Managing Online Reviews and Comments

For those of you that haven’t used reviews on your site before, you’ve been missing out. If people are searching for products, services and information online, reading what other people have to say is an increasingly popular way of gauging more about whatever it is that they are looking for. It can help shape a customer’s or user’s experience, and either drive them towards or away from a product or service online. In other words, they’re very powerful.

So what happens when you include comments or review sections on your site, but no one actually writes anything? Or worse still, what happens if you receive a litany of negative comments? Here are some tips to help you manage your online reviews and comments, so you don’t end up making any online marketing faux pas.

Driving Users to Comment

If you are offering a product or service, customers will naturally gravitate to the comments section of that product or service to review it. However, you can always encourage this if your review pages are looking a little empty. For example, many hotels and guest houses ask their visitors to give them a review upon checking out, or when they are back at home, after their break away. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, so always look to ask a customer to leave a comment, when it’s appropriate to do so.

Don’t Encourage Spammy Comments

For anyone that has a blog or review section on their site, you may notice suspicious looking comments that are left quite frequently. It’s important that you moderate all comments, so you can approve or reject them accordingly. Spammy comments not only look bad, but they also don’t help the user get what they want if they start reading them.

More often than not, they just contain a link for SEO purposes. Of course, if the comment adds a great deal of weight, and is useful to the reader, then whether it contains a link or not is irrelevant. But, it’s important for you to be vigilant of comments that are deliberately posted to just solely imbed a link.

Monitor What People Say

Whether you use digital marketing services to help monitor your brand, or you just want to use the necessary tools yourself, it’s a great way of observing what people are saying about you online – not just what they are saying about you on your website. This is important for a number of reasons. It allows you to gain instant feedback, but also notifies you of areas where you can improve your products, services, or even your website.

Respond To What They Say

This is especially true if comments are left on your blog, or any of your social media profiles. These platforms encourage interactivity, and it’s a great way of building profiles and reputation within your respective industries. However, you need to make sure that what you are saying is appropriate and helpful – so you’re not jeopardising your brand.

In any circumstance, always respond quickly to what someone has to say. If they’ve taken the time to write to you, then you should take the time to write back. It’s far more personal this way; something that carries its own benefits in online marketing. If someone has been dissatisfied with what you offer, always acknowledge what they’ve said and explain how you plan to resolve the error. Never get into a debate or argument online, it looks very unprofessional and other users will see this taking place. Look to ease the situation and encourage the user to come back by offering them a discount.

As you can see, when it comes to online mentions, comments and reviews, there are a few pitfalls to avoid. Ensuring that you encourage more comments, but also respond to these in kind will help encourage any customer to use your products and services in the future.