Customer reviews have become an essential part of the buyer’s journey and brand awareness strategy.
According to Forbes, positive reviews and testimonials can significantly increase brand trust and credibility. Reviews provide social proof that a business delivers on its promises. They show real customer experiences and build confidence in potential buyers.
This article will provide eight proven strategies you can use to leverage customer reviews for improved brand awareness and trust. By implementing these tactics, you can showcase your reputation and boost visibility. Let’s explore them in detail!
1. Add Reviews to Website Pages
One of the most effective ways to leverage customer reviews for brand awareness is to prominently feature them on key website pages.
This provides social proof and builds trust with visitors.
Some top pages to add customer reviews include:
- Homepage: Feature a testimonial slider or reviews widget to showcase your brand’s satisfied customers. This offers immediate social proof when visitors first land on your site.
- Pricing or product pages: Reviews help address customer concerns about value or quality. Include relevant reviews on pricing pages or next to product descriptions. You can also add short review snippets to your checkout page to help customers feel better about buying.
- Dedicated testimonial or review page: Create a page showcasing all your best customer reviews. Link to this from navigation menus to make it easy to find.
By prominently displaying customer reviews on high-traffic pages, you reinforce your brand image and credibility. Visitors see real customers vouching for you.
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2. Create Social Feeds
One useful way to highlight and add reviews to your site is to use a social feed plugin.
A social feed is a stream of social media posts embedded on your website in an attractive way. You can feature your channel, specific posts, and content from different social platforms or add your audience’s content.
Integrating reviews via social feeds makes displaying customer reviews incredibly easy. There’s an added impression of the reviews being dynamic and they can be traced back to the original creators. Plus, there are programs to help incorporate real social media reviews into a single page without manually adding them.
Integrating social media reviews onto your site is a fantastic way to increase conversions and sales via social proof.
3. Feature in Emails and Newsletters
Including curated customer reviews in email newsletters and drip campaigns is a great way to showcase social proof directly in your subscribers‘ inboxes.
You don’t need to send a dedicated email revolving around reviews; rather, strategically add a review or two (and ratings) to your typical newsletter.
The key is to be selective and strategic. Pick one or two highly positive and detailed reviews that align with the topic or offer highlighted in that email. You can place the reviews in a callout box or text block so they stand out from the body content, or you could add a link to them.
For example, you could include a rave review for a newly launched product in an email announcing that product. Or include a review praising your customer service in a drip campaign focused on service offerings.
Visual elements like the customer’s name, photo, rating, or pull quote can help draw attention to the reviews. But be sure they don’t distract from critical email content or overwhelm subscribers. Emails featuring authentic customer stories and experiences in this way can help strengthen trust and relationships with your target audience.
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4. Share on Social Media
Social media provides a great platform to share customer reviews and testimonials. This allows you to showcase social proof and build credibility with your audience.
Make adding reviews to your social media accounts part of your content strategy.
Post snippets and quotes from positive customer reviews on all your social media channels via a content calendar tool.
The key is to amp up your content distribution by sharing reviews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more.
For example, pull an impactful one-liner from a five-star review and use it as a caption for an eye-catching image on Instagram. Or feature a short video testimonial from a happy customer on Facebook.
Leverage user-generated content by reposting customer photos of your product. Always ask for permission and give them credit. This shows real customers enjoying your brand.
5. Create Review-Focused Ads
One powerful way to leverage your customer reviews is by turning them into ads. This allows you to showcase real customer experiences to new potential buyers.
Start by identifying some of your best and most enthusiastic reviews. Look for ones that highlight specific benefits of your product or service. Then, pair an excerpt from the review with a relevant image or video to create an ad.
For example, an outdoor equipment company could take a review that raves about how lightweight and durable their backpack is. They can then use this text and an image of the backpack in an ad to emphasize those qualities.
Paid promotion like this helps boost credibility. Prospective customers find reviews more authentic and trustworthy than standard ads. Seeing natural customer perspectives makes them more likely to engage and convert.
6. Add Reviews to Packaging
A clever but rarely used idea is adding customer reviews to product packaging.
You can also hang tags with a review snippet to product packages.
Printing select positive customer reviews on product packaging essentially gives customers a recommendation as they evaluate a purchase in a store or if they get it delivered.
When selecting reviews for packaging, choose ones that are short and impactful and highlight the most compelling product benefits.
Rotate different reviews periodically to showcase various perspectives. With thoughtful curation, product reviews printed directly on packaging can go a long way in building credibility and driving sales. They also add a human touch that people will appreciate.
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7. Highlight in Your Sales Materials
This is a great tip for your sales team: add customer reviews to sales materials like sales decks, brochures, flyers, and more. Featuring positive customer reviews in these materials provides social proof and builds trust with potential new customers
When creating sales materials, consider adding a “Testimonials” or “What Our Customers Are Saying” section that features positive customer quotes and stories. You can pull these directly from online review sites or testimonials you have collected. Highlight the most relevant, enthusiastic reviews from ideal customer profiles.
Visuals like logos, star ratings, and graphs demonstrating your average rating can help strengthen the impact as well. Just make sure to only display honest feedback, and do not misrepresent your review scores.
You should add reviews to your sales enablement platform so your sales team can easily access them and incorporate them into their communication and outreach efforts.
8. Prompt for Reviews
You can only leverage customer feedback if you generate it. And this is not a passive activity at all.
At the very least, you have to simply ask for them from time to time. You want to prompt customers to leave reviews at the optimal times when they’re most likely to respond positively.
The best time to ask is immediately after a purchase or service interaction when the experience is fresh in the customer’s mind. Send a polite request via email or text to request feedback.
You can also follow up a few days or weeks after they’ve had time to try your product or service. Check in to see if they’re satisfied and reiterate your review request.
To encourage more responses, consider offering a small incentive for leaving a review, such as a discount on their next purchase. However, avoid paying for reviews directly, as this violates review platform policies. The goal is to show your appreciation, not buy ratings. With smart timing and a courteous approach, you can turn more of your happy customers into reviewers.
Enhance Your Brand Reputation With the Power of Reviews
Customer reviews can be a powerful tool for boosting brand awareness when used strategically. By implementing some of the strategies discussed, you can showcase your reputation and increase visibility.
Reviews are a free and powerful awareness asset. Be proactive in collecting reviews and then showcase them prominently across channels. The more visibility reviews have, the more they will elevate your brand.
Start implementing one or two new review strategies today to build familiarity and trust with potential customers. Consistent review promotion will compound this effect over time. So, get started and grow your brand with reviews today!
