Best Ways to Get Facebook Recommendations for Local Businesses

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Intro

Recently, Facebook replaced its review system with recommendations. It is a more streamlined system. A user can quickly recommend a local business. It will then be visible to any user who visits the business page.
More recommendations mean more footfalls. As a local business, you must strive to get this number up to beat your competition and grow.

10 Tips to Get More Facebook Recommendations

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1. Enable Recommendations On Facebook

Your first step is to ensure that recommendations are enabled on your Facebook business page. Without it, your customers won't leave a positive recommendation.
Many customers would happily endorse your business but may not be aware of the recommendations tab. Spend time setting this up before you begin reaching out to them.
Here is how you go about it:

• Go to the Settings page of your local business Facebook account.
• Navigate to Templates and Tabs and look for Recommendations or Reviews in the options. You may still see it as Reviews, as the feature is not globally rolled out.
• Ensure that you turn it On.

Now you are all set to gather those fan recommendations.
Here’s an example of what a recommendation on Facebook looks like:

2. Send Email and SMS Invites to Customers

Reaching out to your customers is vital for increasing your recommendation count. People often forget to review or rate after a great experience but gladly do so when reminded.
Email and SMS are great channels to reach them for it directly. These channels are more personalized. Customers have opted for communication through them and are more likely to reciprocate.
Use the tips below to get the most number of Facebook recommendations for your local business:

• Filter your customer list. Locate and invite your most loyal or recent customers.
• Offer an incentive such as a coupon or discount if they provide a favorable recommendation.
• Include a link to the recommendation tab on Facebook in the footer of every customer email. It could be something as simple as "Loved us? Please recommend us on Facebook by clicking here".

The link you add to the footer of your email should direct your customers to the recommendation page, for example:

3. Ask Family and Friends

Your customers need not be the only ones to recommend you. Reach out to your inner circles and other networks. This could mean family, friends, acquaintances, and more. Every positive recommendation makes a difference.
A common mistake local business owners make is sending generic mail or text to all their contacts asking for recommendations. This is a poor tactic.
Make sure that you reach out to as many contacts as possible personally. It could be in-person, email, or a phone call. It makes a big difference and is likely to drive them to recommend you.
You could also try:

• Offering a group discount if they invite people in their network to recommend you.
• Narrow down a list of people who are most likely to endorse you and connect with them.

You can create a Facebook group to organize and reach out to your inner circles about group discounts, for example:

4. Use Facebook Messenger

Chatbots help you automate many processes. Once set up, they require no manual intervention. The biggest benefit is that they can operate 24x7. You can leverage their power in getting more recommendations for your local business.
The way to do it is to integrate a chatbot with Facebook messenger. Getting a Facebook messenger bot to reach your customers is cheaper than building a mobile app.
Utilize it to the fullest to send messages to customers during and after a sale. It could be the invoice, links to reach support, or even FAQs.
Here are a few tips to get more Facebook recommendations:

• Share the recommendation link after a sale, asking them to participate.
• Reach out to recent customers asking them to recommend your services.

Here’s an example of a Facebook Messenger chatbot in action:

5. Automate the Invite Process

Time is the essence of a local business, and resources are limited. You may not have time to track and personally reach out to every customer contact.
You want to reach a customer for a recommendation soon after a sale or visit. Any protracted contacts may not be effective. They may not have the time or have a fresh memory of the experience.
Automating your recommendation invites solves this problem. Many automation tools simplify this for you. You can use them to send recommendation invites via SMS, Email, and more.
Our top tools for automation are:

• Podium: Automate sending invites via text so that customers can recommend your local business on their phones while on the move.
• Arrivala: Arrivala can help you schedule and collect reviews by following up with your customers.

Here’s an illustration of how Podium works:

6. Embed Recommendations Link on Website

Embed a Facebook Recommendations link on the top-visited pages of your site. It's easy to do and can work wonders in getting more recommendations for your local business. It's similar to embedding social media icons on your site.
A single click will take the customer to the recommendations page.
Here are a few helpful tips for doing it right and some tactics to avoid:

• Share your favorite Facebook reviews directly on your website. This will encourage visitors to participate.
• Avoid embedding it in too many places on your website. It should not look like you are trying too hard for recommendations.
• Entice people by promising a reward when they leave a recommendation through the link.

You can embed a recommendation by clicking on the three dots on the top right corner and click on ‘Embed’:

7. Offer Rewards and Incentives

Most customers are happy to leave a recommendation when asked. However, a few others may need a little more nudge. The best way is to offer attractive incentives. It could be a coupon, a gift card, or even a free drink or meal.
Giving incentives makes customers feel important. It is also a more personalized way to engage with your audience. You will start seeing genuine recommendations if the incentives are rolled out professionally.
Here are a few additional tips for using incentives for Facebook recommendations:

• Roll them out as part of a launch. For example, offer the top 10 customers to recommend the product on Facebook a $10-$15 gift card.
• Avoid being pushy. Don't send repeated requests to customers

8. Harness Power of QR Codes

Getting more recommendations for your business is the best way to build credibility. A new avenue to explore is QR codes.
A QR code gets your customer straight to your Facebook page when scanned. The big benefit of QR codes is that almost all mobile devices support them. Many phones these days come in-built with QR code scanners.
Almost all social platforms, including Facebook, provide QR code tools. You can use them to quickly generate a QR code for your local business's Facebook page. You can also use other QR code tools to do a lot more.
There are many ways to use QR codes to amplify Facebook recommendations:

• Use them on print materials such as menus and brochures.
• Use it to derive metrics from tracking your campaigns.
• Customize them with your brand colors and logo.

You can find the QR code generation tool under the publishing tools tab on your Facebook business page:

9. Be Responsive to Page Activity

It pays to engage with customers every so often. Don't just reach out to customers for recommendations. It helps to engage with those who interact on your Facebook page.
Be sure to respond to every comment, review, or inquiry. Your responsiveness here builds credibility and trust. It also hints that you have a dedicated customer support team to field any customer issues.
Doing so is not a direct way to increase recommendations. However, it is a great way to motivate customers to leave a good one. Catching up with all Facebook activity can be time-consuming.
Here are a few tips for you:

• Respond to all comments, even if they are negative. Offer to call or connect with the customer personally.
• Use any positive review as a chance to link the customer to the recommendation page.

Here’s an example of McDonald’s responding to a negative recommendation:

10. Showcase Best Recommendations

Nothing builds trust with customers than seeing other customers speak highly of a business. An easy way to do this is to showcase some of your best customer reviews.
Doing so sends out a positive message to new customers. There are many effective ways to use customer reviews to grow recommendations.
Here we round up some of our proven methods:

• Share recommendation milestones. For example, create a striking web banner or poster when you hit 100 or 1000 recommendations.
• Run contests or lucky draws to reward customers. For example, you can reward the first ten customers by leaving a recommendation on the inaugural day of your restaurant.

Here’s an example of a banner announcing a milestone. Instead of likes, you can replace it with ‘recommendations’:

Benefits of Facebook Recommendations for Local Businesses

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1. Amplify Brand Reach

Facebook recommendations can be discovered all over the social network. It is visible to people across Facebook. It helps customers make decisions about a product or service without directly coming to your Facebook business page.
Let's take an example, a person in Fort worth searching for the best burgers may come across many burger joints in the area. These results are usually pinned on a map. Facebook recommendations appear along with most results.
You may see Bob's burger with a tagline that says, "53 people recommend it". This is a quick way to know which local business has a higher reputation.
Here are a few tips that can get you better reach:

• Showcase top recommendations on your website and other platforms. Not just Facebook.
• Respond to every recommendation. It builds loyalty and trust.

Take Dave looking for a blanket, for example. By asking this question, Dave can view places that sell cheap blankers with the number of people recommending it on Facebook Maps:

2. More Interactive and Feature-rich

Recommendations feature on Facebook is way more interactive than the previous reviews. It is dynamic. Reviews only allowed a rating between 1 and 5 and a write-up. It was helpful but limited in the details about a local business.
The recommendations feature goes one step further. It lets customers add several other types of content to it. This makes it a lot more valuable for customers.
A few reasons why Facebook recommendations are more interactive:

• Allows customers to add photos or short videos. Ask your visitors to do it to get more business. Your local business will be trusted more when others add pictures and videos of their visit.
• Allows customers to add tags. For example, #Bestburgers or #BestDallasPlumbers. These tags are generated by Facebook based on previous reviews.

Here’s an example of how customers can attach images along with their recommendations:

3. Quick and Easy for Customers

Facebook recommendations are simple and easy to do. Even a customer with novice-level internet knowledge or hard-pressed for time can recommend in a few seconds.
Unlike reviews, you simply say "yes" or "no." There is no rating scale like the older reviews feature.
The process of recommending is very clear. Its simplicity is encouraging for visitors. Your business will see more recommendations due to it. Reviews take time to write, and most customers don't go ahead with it.
A few things you can do to encourage more recommendations are:

• Use Facebook messenger to ask your new customers to spend a minute and recommend your local business.
• Send out emails to new customers encouraging them to leave a recommendation.

4. More Organic Reach

An increase in positive Facebook recommendations helps with many aspects of your local business. It helps bring more footfalls to your local outlets. It also increases the number of visitors to your online shopping portals.
Your local business recommendation score shows up when people on Facebook ask their family or friends for recommendations. People can see your business recommendation score on their posts.
An increase in such activity is great for organic reach. It gets you more reach. There are a few other tips to get more reach:

• Add more details in your recommendation invites. Ask visitors to select the best tags that represent their experience. Facebook shows many tags that indicate positive aspects of interacting with your business.
• Add more pics and videos of your business on Facebook pages.

Read: Introduction to Facebook Marketing and Local SEO

Facebook Recommendations for Local Businesses - FAQs

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Q1. What's New With Facebook Recommendations?

The old system of reviews where users rated a company from 1-5 with a review is changed. They now recommend your business with a simple 'yes' or 'no.' They can also add images to their recommendation.

Q2. What's The Best Way to Educate Customers About Facebook Recommendations?

You can educate customers to leave a recommendation through many channels. You can use:

• Facebook messenger
• Automated emails and SMS
• Chatbots on Facebook messenger
• Tell them in-person at your local business

Q3. Do Facebook Recommendations Affect My SEO Rankings?

They have an indirect correlation to your local SEO scores. More positive recommendations drive higher web traffic. You must focus on growing these numbers along with other SEO efforts.

Key Takeaways

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• Educate your customer about Facebook recommendations. Send them emails, text messages, or tell them in person to vote for your business.
• Focus on tracking the number of recommendations you get every month. Identify any service gaps to increase them.
• Encourage people to share pictures they take at your local business.
• Connect with recent and loyal customers and ask them to recommend your local business.
• Embed links for the recommendations page on your website. Ensure that it's visible clearly.
• Automate the invite process as much as possible.
• Focus on text messages and Facebook Messenger chatbots for mobile users.