Do your guests review your property on Facebook?
The social platform’s star rating system encourages users to share their positive and negative brand experiences with others by leaving a short review and a rating out of 5. If you choose to display them, these ratings will appear as an average score on your property’s profile page, increasing transparency and credibility with your audience.
In this blog we’ll take a closer look at the way Facebook star reviews work, and how you should manage them to put your best face forward on the world’s biggest social network.
Why are Facebook reviews important?
Star ratings are one of a number of factors that play a part in making up a business’s Facebook EdgeRank – the site’s algorithm for determining where your posts will be displayed in the news feed, if they feature there at all.
As well as the increased reach that comes with influencing EdgeRank, star ratings also help add a powerful element of ‘word of mouth’ proof to your property’s social media presence.
Setting Up Review Notifications
If you decide to manage star reviews as part of your Facebook campaign, it’s important to respond promptly to both complimentary and critical reviews. To do this, you need to set up notifications within your page settings so you get alerted each time you receive a new rating.
- Go to Settings in your admin dashboard.
- Select “Get a notification each time there is activity on your Page or an important Page update.”
- Check that all notifications are switched on under “Edit your notification settings.”
- Choose whether you would also like to receive an email every time there is any activity on your page.
You’ll now be kept up to date with any new activity on your resort’s page.
How To Deal With Bad Facebook Reviews
Although you strive to provide the best possible customer service at all times, unfortunately, you can’t please all your guests all of the time, and negative, unfair and sometimes downright mean-spirited reviews do happen.
The key to preventing bad reviews damaging your online reputation lies in how you respond. Each time you are alerted to a new negative review, respond immediately and privately (off of Facebook, by phone, email or private message) for your initial conversation. Once you’ve taken some steps to clarify the issue and resolve the complaint, you can respond publicly in the form of a comment on the star rating. Remember, this public response should be timely, patient and empathetic to the guest’s concerns, and should bring closure to the complaint wherever possible.
There will always be instances when a resolution cannot be achieved, but in many cases the simple step of contacting the guest to try and reach a solution will soften their grievances and even lead to them editing the poor star rating.
While you can choose to turn them off, by keeping an eye on Facebook star ratings and responding to guest reviews in a positive and timely manner, you can increase your reach, improve your online reputation and enhance your credibility with your audience.
Don’t be put off by the prospect of a negative rating, embrace the possibility of many 5 star reviews and make your resort’s social media presence shine!
What do you think? Have you made star ratings visible on your property’s Facebook page? How do you respond to negative reviews? Let us know in the comments section below!
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