How to Build Positive Reviews: Reputation Management Tips #vcbuzz

Customer reviews are getting more and more important for online visibility. For one, Google gives reviews lots of exposure in search (through rich snippets and Business Knowledge Graph).

Furthermore, online customers are more informed these days than they were a decade ago: They know why and how to search reviews and make sure to do their research before buying (even when in store and on-the-go).

It’s clear reviews can make or break a business.

But how to build positive reviews without breaking any rules? Let’s discuss.

Yes, asking for reviews without breaking any rules requires knowing what the rules are for each platform. @vcbuzz #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

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Questions we discussed

Q1 How did you become a digital marketer? Please share your career stories!

A1 Got into marketing through a part-time college gig and never looked back! #blessed #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

A1: Fell into marketing after being an out of work actor! One of the great things about LA is that there are more marketing opportunities than acting jobs 🙂 #vcbuzz
— Lisa Shomo (@keenkoncept) July 30, 2019

A1 @vcbuzz I fell into digital marketing when I left IBM after 23 years and realized a neighbor was selling $1000s of dollars a month of unusual products using AdWords. Did PPC for 5.5 years before switching to #smallbiz consulting. #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

A1 Part-time freelance writer fresh from college. Got into marketing after starting my own blog! #vcbuzz
— Jessy Troy (@jessytroy) July 30, 2019

A1 Got into online marketing after my brother called me up and told me that he made $80 over the weekend by placing an ad in a college newspaper that pointed to a domain that he redirected to a sales page via an affiliate link. I was hooked! #vcbuzz
— Boyd Norwood (@boydnorwood) July 30, 2019

Q2 Which niches should business get particularly pro-active when it comes to managing customer reviews? Are there any niches that shouldn’t worry at all?

Most important for most business are Google’s terms of service. “Review gating” is a big one to avoid, give all customers you ask for a review equal opportunity, happy or not. #vcbuzz
— GatherUp (@GatherUp) July 30, 2019

A2 Local marketing as well as B2B / SaaS sector! I did a detailed interview on both for @GradeUs -> https://t.co/Z0c1hsC5lP #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

1-Asking every customer about their experience and purchase is a great start to more reviews. But that process doesn’t bring the “positive” part … their experience with you does! Focus on a great experience for the customer first if you want great reviews. #vcbuzz
— GatherUp (@GatherUp) July 30, 2019

A2 These days: Absolutely ANY niche because we Google anything before buying. I do that in any (offline) store #vcbuzz
— Jessy Troy (@jessytroy) July 30, 2019

A2 "in some industries (local business, SaaS business, etc.) online reviews can make or break a business." #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

Yes, I agree with @seosmarty the most important niches are local #smallbiz B2B and SaaS. They all need reviews to rank to get new customers. #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

A2: most important thing is to know what your customer thinks, regardless of where they post it. Then look at where your prospects make decisions, we’ll ranking review profiles in Google searches. Focus there. #vcbuzz
— GatherUp (@GatherUp) July 30, 2019

A2 Agreed. I see it all the time—small businesses I want to use just don’t handle their online rep. ? #vcbuzz
— Lisa Shomo (@keenkoncept) July 30, 2019

Q3 How to build positive reviews without breaking any rules?

A3 You don't build them: You encourage them! 😉 #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

A3 Seriously though, it is all about customer relationship management: Identify happy customers and invite them to leave reviews across many channels! #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

These days every business has a GMB listing. When businesses can't get customer reviews, they seem to ask employees to leave reviews about their work experiences. #vcbuzz
— 24 Hour Translation (@24hrtranslation) July 30, 2019

A3 These days with artificial intelligence tools out there you can also identify happy customers from sad ones and semi-automate emails based on that #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

Yes, there was a tool called @GetFiveStars which rebranded to @GatherUp which helps you improve customer experience and encourage positive reviews. #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

A3 Example: Create a simple after-purchase survey and use the further action based on answers -> "How can we be of help" (if not happy) and "Please review us" (if happy experience) #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

The problem with waiting for customers to tell you "good job" is that a majority of them probably won't. @24hrtranslation #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

Many happy customers won't tell you they are happy until you ask! RT @24hrtranslation: I don't think you need artificial intelligence. When a customer tells your great job, you ask for a review. #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

@seosmarty I have experienced it both ways. Sometimes certain people are just more vocal, lol. #vcbuzz
— Lisa Shomo (@keenkoncept) July 30, 2019

A3: the top 3 issues we see that you need to know:
1- google TOS and review gating
2- NO incentives for reviews! Coupons, gift cards, deals, anything
3- don’t ask for Yelp reviews #vcbuzz
— GatherUp (@GatherUp) July 30, 2019

A3 Whatever you do, DON'T promise free products / coupons in exchange for a review. This is against Google's TOS #vcbuzz
— Jessy Troy (@jessytroy) July 30, 2019

Q4 Which review sites are more important, both generic and niche ones?

A4 In general, if you're a brick and mortar and not on Yelp, you're missing out on feedback and PR. Not to mention your page being created FOR you, and you not managing it. See it all the time #vcbuzz
— Lisa Shomo (@keenkoncept) July 30, 2019

A4 Google My Business is definitely the most important. In some areas, Yelp and MerchantCircle can be important. Each niche will have a different mix of review sites @vcbuzz #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

A4 For local: Google, Yelp and Facebook! RT @vcbuzz: Q4 Which review sites are more important, both generic and niche ones? #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

A4 For the home improvement niche market, Home Advisor and Angie's list are important @vcbuzz #vcbuzz
— Julie Weishaar (@NewHorizons123) July 30, 2019

A4 Facebook reviews are also very important, but remember if you turn those on you can NOT remove negative reviews! #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

A4 For niche, this can be vital–searching for professionals like surgeons and lawyers needs additional data that niche sites can provide. #vcbuzz
— Lisa Shomo (@keenkoncept) July 30, 2019

A4 for SaaS: @producthunt @capterra @G2dotcom #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

A4:
1- Google for any type of business
2- your own site! Own your own reviews and use them for marketing, Conversion, content and review schema! (1st-party)
3- niche review sites for your industry #vcbuzz
— GatherUp (@GatherUp) July 30, 2019

A4 Google my Business allows you to add posts and videos = great exposure. Any business with a physical address can benefit – not just local. #vcbuzz
— Julie Weishaar (@NewHorizons123) July 30, 2019

Ann, how do fake reviews affect the reputation of reviews in general? Will Google ever crack down on them and begin another penalty sweep, do you think? #vcbuzz
— Don Sturgill (@DonSturgill) July 30, 2019

As people get more sophisticated in reading reviews, they realize how to tell which ones are fake and which ones are real by checking that reviewers OTHER reviews @DonSturgill #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019

There has been a removal sweep by Google going on now, lots of comments in their forum and lots of complaints about Google mistakes. #vcbuzz
— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) July 30, 2019

Q5 What are your favorite review and reputation management tools?

A5 Been using @bright_local for years, and @GradeUs seems like a great platform too! #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) July 30, 2019

A5 Depends on goals; monitoring, gathering, customer experience mgt, intelligence, marketing. Reviews can play many roles and each package has different strengths #VCBuzz
— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) July 30, 2019

A5 I mentioned the one I knew the most about was called @GetFiveStars and has since rebranded to @GatherUp. @MBlumental would know a lot about that. #vcbuzz
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) July 30, 2019