How to Properly Manage Facebook Reviews and Ratings

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We always love hearing what our community would like for us to cover on Get Your Social On, and for this week’s episode we chose to cover to discuss Facebook reviews and ratings as requested on our GYSO Facebook group by one of our loyal watchers, Ted Hipp.

How to Get Facebook Reviews and Ratings to Show on Your Facebook Page

The first step in knowing how to properly manage Facebook reviews and ratings is to make sure they are showing up on your dealership’s Facebook page. If they are not currently showing up on the page then the page category needs to be changed.

If you do not have an existing Facebook page for your dealership and are looking to create one with the ability for customers to leave reviews then choosing the right category is extremely important. In both cases, the category that needs to be chosen for a dealership Facebook page is, “Local Business”.

An admin of a Facebook page can easily change a setting for an existing page by going under their Facebook “Settings” and changing the category of the page to “Local Business”.

If your Facebook page is under the category, “Local Business” but the reviews and ratings are not showing on the page there is an easy way to remedy this, go to the “About” section of the page, click on “Page Info” and fill-in the “Address” section. This will display a map of your dealership’s physical location and provide your page with reviews and ratings.

To create a new Facebook page, choose the category “Local Business” right from the start and fill-in your page info, i.e. address, to ensure your page has a review and ratings section.

Once you have the review and ratings section on your dealership’s Facebook page, it’s time to start managing them. It is important to note that there is a difference between reviews and ratings. Facebook ratings offer customers the ability to rate your dealership using 5 stars or lower.

Facebook reviews are when customers leave a write-up about their experience at your dealership. Both of these need to be managed on a daily basis and can be found on the left-hand side of your Facebook page, as well as, under the page tab labeled, “Reviews”.

Managing Facebook Page Reviews and Ratings:

Now that you have given your customers the ability to tell you about the customer service they received at your dealership, it is also important to show them that you are actively listening to their concerns and praises by managing the reviews and ratings on your Facebook page.

Here are some statistics:

  • 79% of U.S. social media users use the site to look up  information and get recommendations. (Source: Netpop)
  • 84% of online shoppers use social media sites. (Source: Loyalty360)
  • 85 % of fans of brands on Facebook recommend brands to others. (Source: Syncapse)
  • 4 out of 5 consumers reverse purchase decisions based on negative online reviews.  (Source: Cone Inc.)

These statistics show that both positive and negative reviews and ratings ultimately effect your dealership, which means ignoring them is not an option.

Responding to Positive Reviews and Ratings:

Managing Facebook Reviews

When your dealership receives a positive review and/or rating they need to be responded to by you. Your dealership needs to show consumers that what they say about your service is important to you and when they give you praise you are there to thank them. If they mention a specific name of a person (or people) who work at the dealership, let those employees know of their job well done. This will help build morale for those who work at the dealership and show customers you care about your employees.

Responding to Negative Reviews and Ratings:

Nobody likes to receive a negative review and/or rating, but they are inevitable. It is impossible to please everyone who walks through your dealership doors, but responding to these reviews is extremely important, which is why you need to be prepared to answer negative reviews when they occur because they will.

Have one main contact person at your dealership, which you can use their name and contact number to post publicly when responding to negative reviews and ratings. If it is not the same as the person who is handling your Facebook page, then ensure they send an email to the designated contact person to notify them of the situation and that they will be receiving a phone call from an unhappy customer.

Example of how to respond to a negative review: “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and would like to discuss this matter further. Please give (add contact name here) a call at (add contact phone number here).”

If the issues stated within a negative review is resolved as a result of speaking with the contact person at the dealership, feel free to ask the consumer to go back and leave a positive review on your page.

Giving your customers the ability to express themselves on your Facebook page is important, but it is vital to show your customers you have listened and heard what they have said through properly managing your Facebook reviews and ratings.

This topic was covered by the Auto Dealer Live segment, Get Your Social On, which goes live every Thursday at 3:30pm EST. Learn more about handling Facebook reviews and ratings by watching the video featured at the top of this page.