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Real People, Real Results: Why authenticity trumps AI on TikTok, Instagram, and beyond
In today’s world, consumers have everything at their fingertips. From clothes to camping gear, groceries to pet supplies, everything is just a click away. As brand experiences become more online-oriented, people pay less attention to marketing campaigns, and more attention to customer reviews.
A Frontiers study found that 93% of consumers say reviews factor into their purchasing decisions. That means it's time for a new age of connecting with audiences, and it’s called customer review marketing.
Ready to start using customer reviews in marketing campaigns? Now sure where to start In this blog, we cover the best ways to use customer reviews, plus some examples of companies doing it right.
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The process of leaving a customer review is fairly straightforward. While it's not required, customers are generally asked to leave their names and contact information. There are often guidelines for what the review should and should not include. Customers will be asked to leave a rating and an optional explanation if they want to add additional comments about their experience.
Customer reviews don’t always appear online. In fact, customers can leave reviews on social media platforms like Instagram. Customers can share their experience via posts, Reels, IG Lives, or Stories. This offers a valuable opportunity for brands to share these Instagram reviews on their profile for potential customers to reference.
The bottom line is this: leveraging customer reviews both online and on social media is essential for a successful content marketing strategy.
Customer purchase decisions are often based on word of mouth. In fact, a Brightlocal survey found that 76% of consumers regularly read online reviews when browsing. Wondering where to start? Check out our insider tips below.
If your product received positive online reviews, feature them on high-traffic pages of your site. This strategy targets potential customers who are seeking out information about your brand. Providing high-quality and informative reviews on high-traffic pages encourages customers to convert.
Incorporating reviews into your social and search ads can help potential customers compare your brand to competitors. Since people are more likely to trust a brand that has positive, credible reviews, why not include them in your ads?
If a person finds your brand via social media, they're likely seeking out information about people’s experiences with your product or service.
By posting reviews on social media, you're not only making word-of-mouth information more accessible for future customers but also creating a relationship with current customers and ultimately building brand loyalty.
While sharing reviews and testimonials in email newsletters can help engage with current customers, it can also entice new subscribers to try out a brand’s product or service. Use testimonials in your email newsletters right before a CTA to encourage readers to visit your site.
While Instagram doesn’t have a reviews feature, it's still a popular platform for customers to leave reviews in the form of posts and stories. Reposting that content to a review highlight Reel or page on your brand’s Instagram profile is often a best practice for customer review marketing.
Creating a review hub allows current and future customers to easily see what others are saying about your brand. It also may encourage customers to post their own reviews or tag your brand on their profile.
There are companies absolutely killing it with their customer review marketing! Let's dive into just a few.
The Honest Company specializes in creating natural baby and beauty products that are ethically and sustainably made. By targeting busy moms looking for a healthy alternative, they can collect a wide array of customer testimonials to feature directly on their homepage.
This strategy ultimately makes their marketing more relatable to their target market. By featuring several different testimonials, they're also showcasing current customers’ appreciation for the brand.
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Kulani Kinis is an Australian-designed swimsuit brand with a 726K Instagram following. The brand leverages customer reviews and UGC to increase its brand awareness, especially on Instagram.
Kulani repurposes their online reviews as Instagram stories and has a Reviews highlight Reel living on their profile for future customers to visit. They also frequently re-post customer photos and promote a hashtag that followers can use to share their looks.
This strategy is a great example of how to use Instagram reviews in your content marketing strategy. While sharing reviews online is important, social media allows for a whole new world of sharing UGC and reviews.
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Afterpay is an app that helps shoppers pay in increments and manage their spending. The app works both while shopping online and in-store, making it a reliable way to spread out spending over time.
Afterpay is another great example of how to leverage customer reviews both on a website and social media. Afterpay features customer comments on their Instagram posts and encourages followers to leave feedback.
Because of this, the Afterpay comment sections become a place for customers to interact with the brand, building a sense of community.
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Customer reviews are paving the way for a new age of content marketing, and it’s time to hop on board. With Cohley, you can source professional and engaging customer reviews for your products. To get started, schedule a consultation with Cohley today!