How to encourage organic online testimonials

When you want to increase the hype about your business, no one can fault you for tooting your own horn. 

However, finding a way to get organic raves from your customers is an even more effective way to boost awareness of your brand and elevate sales. But how do you go about inspiring people to post their positive reviews?

Begin at home.

Start by looking at your own Facebook business page. This is a place where satisfied buyers and patrons often tend to place a textual or video rave. 

If you don’t have any here yet, ask your followers to share their love by providing some input about why they are fans of your business and the products you sell.

Capitalize on the power of video content.

YouTube is another terrific option. Ask your best clients to post content about your business on their personal pages and to give you the link. Once you have several, you can create a playlist on your own channel.

Utilize local search directories.

Customers often use forums like Yelp, Yahoo Local Business, Google Business Profiles, and Merchant Circle to post their positive reviews. 

When you find content about your business, simply cut and paste them onto your testimonial page. Alternatively, take a screenshot or use a WordPress plugin to transfer it onto your website.

Don’t overlook niche sites.

Businesses in certain specialized industries often get their best reviews on so-called niche sites that cater to their customer base and their interests. If yours falls into that category, make it a point to regularly scrutinize these online destinations. 

If you see some testimonials you like, transfer them to your own channels.

Provide rewards.

The truth is that most people only send a review when they are unhappy. Your job is to incentivize the people who are amazed by your brand and the products you sell to tell the world. While bribery is not encouraged in politics, it’s just fine to do it in this case.

To that end, use the customer management tool in your point of sale system to find out who your loyal patrons are. 

Then get in touch with them via email or social media, and let them know that you are offering discounts or the chance to win prizes to everyone who shares their testimonial on your website or social media page. 

For the purposes of full disclosure, it’s always a good idea for the customer to state that they received a free product or other benefit in exchange for their review.

Find third-party reviews with Google Alerts and Social Mention.

As a busy entrepreneur, you don’t have tons of time to scrape the internet for positive reviews. Let tools like Google Alerts and Social Mention do the work for you. 

Just set them up to notify you via daily email of anything about your company, i.e., your business name, product names, and relevant keywords such as “review.”

Positive insights from customers encourage other would-be buyers to investigate your store. This social proof can provide you with an intangible but very real boost that can increase awareness of your brand and elevate your sales. 

There is no time like the present to begin harnessing the power of organic testimonials.