How to Generate More Positive Reviews for Your Community

You are proud of your senior living community, the care it provides, and the amenities it offers. You have a great website and an engaging social media presence that showcase your brand, but how do you get to the next level? How do you go one step further in building trust and a good reputation for your community?

The answer is in positive online reviews.

In a 2020 survey conducted by BrightLocal, 94% of people said that positive reviews made them more likely to use a business. In this same survey, 79% of people said that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family.

So, what does this mean for your senior living community? It means that generating positive reviews about your community can go a long way in helping you grow. Markentum is sharing tips on how to generate positive reviews and improve your reputation management strategy.

The Importance of Reviews

Boosting SEO

One reason that reviews are so important is that they can help boost your SEO strategy. Many reviews naturally include keywords that you are targeting, adding content without you having to create it yourself.

Additionally, Google rewards businesses that get frequent and positive reviews. Google states, “review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’s local ranking.”

Building Trust and Confidence

Like we previously mentioned, many people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Therefore, when looking for a product or service, individuals turn to reviews to guide them into making the right decision.

For your senior living community, this would include reviews from current or former residents and their families, helping potential residents decide. If your community has a lot of positive reviews, this builds trust and confidence in the kind of place that someone would want to live.

How to Generate Positive Reviews

Simplify the Process

As happy as someone is with the services your senior living community offers, they are not going to go very far out of their way to leave you a positive review. Your job is to simplify this process, making it easier and more convenient for them.

Instead of telling someone to google your community, click on your profile, scroll down to the review section, and click the button to write a review, send them directly to the page! Add a button on your website that takes the user directly to where they can leave a review and emphasize that leaving a review will only take a few minutes of their time.

Create a Reviews Page on Your Website

Go a step further than adding a button to your website by creating a whole page dedicated to reviews. Not only can previous reviews be seen, but this makes it even easier for people to write a review about your senior living community. Additionally, having previous reviews on your website may even encourage others to share their experience.

Since reviews are often packed with keywords, it is best to add your reviews in text form, allowing them to be “crawled” by Google. There are several ways to do this manually, but certain WordPress plug-ins can automatically pull your reviews onto your website. (Be careful with this practice though, because these plug-ins may also pull in any negative reviews your community receives.)

Respond to Existing Reviews (Positive & Negative!)

According to BrightLocal, “when writing a [online] review, 20% of consumers expect to receive a response within one day.”

By responding to positive reviews, you let your audience know that you appreciate and are receptive to their feedback. If the review is negative, responding shows that you are listening to their concerns and are willing to take action to make things right. This is a good practice in reputation management and helps your audience feel heard and acknowledged, further building trust between you and them.

Don’t be Afraid to Ask

If you have happy residents with family members who are also highly satisfied with your community, you may be surprised at how willing they may be to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask them to write a review and emphasize that it would help others make an informed decision about what senior living community to choose.

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At Markentum, we understand the impact that reviews can have on a senior living community. Our reputation management services help our partners connect and build trust with their target audience. Reach out to us to get a free evaluation!