Reviews on Personal FaceBook Walls or Google

[Andrew Ward]

Given that people spend more time on FaceBook than on Google, a trend that is growing – how valuable would it be if customers posted reviews onto their personal Facebook wall?



Reviews wouldn’t be seen publically, but their influence would be higher as they would have the same influence as a personal referral.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Andrew - Do you mind if I change the poll to reflect Google reviews along with your facebook options?

 

[Andrew Ward]

Alex, sure go ahead and make the change.

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

Why not post the Google link on your facebook every time you get a good review.

 

[Andrew Ward]

Hey Jerry,

What I'm asking is the value of having customers post reviews onto their personal facebook walls, not the dealer's wall. I'm thinking that posts on personal facebook pages have a much higher level of influence as compare to reading a review of someone you don't know. The can be a good conversation starters too as buying a new car is exciting and people like to talk about it.

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

Then here's my thought on this matter. Somebody who is currently looking to buy a car may go to a review site to check out a dealer and you'll want as many positive reviews there as possible. When a person puts a review on their facebook page, how many of their friends will be in the market for a new automobile this month? Not very many. I'd rather see your sales rep take a picture of the customer taking delivery and then get permission to post that picture to their facebook page. Frame the picture in with dealer info and the title it "Another Happy ABC Motors Customer."

 

[Andrew Ward]

I like the digital framed picture idea- can I use it? You're right, a dealer needs volumes of positive reviews to be picked up by Google, but some of those same customers who use facebook could easily post it on their FB wall at the same time the dealer would get great visibility on Google, a stronger reputation with their customer's FB friends and plant seeds that could spark new conversations on FB with at thread that points to the dealer.

 

[ryan.leslie]

This is a simple risk vs. reward equation. I don't think it is worth the risk to leave the reviews tab open on your Fanpage. There are other ways to achieve the positive result you are looking for without opening your dealership up to this:

http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/there-egg-your-facebook-1536.html

If you aren't actively encouraging the happy majority you WILL get negative reviews. Leaving the reviews tab open is a lot like drawing a bullseye on the places you don't want to be kicked in a back alley brawl. You are making it really easy for the vocal minority to kick you in the shins.

Here is an easy way to get the benefit of a personal referral within their network without the risk of negative reviews on your Fanpage. I tell my dealer clients to ask if the customer is aware of the dealers FB page when they are asking them to leave a review, it helps a lot to have a reason for them to like you, ie random service promos etc. "Great, keep an eye on our Fanpage Miss Customer because we really do appreciate you. When I see your review post on DealerRater I'm going to share it on our wall. I'd love it if you commented on the wall post!"

Here is Kershner's vid on sharing a review on your wall.

How to Post DealerRater Reviews to Your Dealerships Facebook Fan Page Wall | DealerRefresh

The customer's comment on the share hits their network's newsfeed just like a review post, and you don't have to worry about losing control of a vital marketing area of your Fanpage.

Hey, how about a contest for your fans? Ever hear the radio stations do a callout? "Emily Jones, you have 3 hrs to call the station to win X." Thinking out loud here, but would the same principle work on a wall post? Anybody tried that before?

 

[ryan.leslie]

Sorry All.

I completely misread the OP. I thought we were weighing Fanpages against Places pages for new review content.

I'm leaving the comment though as I think the consumer might be more willing to comment on a post than post themselves and it achieves the same result.

 

[Andrew Ward]

Ryan, I like the call out idea, that would make a good tweet too!

Personally I very selective with the FB FAN pages that i become a friend of. My BMW dealer sends me emails which I like and read, but I wouldn't "like" their FAN page nor would I want their messages to appear on my news feed. I have gotten similar feedback from other FB users. They are more inclined to post a review than to friend a fan page. Although it may not lead to another direct sale - the positive word of mouth, particularly if a conversations gets started has to be a real boost in the dealers reputation. Plus if several friends comment, you are reaching a lot of people with interesting content, some who may be close to buying a car and the cost would be nada!