Just getting a review can be a tough ask for your business. But what do you do when Facebook decides that the most helpful reviews are those with one or two-star ratings!
This issue depends upon a few separate factors that determine how ‘helpful’ a review is to a potential customer, or fan. One thing you have to realize is, as a business owner, Facebook has a choice to make: satisfy the business, or satisfy the user.
Guess which one they chose?
Facebook essentially puts the review it deems “most helpful” at the top of your business page. Irritatingly for your business page, it seems as though the factors that make a review more helpful tend to be the ones that are negative.
Let’s explore why!
Length of post- Facebook likes details! Therefore, the more information in the review, the more likely it is that Facebook can pull out relevant streams of information.
It will seem that this negatively impacts your business because when people are irritated, they tend to express themselves with far more words than when they are happy! Additionally, negative reviews are prevalent because people are more likely to write a review when they feel they have been wronged.
Number of clicks- The posts which garner the most attention must be the most relevant right?
Well, somewhat. People are more likely to read negative reviews. People enjoy gossip and hearing the gory details. That’s human nature. The average user will also want to know about other issues in an effort to avoid bad experiences. This means that people look at the bad reviews to see if there is anything that will impact their choice.
Similar themes- If Facebook can detect that a particular review or reviews have an ongoing theme then it will place more importance on those reviews.
For example:
9 people out of 12 give you a 4 star rating but mention ten separate factors, and the 3 negative 2 star ratings both mention bad service and a long wait for food. These 2 star ratings will most likely be pinned to the top of your page (depending upon other factors above too).
Now, at this point in time there is not much you can do in order to remove it from this section, but here is our advice on how to deal with it.
- Respond, explain, and be reasonable… even if you really don’t want to.
- Offer them a resolution and ask them to return to your business. Ask them to give you their details so you can discuss the issue further, away from Facebook.
The keys to handling these negative responses is making the user feel heard, and that they are important. When you make the connection with them and apologize, users may modify their reviews and potential customers will see how you handled that issues.
Responding and not leaving bad blood in the air lets other users know that you care for your business, your customer, and that you are always professional. This goes a long way with a potential customer that may not know you at all.