How to Use Business Reviews

by
Alexandra Pedro
last updated on
2020-09-03
Index

1. Why showcase your reviews

How many of us have a hard time coming up with content ideas? Using your reviews in your online presence will save you the time you would otherwise spend creating original content.

Another huge benefit of showcasing business reviews is that they speak to your target audience in their own words. Many professionals have a hard time dropping the jargon! By using their clients’ reviews, those professionals are able to more easily close that communication gap.

In addition to those general benefits, there are specific benefits to showcasing positive and negative reviews.

1.1. Positive reviews build trust

Business owners and employees are not usually the most impartial people to talk about their products or services. That is why positive reviews are so powerful. Through reviews potential customers access relatively impartial perspectives on the value of your products or services.

Showcasing positive reviews will help potential customers trust the quality of your products or services even before they make a purchase. It also shows them that people are regularly interacting with your business and, therefore, it is a legitimate business.

1.2. Negative reviews show improvement

Showcasing positive reviews is a no-brainer. But have you considered showcasing negative reviews as well?

Showcasing negative (but constructive) reviews can be a trust-building tool as well. It shows you are not afraid of transparency and are confident in the steps you have taken to improve upon the feedback received.

When you showcase a negative review, make sure you do so in a way that highlights your improvements and how that review is no longer applicable to your business.

For example, if you received a review that shares how your product does not have a specific feature the client was looking for, you can share that review when implementing that new feature!

2. How to choose the best reviews

You are sold to the benefits of showcasing your business reviews but how can you choose the best ones?

2.1. Short positive reviews are the best

I have a strong preference for short positive reviews. But not all of them! I like short positive reviews that highlight a specific aspect of your business. For example, “I recommend Alexandra’s services” is not very impressive but “I recommend Alexandra’s social media management services” gives me the perfect opportunity to plug those services to my target audience when I share that review.

Also, short reviews are easier to turn into eye-catching content. You can incorporate them into visual content and share them across all your channels (e.g. website, social media, newsletter).

2.2. Long positive reviews can be broken down

Even though short positive reviews are the best, it does not mean you cannot use long positive reviews. If you have a long positive review about a variety of aspects of your business, just break it down into several short positive reviews, each about a specific aspect of your business.

In addition to breaking them into smaller pieces, outstanding long positive reviews can also occasionally be used in your website and in case studies. Just be weary of creating boring blocks of text your audience will inevitably skip.

2.3. Negative reviews on what you have improved

There is no point in showcasing negative reviews if you do not pair them with the improvements you have made regarding the complaint made. So, the best negative reviews are those that describe negative aspects of your business that have since been fixed.

3. Where to showcase your reviews

You can showcase business reviews pretty much anywhere, especially when it comes to positive reviews. Share them on social media and incorporate them into your website, your oral presentations, and even press releases. You may even print them to showcase in your workplace!

3.1. Social media

One of the hardest aspects of managing an active social media presence is creating enough content! That is where business reviews come in handy. If you have a lot of positive reviews, just keep posting them at regular intervals.

You may make it even simpler by deciding that a specific day of the week is dedicated to showcasing your clients’ reviews on social media.

And do not worry about repeating reviews every few months, especially in fast-paced social media platforms like Twitter. It is unlikely that your audience is seeing all your posts and most will not even notice the repetition.

3.2. Website

Many people have a testimonial section in their website. This is simply a compilation of positive reviews they have received. In a section like this make sure not to overwhelm the reader with too many reviews or reviews that are too long.

My absolute favourite way to showcase positive reviews is to incorporate them into case studies. People approach case studies in many different ways but they usually describe a collaboration between a business and a client and include insights on how the goals were achieved. Is there a better opportunity to showcase that client’s positive review? Even if you do not have a section of your website dedicated to case studies, you may write them in your blog section.

Also, if you plan on showcasing negative reviews, the blog section of your website is the perfect place to do that. You will be able to properly write your thought-process in dealing with that negative review and share how you improved your business since the review was first posted.

3.3. Presentations

Maybe in your business you find yourself doing a lot of oral presentations to potential clients. It happens to me a lot. As part of these presentations, I have to show the value I offer and a great way of doing that is by sharing reviews of my happy clients.

3.4. Press releases

When creating a press release about a change to your business or to the products or services you offer, you have the perfect opportunity to include a positive review. That way you avoid sounding overly salesy and instead let the words of your happy clients shine through organically!

4. How to showcase your reviews

Knowing where you want to showcase your reviews is just one piece of the puzzle. Just like you would with anything else you post online, you need to make sure your business’s reviews stand out!

4.1. How to showcase text reviews

You may showcase your text reviews very easily by typing them directly onto a social media post or a blog post. But will it really make people want to read it? This strategy will only work in blog posts when you are able to format your review in a way that invites people to read it.

Otherwise, you are better off incorporating your text reviews into images or videos! Just pair them with images or videos of the person or business who left the review, or images or videos that highlight the aspect of your business that is being praised. And do not forget to add your logo!

4.2. How to showcase sound reviews

The easiest way to showcase sound reviews is to just incorporate them as sound. Once again, this is not an eye-catching strategy. This only works when the reader is already expecting to find a review there.

A better way to showcase sound reviews is by incorporating them into video! You can do this in your video editor of choice (I use Kdenlive) and then complete the video with images or videos of the person or business who left the review, images or videos that highlight the aspect of your business that is being praised, or even an interactive audiogram. And, again, do not forget your logo!

4.3. How to showcase video reviews

You have received the best kind of reviews: the video review. Congratulations! Now what?

I always recommending editing video reviews to add your logo if you can, even if you do not plan on changing anything else. They will look more professional.

If you want to take it to the next level, you may edit your video reviews to, once again, add images or videos of the person or business who left the review, or images or videos that highlight the aspect of your business that is being praised. You may even complement the review with a video of you introducing it or saying goodbye at the end!

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