How Social Media Affects Online Reviews In Essence, Social Media Posts Are Online Reviews! Whether you’ve made your way into the social sphere or not, customers are letting their friends and family know how great or unsatisfying your service is via social media. If you think of social networks as customer service reviews without the rating scale, you’ll see that people are constantly posting their opinions about your brand! That word-of-mouth spreads to anyone who listens (e.g. their followers), so it’s important to acknowledge posts that praise your brand and offer solutions to users who had a bad experience.
This is your opportunity to engage with your customers. Having an account on the social network your customers are posting from will allow your business to not only bring out daily awareness for those who follow your page, but also allow you to respond quickly to positive and negative comments. They’re Thinking What Their Friends Are Saying. Also known as influencer marketing, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family, according to Nielsen’s latest Global Trust in Advertising report. Social media users are giving their review of your company to their friends and family, which not only promotes awareness for your brand but also sets expectations for what your future customers look forward to when choosing your product or service. Social Media Can Bring In Major Traffic. If you’ve nailed the social media marketing tactics, you’ll see an increase in followers, attention, people talking about your brand and most importantly a significant ROI (Return On Investment). A few brief methods you can use to bring traffic include following your target audience, posting frequently, and encouraging fantastic customers to leave feedback online. But It Can Also Destroy Your Reputation! Of course, it’s not always 100% positive feedback. Being able to respond to negative reviews as soon as possible will give you the opportunity to turn it into a positive experience for the user. Recover and resolve the problem before it catches fire, and do it in the most appreciative way possible where you respect their input. This has the potential to uplift your reputation rather than depreciate it. Note: Sometimes it’s impossible to come to a resolution. In this case, your last option is to remove them from your network. In a scenario where there’s no way to come to an understanding, taking them out of your social circle will avoid possible escalated events. If you feel convinced that it’s important to hop onto the social media sphere, great. Do it. Being able to get in touch with your customers from as many mediums as possible and develop a sense of recognition can lead to positive reviews, customer loyalty, and even people referring others to buy your product or use your services. Additionally, it will allow you to have more control over what your customers are saying about you online. Read more about the importance of online reputation here. By Ramil Rodriguez, Digital Sapien