Most businesses have an online presence on the most popular social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and perhaps Pinterest. Many businesses also have their own channel on YouTube. While these outlets are a great way to connect with customers, all are managed by a representative within a company. There are also many other sites that offer independent reviews, which means businesses have no control of the commentary that reviewers leave behind. In this article, we will outline a multitude of independent sites that a business may want to incorporate into their social media strategy, as well as why it is important to review customer comments from independent sites in order to maintain a positive reputation throughout the community.
Who’s Talking About You?
Some businesses are so focused on maintaining their own social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, etc., they forget there is another very popular source where customers can leave reviews which can be viewed by other potential customers. Independent review sites are becoming more and more popular because they offer customers an outlet completely separate from the organization they want to review. This helps customers feel they have an unbiased avenue where they can share their true experience, whether good or bad.
Some of these sites include Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Yellowpages.com, Google reviews, TripAdvisor.com, Foursquare, and AngiesList.com. While all of these sites have professional rules as to the type of language they allow, and they do weed out fake and/or stolen reviews in order to be fair to businesses, they do allow customers to have a powerful voice when it comes to giving a company’s reputation a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
Turn a Negative into a Positive
While it may seem disconcerting or somewhat unfair for these sites to allow less than glowing reviews of an organization, these sites can offer important feedback on the things a company is doing right, as well as areas where they need to improve. The best way to view these types of sites is to look at them as a free tool that can help an organization improve.
If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to incorporate these independent review sites into part of your overall social media strategy. Once you have a clear picture of all your customer feedback, then you will know where to begin the process of improving your online reputation.
If you would like more tips on how to support your online reputation, please contact us.