How to Leave Facebook Reviews With The New Facebook Recommendations

We are all aware that Facebook reviews and recommendations are extremely important for any company’s reputation.

And positive reviews or 5-star reviews from previous customers are becoming a new channel to build trust among potential customers.

What is very interesting is that 1 in 3 Facebook users are using the platform to find reviews and recommendations.

In this post, we are publishing everything you need to know about Facebook recommendations and especially how to explain to customers to leave Facebook reviews on your Facebook page.

Facebook Reviews are Becoming Recommendations

FYI: You can embed Facebook reviews widget automatically with EmbedReviews platform. Start a free trial and display your Facebook Page recommnedations now. 

Facebook recently introduced new updates for Business Pages.

The main goal of the newly redesigned pages is to provide easier ways for people to interact with local businesses on social media.

According to Facebook’s VP of Local, Alex Himel, Over 1.6 billion people around the world are connected to a small business on Facebook. And starting from August 2018 Facebook is making new changes to Facebook Business Pages to help more people connect with local businesses.

One of the main updates is the further development of the feature Recommendations, which is an evolved version of the Facebook reviews system.

This new feature is already rolled out, and businesses will have the chance to see new reviews designed on their Facebook Page. The main change of the system is that the Recommendations option is integrated within the reviews and all recommendations that customers or other Facebook users previously gave will also be listed in this Reviews/Recommendations section.

As stated in the official update, Facebook is making Recommendations from the business’s community more helpful:

‘People use Recommendations to ask their communities where to go, where to eat, or where to shop on Facebook. We’re making those Recommendations more prominent on Pages.’

We are all aware that reviews and recommendations are extremely important for any company’s reputation.

And positive reviews or 5-star reviews from previous customers are becoming a new channel to build trust among potential customers.

What is very interesting is that 1 in 3 Facebook users are using the platform to find reviews and recommendations.

This means that recommendations are not only the opinions given by customers directly on the business’s Facebook page but also when people respond to their friends when they look for a recommendation on Facebook.

Note: The old Facebook reviews are safe and sound, and your Facebook Page will continue to display all previous reviews that you’ve generated.

How are Recommendations different from Reviews?

Well, there are differences:

• Location – The Recommendations appear on the upper-right side,, and Reviews appear on the left-hand side (if not hidden).
• Reach – Reviews are visible to any Facebook user. With Recommendations, you can limit the reach and make it more personal.
• Format – Reviews have star ratings and comments. Recommendations have only comments.
• Reactions – Anyone can comment and like a Review, but only people in the person’s network can comment and like a Recommendation.
• Specifics – People can recommend a specific business feature (choose a tag that best describes their recommendation) and share a photo; Reviews don’t have such an option.

So, the bottom line is:

• The tab is called “Reviews”
• The feature is called “Recommendations”

How do Facebook Recommendations work?

What are the benefits of Facebook Recommendations?

The changes in the reviews system to recommendations are providing more options for customers to give their opinions about a certain business. Here are some of the benefits:

Increase reach with Recommendations

Your Facebook Page score will be reflected across Facebook, especially at places where customers make relevant decisions, such as Maps.
Recommendations are discoverable across Facebook when people are searching for, or talking about your business. The best thing is that Facebook will show first the recommendations provided by the closest friends, which will empower the purchasing decisions and bring greater trust

Post photos about the business

This option was not previously enabled in the reviews section. Now, if you tag the business in the comments section when a friend asks for a recommendation, you have the option to also post gifs or photos. The cool thing is, that all these posts will be displayed in the Recommendations section of the business’s Facebook Page as customer reviews.

The best, mobile form for leaving a recommendation has the option to upload a photo from the phone and publish it together with the text.

Note: The character limit for a desktop recommendation is 25 and for mobile is 50.

Tag Facebook Recommendations

When a customer leaves a recommendation directly on the Facebook page, they can choose a tag that best describes their recommendation. These Facebook tags work like hashtags for businesses, and the Facebook system generates them based on words used in past reviews.

Here is an example of how the tags are displayed when you try to add a recommendation on mobile:

How the new Facebook rating score is calculated

As outlined in the official Facebook help center, the overall Facebook Page score is calculated as follows:

A Page’s rating is based on multiple sources, such as the reviews and Recommendations people share about business Pages on Facebook.

Or click the help icon below the average score in the Reviews tab, as shown below:

How to set up Facebook Recommendations?

If you’ve already activated the Reviews tab, then you don’t need to change anything. Please note that the Recommendations are a replacement of the Reviews tab and the process to activate it is the same as before.

If you still don’t have activated the Recommendations on your Facebook Page, here is how to activate the Facebook reviews tab.

Step 1: Log in to your Facebook account and go to your business Facebook page

Step 2: Navigate to the ‘Settings’ section on your left-hand side

Step 3: Click the ‘Privacy’ menu.

Step 3: Click the ‘Page and tagging’ menu as shown below:

Step 4: In this section, find the option ‘Allow others to view and leave reviews on your Page’ and make the toggle ON.

That’s it. Now, the reviews tab will appear on your page.

How to Recommend a Business on Facebook

This process is the one that has the biggest change.

To recommend a business on Facebook, you will need to open the business’s Facebook Page that you want to recommend.

Please note that previously, there was an option to ‘Write a review‘ and select the review score from 1-5. Now you do not actually leave a review for the business, but you are recommending it. You have only two recommendation options, to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, which means you want to recommend the business or not. Simple as that.

Here are the steps for how to leave a Facebook review:

1. Click the Reviews/Recommendations tab
2. Click ‘Yes’ to recommend the Page
3. Write your recommendation, and if you use mobile, upload a photo along with the recommendation text
4. You can also choose a tag such as great service, amazing staff or similar
5. Click Post

Additionally, you can recommend a business by leaving a comment by tagging a business’s Facebook Page when some of your Facebook friends ask for recommendations.

And this tutorial is very important for business owners who want to get more Facebook reviews so they can explain this step-by-step process to their customers on how to navigate their Facebook Page reviews tab and how to recommend their business.

The Significance of Facebook Recommendations for Local Businesses

Here’s why these Facebook recommendations have become pivotal for local enterprises:

Boost in Credibility and Trust

Facebook recommendations serve as modern word-of-mouth referrals. When potential customers see positive recommendations from their friends or others in the community, it enhances the credibility of the business. In a digital age, many customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, making these endorsements vital for establishing trust.

Enhanced Visibility and Organic Reach

When a user leaves a recommendation, it can be seen by their friends and connections. This means a local business can benefit from increased visibility without investing in paid advertising. Each recommendation acts as a mini marketing campaign, potentially reaching hundreds or even thousands of prospective clients without any added effort or expense from the business.

Influence on Buying Decisions

Recommendations can play a decisive role in a customer’s buying journey. A positive recommendation can sway uncertain customers towards trying out a local business. Conversely, negative feedback can serve as constructive criticism, allowing businesses to improve and address genuine concerns.

Enhanced Engagement and Community Building

Recommendations often spur conversations about the business, either through questions, shared experiences, or stories. This not only spreads awareness but fosters a sense of community around the brand. Engaging with these recommendations and comments can further personalize a business’s connection with its customer base, establishing loyalty and repeat business.

How to Report a Facebook Recommendation

Most of the online review platforms such as Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp allow an option to report negative reviews that a business wants to be removed or delegated from their business listing or Facebook page in the case of Facebook reviews.

Similar to the previous option for reporting reviews, this option is now available, and you can report a Recommendation that violates Facebook’s Community Standards.

To do this, follow the steps:

1. Go to the recommendation that you want to report and click the 3 dots in the top right corner
2. Select “Find support or report Recommendation”
3. Choose the topic and click “Submit”

In this relation, we recommend reading the following blog post:

Read more: How to Respond to Negative Facebook Reviews >>

How to ask for Facebook recommendations?

if you are a business and starting out with recommendations on Facebook, getting the first batch is very important to boost your trust in this social media network.

The simple steps on how to get more Facebook reviews are the following;

• Send emails to customers with a link to your Facebook reviews section
• Print QR codes on menus or flyers with the Facebook review link to the reviews tab
• Embed a ‘Review us on Facebook‘ button on your website
• Add a Facebook reviews badge on your website
• Create Facebook ads with your reviews

And for more reach and greater appeal of your Facebook reviews, you can embed them on your website. Read the section below and check the complete guide on Facebook reviews.

How to Embed Facebook Recommendations on your Website?

With the evolution of the Facebook reviews system, you can use a platform such as EmbedReviews to help you generate new recommendations posted on your Facebook Page.

The system automatically generates the ‘Yes’ and the ‘No’ recommendations, which you can display on your website with a simple embeddable code.

Feel free to try EmbedReviews, collect your Facebook Recommendations, and embed a Facebook reviews widget on your website.

If you want to read the full guide, make sure you read our article on how to embed Facebook reviews on a website.

Key Takeaways

I hope this article will help you improve your Facebook presence, and if you have any thoughts, feel free to reach out.

The Facebook reviews and recommendations system allows your customers to leave feedback and ratings on a business’s Facebook page, which provide greater benefits to your website, such as:

1. Increased visibility and credibility: Positive reviews can boost a business’s reputation and attract new customers.
2. Improved customer engagement: Responding to reviews can help businesses build stronger customer relationships.
3. Enhanced local SEO: Facebook reviews can help businesses rank higher in search results for local search queries.
4. Easy to use: Facebook reviews are easy for customers to leave and for businesses to manage.
5. Insights: Review data can provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction and areas for improvement.

FAQ

FYI: You can embed Facebook reviews widget automatically with EmbedReviews platform. Start a free trial and display your Facebook Page recommnedations now.