Content Marketing Includes Online Reviews. Foster Customer Feedback.
According to eMarketer research, online reviews are by far the most trusted source of business information. In fact, 8 percent more people 18+ trust online reviews compared to their own friends, family and colleagues. Putting your reviews front and center offers documented proof of peer approval, eliminating the need to verify at third-party sites.
Oftentimes, they will look to outside resources before they can let down their guard. A study by Nielsen and the Better Business Bureau unveiled that over half (55 percent) of all U.S. adults online "always" or "often" used ratings and reviews to inform their purchase decisions. The trend deepens among those under 55. Only 7.5 percent of people say they "rarely" or "never" look at reviews.
Always ask the reviewer for permission. Nothing hurts worse than having an advocate complain that their own words were used unethically.
So how do you bolster content marketing with reviews? Encourage people to leave a review. Reward them with a public mention to foster positive feedback.
Again, follow the guidelines above. Certain platforms like Yelp forbid copying and pasting review text, for example. You must secure permission before sharing, even if their praise was a public comment on one of your social media or blog posts.
Content marketing should solve audience needs and conclude with a gentle promotional nudge towards your company. Treading this narrow path between information and promotion is admittedly difficult for most businesses. Seventy-nine percent of editors say they have to turn down guest blog pitches because they're overpromotional.
All of the content marketing strategies listed above depend on a constant, fresh stream of customer feedback. If your most recent review was from 2014, you may have a problem!
To counteract this issue, make leaving a review as convenient as possible. Use third-party software tools to automatically send an email to people. Ask them for their review on your preferred platform. You can also leave a link on your home page so that everyone can easily navigate to leaving reviews.