Online Reviews: An Integral Part of Your Marketing Strategy

“Fans are vanity and sales are sanity.” These are the words of Lori Taylor who clearly understands how any business thrives in today’s market – by increasing sales. That said, in digital marketing sometimes businesses think the fight is for more fans or more engagement, even more clicks or views are what lead to success. When in reality these mean nothing if they don’t lead to one major component – sales! Sales are going to keep your business going and help you grow when the time comes.

 

That’s why I’m a firm advocate for user-generated content, and in particular – reviews. Reviews are the only proven, time-tested method to successfully and consistently increase your sales, and that’s why most “digital businesses” use reviews.

 

The internet is, after all, a network of peers, and those who go online are clearly influenced by what others say. Therefore they seek out their experiences and input before making a purchase decision. It’s relatively easy to do, so it’s no longer reserved for expensive purchases but for simple products and services that may even cost a mere $5. That’s because reviews are central to the decision-making process and have become an integral part of the human (and social) psyche.

 

Bottom line: If you want to succeed, a portion of your marketing budget has to be dedicated to increasing your online reviews.

 

4 Website Review Benefits

 

All the benefits I’ve mentioned regarding online reviews drive conversion rates – which ultimately lead to increased sales and higher turnovers and profits.

 

  1. Acts As Social Proof

 

If you’re a relatively new or smaller brand or business you don’t have much social proof, but the two aspects of social proof (confirmation and affirmation) are what makes online reviews so successful. Reviews either confirm that other people are buying your products or services and loving it or they’re affirming that you’re a reliable brand.

 

In the mind of whoever reads them, they’re the only step they need to take before going ahead with a transaction.

 

In fact, all the internet and social media reviewers are is modern-day critics.

 

  1. Builds Trust

 

There’s nothing that’s more trustworthy than reviews. People talk about what they’ve experienced and how they’ve been affected – and they’re willing to share that information, whether good or bad. Those who read it trust that candid message. In addition, your business reviews will show up first for specific keywords before any of the content you’ve created has a chance to relay the message you’d like.

 

  1. Starts an Authentic Conversation

 

People are so suspicious of ads and social media content these days, because they immediately smell an agenda. They know businesses use social media and many influencers to control a narrative.

 

That’s why they turn to Yelp, Google, and Facebook reviews. Because these are far more honest and are a real-life encounter given by someone who’s actually been a client or customer of your business before.

 

When they do decide to get in contact with your business they’ll be far more willing to do business with you.

 

  1. Secures Your Reputation

 

You can tell people countless times, and position yourself as a reputable brand, but that doesn’t have as much of an effect when building your reputation. It’s the public who decides what your reputation will be and then they spread that information.

 

Your reviews are essentially people helping other people make informed decisions about whether your business is reputable or not. Your reputation will only be secured if you have a good sprinkling of online reviews.

 

 

But, in order to get these benefits from your reviews you can’t just cross your fingers and hope for the best. Wondering if all the customers or clients that had good experiences will turn to Yelp or Google or if that one client with the only “negative experience” will be the one to write a scathing review.

 

You need to get ahead of the conversation and use software or a web application that’s automated and proven to work. Enter Signal Hype.

Use Signal Hype If You’re Serious About Profiting From The Digital Space

I was amazed when I first discovered Signal Hype – it does what you need it to do, and does it much better than most other software platforms out there. I have been using it for clients ever since as well as recommending it to business owners.

 

My recommendation is: If you’re serious about growing trust online and profit you need to be using Signal Hype.

The ROI from Signal Hype is phenomenal, as one business discovered when they managed to get 150 reviews in a span of a few weeks.

The features offered by their web application are remarkable. They’ve simplified the process, so you get more reviews on the sites where you’d most want them – Google, Facebook or Yelp – and easily puts the power of your online reviews back in your hands.

 

Some of Signal Hype’s Best Features

 

For your convenience, I’ve highlighted four of Signal Hype’s best features so you know what you’re getting out of the deal. But if you want a comprehensive list of their features visit the site directly.

Get Reviews On The Sites You Need Them Most

 

Whether it’s Yelp, Google or Facebook Signal Hype integrates with all of these (and more) so you can direct your customers to post reviews where they’re most needed. The process stays the same but it gives you control over where you get those 5-star reviews and can be a great measure if you’re trying to recover from a low rating on a specific site – or if you notice you get more leads from a particular site.

Increase The Amount of Reviews

 

Signal Hype’s software reminds customers and clients to review your business online. And then they guide these clients through the process so it won’t take them long at all. It’s as simple as writing an Amazon review or an AirBnB review but for your small business. It’ll literally take 2 minutes to do which takes the “hassle” out of writing a review online – and is an extremely pleasant experience for customers.

Alert You Before You Get A Negative Rating

 

Negative ratings can be catastrophic for smaller businesses. The worst part is you won’t know someone had the intention of leaving a negative review until it’s plastered all over the internet and affecting your overall score. Thank goodness for Signal Hype! They’ve removed the element of surprise and will warn you about clients who intend to leave negative reviews so you can intervene before they’re published. Now you have the opportunity to rectify a complaint or make amends, so your clients will leave a good review.

 

Synchronizes With Employees

 

Your employees will also be able to get customers to leave reviews based on work they’ve completed, which takes the burden of alerting and sending out reminders for completed work off your shoulders. Your entire team can use the Signal Hype platform which means more reviews, more of the time!

At the end of the day Signal Hype has placed the power back into the hands of businesses, and given them what they need to succeed in an era of social proof.

Sign up for your 7 day free trial of Signal Hype now, to see the benefits firsthand.

Kellee Carroll