How important are reviews and recommendations?
5th October 2018
How important are reviews and recommendations? Well as it turns out, they are very important! 90% of people first check out a business online to see if it meets their expectations. For small businesses especially, good reviews could be the make or break of with regards to being successful! Don’t just take our word for it, here are some great facts to reinforce why reviews are so important.
- 88% of people who look at online reviews trust others experiences.
- 72% will only interact with brands that have received positive reviews.
- Online reviews lead to an increase in sales.
Facebook Reviews change to Recommendations
Facebook has recognised the importance for customers to leave their thoughts and experiences and have made this process easier. Recently they changed their review scheme to recommendations. One in three people on Facebook look to reviews on a companies page to help them make their mind up. Instead of users rating a business on a scale on 1 to 5, they simply have to answer either yes or no when asked if they would recommend it. Any current reviews on the page will automatically be updated to recommendations.
Facebook had this to say in their official update: “People use recommendations to ask their communities where to go, what to eat or where to shop. We’re making those recommendations more prominent on pages.“
Benefits of Facebook Recommendations
2 in 3 Facebook users visit the page of a local business at least once a week. Plus 1 in 3 users use the platform to look for recommendations. Facebook have said there will be an increased reach with this update, especially as they will show any recommendations made by friends first. This is to aid purchases/visits to businesses by increasing consumer confidence. You can also share photos and add tags. Customers can highlight the best features provided by a business using some pre-generated tags which come from past reviews.
