left menu of your 'Settings'
3. Turn on Reviews
Click to the right of 'Reviews' to turn the tab on
Once recommendations have been enabled, you want to ensure that you keep an eye out for any new reviews. Just like how actively responding to your customer's comments on your content is important for engagement, responding to any Facebook Recommendations is important for maintaining a strong brand reputation online thought online reputation management. You don't need to reply with lengthy replies but be thoughtful. This will show customers that you value their reviews. You also increase engagement and boost your EdgeRank.
How to Disable Facebook Recommendations on Your Business Page
If, at any point, you want to disable Facebook Recommendations from your Facebook Page:
1. Click 'Settings' at the bottom left of your Facebook Page
2. Click 'Templates and Tabs' on the left side of your 'Settings' page
3. Click the right of 'Reviews', toggle the On/Off tab to turn reviews and Recommendations off
How to Ask for Recommendations on Facebook
Everyone likes to get recommendations on Facebook. The question is: How to ask for recommendations on Facebook?
Asking people to recommend your business isn't a daunting task, and you can do this in a number of ways. From adding a pop-up notification on your e-commerce website to encourage customers to recommend you on Facebook, to creating a campaign where customers receive a discount for their recommendations or sending requests in your email newsletters, these are just some ideas to get you started with asking for reviews.
However, if you decide to ask for feedback, make sure that you keep it short, sweet, and simple. Let people know why you want them to post a recommendation for your business and provide a link that doesn’t require too many loops and tabs before leaving a Facebook Recommendation. This helps reduce online friction and shortens the path customers need to take to leave a review, creating a better customer experience and ensuring that you retain their attention when they recommend you.
We hope this makes you feel better about the question of how to ask for recommendations on Facebook.
Tips to Manage Facebook Recommendations
Just like managing comments from your Facebook fans is important, here are some tips for responding to reviews and recommendations that your customers have shared.
Apologize and own any mistakes
Received a negative review? When responding to this, start with an apology to help diffuse the review from escalating into a bigger matter. If your business made a mistake, own it and apologise in your response to the review.
Go offline with serious issues
If you are dealing with a more serious issue in the review, take the conversation offline and engage with the reviewer privately — particularly if personal information (an email, phone number, etc.) is required to resolve the issue. This will avoid discussing serious (potentially confidential) issues publicly and prevent an online crisis from boiling up.
Follow brand guidelines
Whether you personally manage your social media accounts or have a dedicated social media or community manager, make sure that you are aware of your brand's guidelines when it comes to responding to online reviews. This ensures that the right tone of voice is being used and professionalism is being maintained.
Show your appreciation
Regardless of the Facebook rating that a customer gave, say “thank you.” Showing your appreciation for the feedback that you receive can help reduce the number of negative reviews and reinforces positive sentiment in the good reviews you receive.
To conclude, remember that customer reviews are important, especially when research shows that 92.4% of customers say that online reviews have influenced their purchasing decisions. Like we said, "People don't buy from a business, they buy from other people" and reviews on the products or services that you provide are an indicator to potential customers on whether they should buy into you.
Take the time to use Facebook to your advantage when it comes to receiving recommendations. Use this guide to help build brand transparency and trust, and attract more customers, all thanks to the ratings your Facebook Page has.
If you want to learn more about how Meltwater can help you manage your social media, complete the form below to book a demo.
