How do I enable ratings on my Facebook page?

Well, in part, because Facebook reviews are now recommendations

If you’ve noticed that your business’s page reviews haven’t been visible lately, you aren’t alone. This can be an alarming problem for small businesses that rely on reviews to bring customers in. Facebook accounts for 19% of all customer reviews online, putting it right up there with Google as a review amplifier.

In a 2018 update, Facebook decided to begin changing its review system to recommendations. The aim was to allow business pages to appear when users would post asking for recommendations. While their intention of better serving users seemed like a noble one, it hasn’t exactly been a smooth transition for business owners.

So, if you’ve returned to your Facebook business page after a break, you may find things have changed. There are no more stars — customers simply answer the yes or no question “would you recommend this business?”

Is this thing on?

One of the most common Facebook FAQs ‘Why aren’t my reviews showing?’ The most common answer? Because they aren’t switched on!

So, before getting started, you should make sure that you have your recommendations turned on. Just because you didn’t switch them off, doesn’t mean that it hasn’t happened. You will also need to make sure your business has claimed its Facebook page.

All you have to do is to navigate to your Facebook business page. From here you will click on Page Settings> Templates and Tabs> and click to the right of the ‘Reviews’ tab, to toggle it on. Check out Facebook’s Help Centre for full instructions.

Claim it and name it

Claiming your Page for your business is done using the Facebook Business Manager, which allows you to either add an existing page to your business manager account or ask to access a page owned by another person. Your business must claim your Facebook page because this allows you to enable reviews.

1. Go to the homepage and click on the gear icon to open the business manager’s settings.

2. Click ‘Accounts’, then ‘Pages’ and then ‘Add’. This is where you will be asked if you wish to choose between adding an existing page or claiming somebody else’s page. Either way, you will have to enter the page name or URL.

With your business page claimed and reviews turned on, you will be able to reap the rewards of one of the biggest review banks on the web.

The benefits of recommendations for small, locally-based businesses

In the world of modern business, the review is now king. Seeing as one in three Facebook users use the platform to ask for recommendations, it is important to make sure that you are on top of your review game.

As a small to mid-sized and locally-based business, you are privy to some preferential treatment when it comes to Facebook’s review system. That’s right people, for once, things are geared up to suit local, brick-and-mortar businesses. Hurrah!

Between the ‘Nearby Places’ feature on the mobile app, the ability to see reviews from Facebook friends, brick and mortar businesses that rely on local customers stand to benefit hugely from getting good Facebook reviews.

The best strategy for getting reviews

With a good review strategy, businesses can gain more clout online, driving growth and brand awareness — but how do you encourage customers to give you reviews? The best way it turns out is to just ask them. How you do that is up to you.

As it turns out, people love to give their opinion about services they have experienced. Asking a customer to leave a review as part of your company’s customer experience is not only valuable to you, it makes the customer feel acknowledged and appreciated. Don’t be afraid of a negative review either – it is an opportunity to learn, provide excellent customer service and show Facebook users (all 2.7 billion of them) what your business is about.

In short

Making sure that your business is asking for and acknowledging feedback is the industry standard for local businesses in the modern world – especially on a platform like Facebook. Listening to what your customers have to say will bring you more customers.

Social media plays an important role in running your local business today. With almost 3 billion users, it’s no question that your potential customers are using Facebook. Every business should have an active Facebook business page to easily connect with potential customers.

Facebook is particularly crucial for local, service-based businesses. A Facebook business page lets you keep your customers up-to-date about your company, allows you to interact with them, and enables them to leave reviews and feedback. A Facebook business page also improves your SEO rankings, making you appear higher on search result pages.

There is no doubt that potential customers are using Facebook to search for your business. They’re looking at your profile and customer reviews and comparing you to your competitor to decide who to buy from. 

Let’s understand how Facebook reviews help your business and how you can promote your business on Facebook.

How Facebook Reviews Impact Business

Small businesses worldwide rely on Facebook and Google reviews as the new word-of-mouth. Positive reviews on Facebook will increase your chances of getting new customers because online reviews build trust. 

Your ideal customers are not only paying attention to your star rating but also reading the reviews left by customers and how you, as a business owner, respond. Even if you have a few poor reviews sprinkled in, a thoughtful response shows that you value their feedback and will take action to fix the situation.

84% of people trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. These positive reviews are testimonials for your business from real customers. Now that we know how much they matter, let’s look at the ins and outs of Facebook reviews.

How to Enable Reviews on Your Facebook Business Page

If you search for a company on Facebook, you’ll see a star rating correlating to their business listing. You might wonder how they got that!

Once you have a Facebook Page set up for your company, you’ll want to ensure your page is configured to receive star ratings and reviews. Your reviews might be hidden, which means you’re missing out on the chance to snag some stellar comments!

How to enable reviews on your Facebook Business Page:

1. Click “Settings” at the top of your Page
2. Go to “Edit Page” in the left-hand column
3. Scroll down to “Reviews”
4. Click “Settings” next to the Reviews section
5. Change the slider from OFF to ON
6. “Save” changes

How to Get the Reviews Tab to Show Up on Your Facebook Page

After your Facebook page is capable of receiving reviews, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for your audience to access the feature. Facebook allows Page Managers to customize their tabs on the left-hand side of the page, and you can make one of those tabs feature “Reviews” for easy access.

Here’s how to get the Reviews tab to show up on your Facebook Page:

1. Click “Settings”
2. Click “Edit Page”
3. You will see a section titled Tabs
4. Turn ON the option to “Use default tabs”
   
5. There, choices for pre-picked tabs will show up
6. Scroll down until you see “Add a Tab.” Click it.
7. Add the “Reviews” tab
   

You can now order your tabs as you’d like them to appear on your page. The more importance you place on getting reviews, the higher on the list you may want to put it. Just hover over the tab until your cursor becomes the little hand symbol, then click and drag the tab to the position you’d like.

How to ask for Facebook reviews

Once you’re set up to receive Facebook reviews, you can gently push your customers to leave their thoughts and recommendations. Customers often don’t realize how critical their reviews are to their favorite businesses. 

7 out of 10 customers will leave a review if asked to do so. That means all you need to do is ask, and you shall receive. If asking for Facebook reviews sounds uncomfortable, know you’re not alone. Many business owners have trouble with this part, but luckily, we have some ideas to help you.

• Use these email templates to ask for reviews
• Create automated follow-ups via text, email or direct mail
• Ask people to check in on Facebook; it will send them a reminder to write a review 1-2 days later
  • Offer a coupon or voucher if people check in
  • Require people to check in if they want to use your WiFi
  • Give a free upgrade if people check in
• Promote a great review from Facebook on your website with a call-to-action
• Put up signs requesting reviews in the office waiting room
• Ask customers directly after you’ve provided a service they’re happy with
• Create a link to your review page so its easier for customers

Troubleshooting Facebook reviews

You may run into complications with your Facebook reviews. Maybe you’re getting bad reviews from someone who is not a customer, or the review isn’t truthful. You can report these reviews to Facebook for an independent review. Facebook will evaluate it and decide if the review will be removed. Learn more about removing negative reviews from your Facebook page.

How to respond to negative reviews

Responding to reviews is a critical part of your social media presence. Customers want to see your response to positive and negative reviews. Although, we can all admit that responding to negative reviews is the most difficult. 

When responding to negative reviews, acknowledge their concerns, commit to improving the situation, and then take the conversation offline. You can use a template like this: 

“Thank you for your review. Customer satisfaction is really important to us, and we’re sorry that we may have missed the mark. We’re working with our team to remedy the situation, and we will reach out to you with the next steps.” 

Responding to your reviews helps solidify your online reputation. Whether they are positive or negative reviews, thoughtful responses should be part of your social media marketing strategy.

How to turn off Facebook reviews

Before you turn off your Facebook reviews, consider the repercussions. Consumers often view a lack of reviews as a deterrent to hiring a company. So unless you’re in an extenuating circumstance, reviews should likely be left on.

However, if you do need to turn off your Facebook reviews, you can do so in your Facebook settings. Keep in mind that other review sites, like Google, will not let you turn off reviews.

Improve your social media reputation with Broadly

There are plenty of ways to let customers know you’d like to receive more Facebook reviews, and one of those ways is to express how helpful they are to your business’s success. Broadly can help you get more reviews and manage your online reputation across social media platforms from one platform. 

Schedule a demo today to see how Broadly can help you boost your online presence. 

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