4 Steps to Becoming a Pro Online Review Manager for Your Business

The internet is more than just a research tool -- it's a social platform. Folks from all over the world use it to engage and learn from their fellow peers.

And through these interactions, they're being steered towards and away from certain trends, products, and services.

And thanks to the growth of business directories like Yelp and Google My Business, everyone's opinion is out in the open.

The bad news is that this can negatively impact your business.

The good news is you can do something about it. Let's take a look at how you can become a pro online review manager to save your reputation.

Why Small Businesses Owners Need to Be Review Managers

When you're a small local business, your reputation precedes you -- or at least it should. And hopefully, it does so in a good manner.

Word of mouth has always been the bread and butter for small business owners. But today, it comes in a different form -- online reviews. Most people are now using the internet to share their experiences with brands with everyone.

This is why you'll find most people looking at reviews online before making a purchase.

It's common for these reviews to show up in your business listings on Google My Business, Yelp, and others. With 2/3 of people forming an opinion about businesses based on reviews, it's now critical to claim your citations.

Then with a review manager like GoSite, you'll be able to not only see your reviews, but respond to them as well.

Learn How to Manage Your Online Reputation

People trust their peers -- always have and likely always will. Consumer trust for brands has fallen through the floor because of shady marketing and advertising tactics.

Today, it doesn't matter what you say. Your audience will only trust your words if it's validated by fellow consumers. When a customer leaves a good review about your business, it can help drive more foot traffic and calls.

But there will come a time when someone leaves a negative review. As a review manager, you're responsible for replying to these reviews ASAP.

It's vital to approach the situation professionally by apologizing and stating your concern for the matter. Try to see how you can redeem your brand by offering a voucher or refund.

Focus On Building Your Brand's Visibility

Online reviews can shed light on your business, which can help build awareness. But you don't want to rely on this method to grow your visibility.

You'll need to incorporate other platforms to do the job. For instance, social media is a great place to establish yourself as an authority. Now, this doesn't mean trying to dominate your follower's feeds or their conversations.

An authority is viewed as a leader in their industry -- someone who's an expert and trustworthy. The best way to achieve this status is to engage with your audience regularly. Keep an eye on mentions of your brand and its products or services.

Then chime in on these conversations to help showcase your knowledge.

It's also worth noting that social platforms are a playground for online reviews. So there's plenty of room to play review manager here as well.

Now, Social is just one medium you can use. There's also local SEO. This incorporates things like:

• Local keyword optimization
• Claiming and creating listings in business directories
• Creating content using local keywords

Combining social media with local SEO can help streamline your efforts and improve your results.

Ask Your Customers for Feedback

If there's one takeaway from this article, it's that you shouldn't be afraid of online reviews. In fact, we recommend asking your customers to leave reviews.

This is especially important if you don't have a lot of reviews or have more negative reviews than positive ones.

Aside from that, you can gather feedback personally from your customers via a poll or survey. You can ask about their level of satisfaction with your services and products.

There's a lot you can learn from these surveys about improving your offers. It's ideal to do this regularly, so you're always in the know about what's wrong with your products and services.

Choose a Review Manager Tool

There are dozens of business directories where consumers leave online reviews. But how can you keep track of them all? This is an answer you have to know as a pro review manager.

But if you don't -- don't worry. There's no need to try and individually manage the reviews found on each directory. Instead, you can use a tool like get reviews to keep track of them all.

From your dashboard, you're able to see and respond to reviews in real-time (across all directories). It's an aboslute time saver for the busy business owner.

You're a Self-Proclaimed Pro Review Manager -- Now What?

Managing online reviews isn't rocket science. It's human psychology, but requires nothing more than common sense. You know that attacking negative reviewers is fighting fire with fire, which can quickly burn your business reputation to the ground.

The next step is to build a strategy around your online reviews. You need to review what people are saying about your brand regularly. And having a game plan for replying to bad reviewers.

It's also a good habit to respond to satisfied customers -- a simple thank you can go a long way!

GoSite can help your business grow in so many ways, all in one friendly dashboard. Ready to dive in? Start a free trial. Prefer a conversation? Book a demo.