How to use reviews and testimonials to enhance your social media strategy

The importance of reviews and testimonials should not be overlooked in your social media strategy. The power of customer opinions (positive ones, at least)can be effective promotional tools for your eCommerce business.

What are they? Reviews are typically short pieces of text that give readers a brief snapshot of a user’s experience. They can be both positive and negative, so knowing how to deal with negative reviews is crucial. Testimonials are typically more detailed, solely positive user experience stories. Both reviews and testimonials can be formatted in different ways to grab attention, engage the audience and improve your paid social performance.

Want to learn more about how you can use reviews and testimonials to achieve your business goals? Read on.

Reviews vs Testimonials

Testimonials and reviews have different qualities, formats, and purposes. Here is a breakdown of the key differences between reviews and testimonials:

	Reviews	Testimonials
How much detail is included?	Brief snapshot	In-depth story
Who do they get sent to?	Third-party sites	Directly to business
Who can access them?	Anyone can view reviews	What the company choose to share
Positive or negative?	Positive and negative	Positive
Who controls them?	Third-party sites	The business
Format?	Written with a star rating	Written or video
Impact?	Need multiple reviews to have an impact	One testimonial can have an impact because of the detail

Five key features of social media reviews

Reviews are impartial as they are found on third-party sites. This gives reviews credibility as the business cannot control who can see reviews. You can assume that reviews are genuine customer opinions, as they are unfiltered.
You can gain insights into real experiences. Reviews are transparent so readers can use this honest feedback to decide.
Depending on the positivity or negativity within the review, they can influence customer opinion and decision. This can have an impact on new customers who have yet to try a product or service.
A significant amount of positive reviews can improve local SEO. This can improve online visibility in the SERPs.
Due to reviews being user-generated content, they can influence a business’s reputation and businesses can use them as a form of feedback.

… And three useful features of customer testimonials

As they are a form of social proof, testimonials can act as endorsements for a business. They showcase customer satisfaction and business quality. Therefore, they are a powerful promotional tool.
With testimonials, businesses have direct control over which and how they are viewed. Businesses can make sure the most positive testimonials are showcased. This doesn’t always give a full picture of all feedback.
They are often not user-generated content. The business can control how they present testimonials. Therefore, they are crafted to appear more polished than reviews.

Do you need reviews or testimonials?

The truth is, you need both and for different reasons! Let’s unpack why you need both reviews and testimonials in your social media strategy.

They can work together to provide ultimate social proof, attract attention and help promote your business.

Why social media reviews are important

Positive reviews can instantly capture the reader’s attention
Because they are short, new customers can get an overview of your business quickly.
They are often the first thing a consumer will read, so positive reviews can help your business make a good first impression.
Reviews can make your business stand out in a crowded market.
Businesses can use reviews as a way to collect customer feedback and make improvements based on them.

Why customer testimonials are important

As they are detailed, testimonials provide businesses with in-depth feedback that can guide innovation and refinements.
By showcasing the best testimonials, businesses can promote the quality of their services and products.
Testimonials are important in building a brand’s reputation. They can be posted on social media, websites and other platforms to ensure a positive brand reputation and consistent messaging across communication outlets.

How to get more social media reviews?

Positive social media reviews are great for business! What is even better? Loads of them. Here are 8 effective ways to generate more positive social media reviews.

Use a strong call to action: It may sound simple but by directly asking customers to leave a review, you can increase the number of reviews you receive.
Offer rewards and incentives in exchange for a review: Discounts, gifts and exclusive deals can encourage customers to leave a positive review.
Make it easy for customers to leave a review: People want an easy life. Minimising the steps needed to leave a review can significantly increase the number of reviews you receive. This could be done by using a link that takes people to the review page or a QR code.
Create engaging content: attracting attention from your audience with great content that includes visually appealing images/videos is an effective way to motivate customers to share a review.
Ensure your business is present on review sites: Having your account claimed on review sites can make a big difference to the amount of reviews received.
Target engaged customers: If you can identify satisfied customers, you can reach out to them directly and ask them to share a positive review. They are more likely to agree and share a positive review.
Ask for reviews at the right time: Asking for a review immediately after a positive experience or purchase can increase the chances a customer will leave a positive review as it is fresh in their mind.
Respond to reviews: Engaging and replying to customer reviews shows prospective reviewers that you value their feedback and will increase the likelihood of them leaving a review.

How to get detailed customer testimonials?

Unlike reviews, you don’t need lots and lots of customer testimonials to make an impact (although the more the better). It is more important to get high-quality, detailed customer testimonials. Here is a process you can use to get the best customer testimonials:

Firstly, try and find happy, satisfied customers who have engaged with your business several times. Repeat customers are perfect to provide a detailed testimonial.
Once they are identified, you can reach out to them with a personalised message filled with gratitude and a call to action. Here you can explain why testimonials are important and why you have selected them.
Make sure your customer is clear on what kind of testimonial you would like. Take time here to ensure you are both on the same page.
Once you have received the testimonials, speak with your design team to format the testimonial in a clear, engaging way.

Now you know the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of reviews and testimonials, let’s focus on the ‘what’. What are the different types of reviews and testimonials?

1. Quote graphics

By putting a quote into a creative, eye-catching graphic, you can draw attention to the review/testimonial. In the copy, you can always include more details of the testimonial or review.

Below is a good example of a quote graphic:

Instagram quote testimonial

Image source

2. Video testimonials

Video content is becoming more and more effective for brands. Having a client testimonial in video form is a great idea to increase your social media engagement and provide more detail. User-generated videos are effective in showcasing authenticity and providing customers with real-life genuine testimonials.

3. Partner with influencers

Influencers have a loyal audience that values and trusts their opinion. By partnering with an influencer and having them post a positive review/testimonial, you can enhance your credibility and promote your business to more people.

4. Use ‘before and after’ content

These are a great way to showcase testimonials because they show the tangible results of your product or service. Visual proof can be an extremely persuasive and engaging way to attract clients.

Here is an example of an effective ‘before and after’ testimonial:

Image source

5. Make the most of story highlights on Instagram

Instagram highlights give your content permanent visibility. You can organise all testimonials in one place and customers can view these at any point.

6. Utilise interactive content

The carousel feature on Instagram and Facebook is an effective way to present multiple reviews/testimonials in one post. As interactive content is a great way to increase engagement and maintain interest, it increases the likelihood of users reading through the content.

7. Highlight the best comments

On social platforms, like Instagram, you can pin any comments, so they always appear at the top of your posts. This saves people from having to look for positive reviews and showcases the best ones, so they can access them easily and quickly. It allows you to make a good first impression.

What happens if you get a negative review?

Unfortunately, reviews may not always be positive. Negative reviews aren’t great but they’re not the end of the world; it is how you deal with them that makes the difference.

Here are some quick ways to deal with a negative review:

Own up and apologise: Make the customer feel heard and show you care about their problem.
Think before you reply: You need to respond thoughtfully and be personal. If the reply feels too generic, it implies you don’t really care about the problem.
Keep the conversion private: you don’t want everyone to see the back and forth between you and a customer (especially if the customer isn’t very happy). Having a private conversion allows you to respond in detail and have an honest conversation so the customer feels heard.
Find a solution: Not everyone is moaning for the sake of it. People tend to want a solution to make them feel better. You could offer a discount or replacement and this could make the customer feel understood. Following up after you offer a solution, is a great way to make sure the customer is now satisfied. It could change their view of the business entirely.
Be consistent across your team: Make sure your team is trained on how to best navigate negative reviews. Consistency is key when it comes to handling complaints effectively.

Want support making the most of your views and testimonials?

Here at Embryo, our team of experts can help you incorporate all of the above into your social strategy.