facebook review who can see

How To Write a Facebook Review

In modern digital era, your voice matters more than ever, especially when it comes to sharing experiences with businesses on social media. Writing a Facebook review is a powerful way to express your opinion and influence others. Whether it’s raving about your favorite café or detailing a less-than-stellar experience at a local shop, your reviews contribute significantly to the online reputation of businesses.

Understanding the impact of your words, you might want to ensure your Facebook circle is wide enough to make your opinions heard.

Enhancing your presence by deciding to buy Facebook reviews can significantly enhance the impact of your evaluations, ensuring that your endorsements or cautions are heard by a wider audience. This strategy not only expands your social network but also elevates the trustworthiness and visibility of your evaluations, turning them into a valuable asset for others.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Understand the binary “Yes” or “No” recommendation system on Facebook and ensure your review accurately reflects your experience, setting a guiding tone for readers.
• Emphasize the importance of including specific details and personal experiences in your review to provide clarity and engage readers with authentic feedback.
• Remember the significance of choosing a constructive tone and the impact of timing when sharing your experiences, to foster positive dialogue and provide useful feedback.
• Highlight the value of attaching authentic photos to your reviews, enhancing credibility and offering a more immersive insight into your experience.
• Acknowledge the public nature of Facebook reviews, emphasizing the need for thoughtful, balanced feedback that can guide future customers and inform business improvements.
• Utilize the flexibility to edit or delete your Facebook reviews, allowing your feedback to remain accurate and reflective of your latest experiences.

Steps To Write Reviews on Facebook

Writing a Facebook review can significantly impact a business, influencing potential customers and shaping the company’s online reputation. To ensure your review offers value and clarity, follow the guidelines below.

Choose the Right Rating

Your review starts with selecting a rating. Given that Facebook has transitioned to recommendations rather than the traditional star ratings, your choice is binary: yes or no. This doesn’t mean your review lacks nuance. Your recommendation — or lack thereof — sets the tone for your feedback. It’s essential to accurately reflect your experience.

Did the business meet your expectations? Would you suggest it to friends or family? Your initial recommendation acts as an anchor for your written review, guiding readers on your overall sentiment.

Provide Specific Details

The most helpful reviews go beyond general statements. When drafting your review, include specific details about what made your experience memorable. Were there standout products or services? How did the business go above and beyond?

Alternatively, if your experience was less than stellar, detail what aspects fell short. This information not only aids potential customers in their decision-making but also offers businesses valuable insight into areas of success or improvement. Remember, clarity is key. Break down your experience so readers can easily understand what to expect.

Include Personal Experience

Your personal experience is what makes your review unique. Share your story — whether it’s about the exceptional service you received or how a product exceeded your expectations. Don’t hesitate to mention employees by name if they contributed to your positive experience. Including personal anecdotes adds authenticity and relatability to your review, making it more engaging for readers. It’s these personal touches that transform a standard review into a powerful recommendation.

Other Things To Consider When Writing a Facebook Reviews

When crafting a Facebook review, it’s not just about what you say but how you say it. Language and tone play crucial roles in how your feedback is perceived. Opting for a constructive tone, even when critiquing, fosters a positive dialogue and encourages the business to engage with your feedback.

Timing is another aspect often overlooked. Sharing your experience soon after it happens ensures your memories are fresh, making your review more detailed and helpful for others. But, if you’ve had a negative experience, taking a moment to cool off before typing can prevent overly-emotional responses that might not accurately reflect the situation.

The relevance of your review is paramount. The team from this essay writing platform called EssayPro advises focusing on specifics that future customers will find useful. Mentioning the quality of service, the atmosphere, or the product’s performance gives a well-rounded view that aids in decision-making. It’s also beneficial to highlight any changes in your second visit, as this shows the business’s capacity for growth or consistency.

You can also use authentic photos accompanying your review can greatly enhance its credibility. Visuals can capture aspects that words might miss, such as the ambiance of a place or the quality of a product, offering a more immersive insight into your experience.

Remember, a well-written review has the power to significantly influence both potential customers and the business itself. By choosing your words carefully, focusing on relevance, and attaching authentic visuals, your feedback can contribute meaningfully to the community, helping others make informed decisions and assisting businesses in their quest for improvement.

How Do I Leave a Review on Facebook?

Leaving a review on Facebook is simpler than you might think, and it’s a fantastic way for you to share your experiences with others while also helping businesses understand how they’re doing. Facebook reviews are influential, with 92.4% of customers reading online reviews and considering them as much as personal recommendations.

First, navigate to the business’s Facebook page. You’ll find the “Reviews” or “Recommendations” section usually located on the left-hand side menu of the page. If you’re on a mobile device, you might need to tap on the ‘More’ tab. Once you’re there, Facebook will prompt you with the question, “Do you recommend [Business Name]?” Here, you can select either “Yes” or “No”, based on your experience.

After choosing your recommendation option, a text box will appear where you can write your review. Here’s where your contribution really matters.

Be specific about what you liked or didn’t like. Mention details about the service, product quality, or your overall experience. This not only helps potential customers but also gives the business valuable feedback on what they’re doing right or what they could improve on.

Also, adding authentic photos can significantly enhance the credibility of your review. Photos offer visual evidence of your experience, making your review more relatable and trustworthy for those reading it.

Remember, your review should be honest and fair. Keep in mind that constructive criticism is more helpful than vague or overly negative comments. Businesses often use feedback from Facebook reviews to improve their products or services, so your insights can lead to real change.

Understanding how to leave a review on Facebook enables you to be part of a larger community, contributing valuable information that benefits both businesses and fellow customers alike. Your voice matters, and with these simple steps, you can make sure it’s heard.

Where Do I Find Facebook Reviews?

If you’re looking to leave a Facebook review, knowing where to find the review section is your first step. It’s simpler than you might think.

Facebook has integrated its review feature into what’s now known as Recommendations. This is where customers can share their experiences and thoughts about a business, service, or product with their network.

Start by navigating to the Facebook Page of the business you want to review. You’ll find the Recommendations or Reviews tab on the left sidebar of the page. This tab is your gateway to reading what others have said and leaving your own feedback. Whether you’re on a desktop or using the Facebook app, the process is essentially the same.

Occasionally, businesses might have this tab hidden due to their settings preferences. If that’s the case and you can’t seem to find where to leave a review, don’t worry. Contacting the business directly through their Facebook page via message can be a good alternative. They can provide you with a direct link or instruct you on how they prefer to gather customer feedback.

Remember, when you decide to leave a review, you’re not just sharing your thoughts with the business. Your review is visible to anyone who visits the business’s Facebook page. This visibility is exactly why your honest and detailed feedback is invaluable. It helps potential customers make informed decisions and can significantly impact the business’s reputation.

Can I Delete or Edit My Facebook Reviews?

Navigating the complexities of social media feedback might feel like a maze, especially when you’re looking to retract or modify your words. On Facebook, your voice matters , and so does your ability to update your insights as your experiences evolve.

If you’ve posted a review and later changed your mind, either because your opinion has shifted or you’ve had a change of heart, you’ll be relieved to know that editing and deleting your Facebook reviews is possible . This flexibility ensures your feedback remains accurate and reflective of your latest interactions.

To edit your Facebook review, simply navigate to the Recommendations section of the business page where you initially left your feedback. Find your review and click on the three dots in the top right corner. From there, you’ll see an option to ‘Edit Recommendation’. This is your chance to adjust your rating or elaborate on your experience further. Remember, your edited review will replace the original and will be date-stamped with the latest update.

In scenarios where you feel a review no longer represents your stance or if it was posted in error, deleting it is just as straightforward. Follow the same steps to locate your review under the business’s Recommendations. Instead of opting to edit, select ‘Remove Recommendation’. Upon confirmation, your review will permanently disappear, leaving no trace of the original comment.

This ability to edit or delete ensures that your digital footprint on Facebook is as current and genuine as your real-world experiences. It underscores the platform’s commitment to providing dynamic, user-driven content that accurately reflects consumer opinions and experiences. Whether you’re praising an unforgettable service or retracting a critique based on a resolved issue, your control over your online reviews is uncompromised.

Remember, each review contributes to the community’s perception of a business. Exercising your power to edit or delete ensures that your influence remains both positive and precise.

Related Post: How to Build More Credibility on Facebook

Crafting a Facebook review is more than just sharing your experience; it’s about contributing to a business’s growth and guiding future customers.

Remember, your words have the power to influence and shape perceptions. By treating your reviews as advice for friends and maintaining a balanced and fair perspective, you’re not just offering feedback but also playing a crucial role in the business-customer relationship.

Businesses that actively respond to reviews demonstrate their dedication to customer satisfaction, further emphasizing the importance of your input. So next time you’re about to write a review, consider the impact of your words and the responsibility that comes with them. Your thoughtful and honest feedback can make a significant difference.

FAQs About Writing Facebook Reviews

Here are some frequently asked questions about Facebook Reviews.

Where is the review tab on Facebook?

The review tab on Facebook can be found on the business’s Facebook Page. It’s located on the left side of the page under the business’s profile picture and name. By clicking on this tab, users can view and leave reviews for the business.

Why can’t I leave a review on Facebook?

You might not be able to leave a review on Facebook if the business has not enabled the review feature on their Page. Page owners have the option to turn on or off this feature. If it’s not available, you might want to contact the business directly to share your feedback.

When you get a friend suggestion on Facebook, does the other person get it too?

It’s not guaranteed. Facebook suggests friends based on mutual connections, interests, or activities, but it doesn’t mean the same suggestion appears for both parties. Each user’s suggestions are tailored to their own profile and interactions.

Where can I leave a review for a company?

You can leave a review for a company on various platforms including Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). These platforms cater to different types of businesses and audiences, so choose the one that best fits the business you want to review.

Can my friends see my reviews on Facebook?

Yes, friends can see your reviews on Facebook depending on your privacy settings. When leaving a review, you have the option to adjust who can see it—everyone, just friends, or a custom list. Encouraging customers to set their reviews to public can increase visibility for businesses.

This is used as a reference for customers when looking for products and services. For businesses, this is a promotion tool so that their posts and page are more visible in user’s feeds.

Related posts:

• How To Bold Text On Facebook Posts
• How to Use Wayback Machine to Find Facebook Page?
• How to Find Top Contributors on Facebook Group?
• How To Undo And Delete A Reaction On Facebook Messenger

Recent Posts

Top Must-Use Facebook Ad Strategies for Education

How Authors Can Use YouTube to Promote and Sell Books?

The Do’s and Dont’s of Finding Emails From LinkedIn

About SocialAppsHQ

SocialAppsHQ is the All-in-One Marketing Platform to grow your brand online.

Facebook Marketing

LinkedIn Marketing

Important Links

Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]

SocialAppsHQ is in no way associated or affiliated with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Spotify, TikTok, Pinterest, SoundCloud, Snapchat, Clubhouse, Mixcloud, Vimeo, Tumblr, VK, Telegram, Twitch, Google, Reddit, Discord, IMDb, Quora, Dailymotion, etc. All the Logos, TMs and Brand Names belong to their respective owner and we don’t establish any claim or ownership of it. We strictly adhere to the community rules and guidelines set by the above said websites and brands.

Copyright © SocialAppsHQ 2024 All rights reserved. 

Facebook reviews: your ultimate guide (all Qs answered)

Discover how to set up and start getting Facebook reviews for your business (everything you need to know).

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share via Email

Table of Contents

Checking out Facebook reviews, scrolling through Instagram and generally interacting on social media is the first thing many people do in the morning and the last thing at night.

With over 1.9 billion daily active users, Facebook makes it easy to access information, discuss politics (a lot), share stories and experiences, join business networking groups, run Facebook ads and connect your product catalog , learn from industry experts and you guessed it, check out reviews (social proof).

More than ever, customers are turning to social platforms like Facebook to fully engage with businesses.

Facebook is fast becoming one of the first points of contact you have with your online customers, so, as a business, if you're not taking advantage of Facebook reviews, you could be missing out. It might seem like a minefield of information, but people do truly care about what others are saying about your business, so proactively driving positive reviews is absolutely worth your time and effort.

Why are Facebook reviews so important for businesses?

Consider this. You're in the market for a new dentist after moving cities. You've had bad experiences before, so choosing the right dentist is a big deal . What's the first thing you do? Ask your family and friends for a recommendation or search online for the best local dental surgery.

Believe it or not, this process happens millions of times every day for local businesses. When you finally do find that dentist and notice they have hundreds of glowing online reviews from existing patients (many of whom address the same concerns you have), you feel a sense of relief and a sense of trust. When we are unsure about something, we look to others for validation . Facebook reviews provide the endorsement that we are not alone; other people have done this before, and we can feel confident in looking to their experiences. Encouraging your customers to leave a review on your business will result in your future customers also feeling this sense of trust.

Besides Facebook reviews, you might have a myriad of other review sites that customers review you on (like Google or TripAdvisor ). Some great tools on the market, such as Cloutly , can help you aggregate and manage all of your reviews in one place. Cloutly’s platform will help you effortlessly drive 2-3x times more customer reviews, whilst bringing all your feedback - from Google, Facebook, Trustpilot etc - into one place, rather than all over the place.

Whilst Facebook reviews allow you to build a better business and understand the customer experience, they also provide you with an asset that delivers compounding interest: your reputation.

The most important review factors

When it comes to building trust, here's what consumers are saying matters most to them (i.e. factors that are most persuasive) when looking at business reviews on review platforms like Google as well as Facebook.

• Star-rating (between 4.5 and 4.9 stars is the sweet spot).
• Authenticity (are the reviews balanced? thousands of 5-star reviews alone set off alarms).
• Recentness (consistent feedback proves your level of service is constant; old reviews don't hold much weight).
• Response (how does the business respond? what does it say about them?)
• Volume (number of reviews).

Setting up your page for Facebook page reviews

Whether you already have an established business page or you need to create one, the benefits of Facebook reviews are irrefutable. Facebook is a powerful platform that will help you connect with your audience, acquire new customers, drive purchases and improve word-of-mouth referrals.

First of all, you'll need to set up a new Facebook business page if you haven't got one (or you've previously deleted your page ). You can do this from your personal Facebook account. Follow these five easy steps:

Step 1 - Create a Facebook page (if you don't have one) Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create Enter all of your business information in the panel on the left; you'll see real-time updates as you proceed. Use your business name where possible (or the name that people are likely to search by default). Use the 'category' section wisely and choose the relevant suggestions. Next, complete a short description – Facebook gives you 255 characters to play with.

Then, when you're done, hit the Create Page button down the bottom left.

Step 2 - Add some pictures Next, add your profile picture and cover photo. These will always be on display, so ensure you choose something eye-catching. If you are a public figure, use a portrait photograph; if you have a small business, use your logo, or, in lieu of a logo, you could also consider using a product image. The most important thing is that the image is recognisable.

Step 3 - Connect your Facebook page with WhatsApp (optional) If you wish, connect your business page to WhatsApp, so that customers can reach you here from your pages, or from any ads you plan to run, or, if you'd prefer to skip this bit, you can continue to the next page.

Step 4 - Choose a username Create your username, which will tell people where to find you ( and tag you ) on Facebook when they search above their news feed. Your username can be up to 50 characters, but use them wisely – ensure that your username is easy to remember. Facebook will give you a green tick if the username is available.

Step 5 - Add business information Facebook has a simple step-by-step guide to follow. When all of the details are complete, carefully consider the right call to action (CTA). This is what the public will see on your page, and may encourage visitors to shop, download your app, book an appointment or even just learn more about your business.

How to enable the Reviews tab on your page

Once you've done all this, you're ready to enable the Facebook review tab!

• Log in and navigate to your Facebook business page.
• Click on 'Settings' and then choose 'Templates and Tabs'.
• Find the Reviews tab and activate it.

How to get more Facebook reviews

Now it's time to get some glowing reviews on your business page. How do you do it? Quite simply, ask your customers ! The good news is, it's easy to request a review on Facebook. Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Reach out to your loyal customers and ask them to provide you with an honest review on your business Facebook page. You'll be impressed with the number of people that want to help.
• Use Cloutly to add your customers to automated review campaigns, which help you drive 2-3x more reviews on the review sites you've connected.
• If you have a website, you can embed your Facebook reviews so that with one click, you can redirect customers directly to Facebook. Cloutly has a range of website widgets you can use to showcase not only your Facebook reviews but your reviews from 40+ review sites.
• Ask your customers to check-in. If they do this, Facebook will remind them to leave a review on your business listing.

You rely on customer reviews to grow your business, but asking for them... sucks. Review requests are awkward, boring, and nobody wants another email asking them to complete a survey. That's why we built Cloutly. The fastest way to get your customers talking about you. pic.twitter.com/CvrciH2lCa — Cloutly (@cloutlyco) December 14, 2021

Whether you ask for a review in person, by email or by Facebook, remember to be genuine.  It is essential to ask your customer in the right way so they don't find you inauthentic about their experience and appear to be just seeking a review. If they have had a great experience, feel free to explain that reviews really help other prospective customers make comfortable decisions.

How to embed Facebook reviews

Note that you'll need to be the admin of a business page in order to to embed Facebook reviews. If you don't have one, discover how to create or delete a business Facebook account as quickly as possible.

Step 1 - Go to the Facebook reviews section Log in to the Facebook account associated with your Facebook business page and go to the business page. You will see a few tabs including Home, Services, Reviews, Shop, and others. Click on Reviews. Depending on your customization, the Reviews section might be positioned elsewhere. But it is generally found in the tabs section.

Step 2 - Filter and select the reviews to embed Once you've clicked on the Reviews tab, your business' reviews should appear. Above the Reviews section, you'll see a dropdown menu that allows you to categorize them into 'Star Rating', 'Most Helpful', 'Most Recent', and others. Select the one you would like. After sorting them, find the review you'd like to embed and click on the three horizontal dots at the top right-hand side of the display box.

Step 3 - Embedding your review When you click on the three horizontal dots, a few options will appear. If Embed is among them, click on it. If it isn't among the options, try clicking 'More Options' first.

Step 4 - Copy the Facebook embed code When you click Embed, a window containing the embed code pops up with two options: JavaScript SDK and iFrame. Choose the one that best fits your use case (though for most people, iFrame will work fine). This embed code is what you'll need to paste into your website's HTML in order to get your reviews to embed. Select the code and copy it.

Step 5 - Paste the Embed Code into Your Website With the code snippet in hand, you have one question and two options: firstly, where should I place my widget?! Secondly: you could choose to sprinkle the best reviews here and there across your website, or alternatively, create a dedicated page for your glowing testimonials where all your reviews live. Once you've got a game plan, head over to your website and paste your embed code into a HTML block (this process may be different, depending on your website builder/CMS).

How to respond to Facebook reviews

You should make an effort to respond to as many of your customer reviews as possible (the good and the bad), regardless of the platform. Your customers have taken the time to leave you a review, so it's nice to thank them for their time at the very least.

Always use their name, tell them that you appreciate their review and be specific in your reply by using keywords and addressing key points from their review. Where possible, you can use responses as marketing opportunities to announce a new promotion that might benefit them (or the 5000 other people who read your reply).

Transparency is key. If appropriate, ask them to spread the word to their friends and family.

If the review is negative, thank and reassure them that their feedback is valued. Try and take communications offline and take their best contact details. Indicate in your response that you are committed to resolving their issues.

Whatever the platform (Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor etc), it's important to have a procedure in place to respond to negative reviews. Check out our best response templates here .

How Facebook reviews affect your page rating

Facebook rates each business page on a number of metrics, such as reviews and recommendations (reviews are now synonymous with Facebook recommendations, to avoid confusion).

Various criteria form your overall rating, and only business owners who allow recommendations will be able to see this.

You can see your business’ rating by going to your page and clicking on the Reviews tab in the menu, at the top of your page.

Can I hide, report or remove Facebook page reviews?

Yes and no.

• Yes, you can hide or remove the reviews tab from your Facebook business page entirely.
• No, you can't remove individual reviews (unless they're fraudulent, and you can prove it).

Firstly, consider the content of the review and if a reply would be sufficient. Don’t forget that negative reviews can be just as powerful as 5-star reviews if you play your cards right.

All businesses make mistakes, and it is how you respond and deal with the situation that can count in your favour. Also, customers may be suspicious if you only have all glowing reviews (it doesn’t look natural).

If you receive a review that you deem fake, involves hate speech, is excessively negative or is in breach of Facebook's community standards, you can report it to Facebook and make a case for your business.

We've written a guide about removing negative reviews on Google , which is virtually the same process as on FB.

If you'd prefer, you can hide the review section on your page altogether, which will stop you from worrying about any fake or bad reviews/recommendations people might see. Be aware that this section relates to all reviews, including any new reviews, plus the five-star ratings you have already worked so hard for.

To do this, head to your Page Settings (edit page) , choose Templates and Tabs , find the Reviews tab and switch the toggle off.

As with other platforms like Google, you cannot remove reviews (unless they are against Facebook’s guidelines) from your Facebook page, even if they're malicious.

Review systems are grounded in transparency and honesty, therefore deleting and editing reviews would counteract this. The only way you can delete Facebook reviews is if you report them and Facebook confirms that it goes against their guidelines.

How to report a fake review on Facebook

If someone has posted a review that violates the platform's community standards , then you can report it. Facebook will remove the review if it includes bullying, misrepresentation, hate speech or insensitivity.

Flagging a Facebook review is simple. Here are the steps:

• Log in to your Facebook account and head over to your Facebook page on the right-hand side
• Navigate to the Reviews tab at the top and click it
• Navigate to the three dots beside the review in question (on your right). Then select Find support or report recommendation
• A pop-up window will appear. Click on the most appropriate word that describes the review

Then cross your fingers and wait for the Facebook jury to deliver their final judgement. Overly offensive and ingenuine reviews may warrant removal straight away.

Why can’t I see all my Facebook reviews?

Reviews disappeared? Can't find out where to see them? This one is usually a quick fix. Firstly, make sure that you've enabled your Reviews tab inside Page Settings (see above). Then, take a look at your page again. If you still can't see the Reviews tab, take a look under the More dropdown menu.

If it's there, you may want to re-arrange your tabs back in Page Settings and place Reviews further up the list. If it's still not there, go to the About tab and make sure you've selected a business category that Facebook recognises.

Some businesses have reported that their older reviews (star ratings) have just vanished.

If this has happened to you, you're not alone.

Since merging Reviews with Recommendations, Facebook has massively simplified the way in which people can sort through a business' feedback. Now, you only have the choice of sorting reviews by Most Helpful, or Most Recent.

While your reviews are unlikely actually gone, the limitations of this filtering system may cause them to appear like they're gone. Our advice: don't fret, they're probably still there. If you find a direct link to any of your old reviews, that will give you a definitive answer.

How to leave a review on Facebook

As most people have Facebook, it should be easy for them to leave a review for your Facebook Business Page. But, in case you have a Facebook novice wondering how to leave you a positive review, you can direct them to this guide.

• Head to the Facebook Business Page of the business you want to review
• Click Reviews from the drop down menu under the business's name and logo
• You'll see a question, Do you recommend * business name *? Then click Yes or No (but hopefully Yes )
• You can then write a review of at least 25 characters long
• Then, in the Sharing section you can select who you want to see your review. Just friends or everyone,
• Then, hit Post

Final thoughts

You're now armed with all the tools and support you need to start scoring Facebook reviews.

If you think about how many times you look at other businesses' reviews before you dine, shop or shake hands, you'll realise how important it is to continue building your reputation as an asset class.

The more reviews you get (even the bad ones), the more trust you earn, and this helps future customers make real buying decisions about you.

Which dentist would you trust: the one with a 3-star rating from two patients, or the one with a 4.8-star rating from three hundred patients?

Using a tool like Cloutly makes driving reviews easy, predictable and scalable. Instead of awkwardly asking your customers (one by one) for a review, Cloutly's review campaigns put the process on autopilot: driving 2-3x more reviews on the sites you choose, including Google and Facebook.

If word-of-mouth is important to your business, try Cloutly free for 14 days .

Lachlan Fea Twitter

👋 Co-Founder of Cloutly. Technical marketer interested in startups, SaaS, SEO, sales and UX. Passionate about bringing teams of brilliant people together and letting them do their thing.

Katie Hollamby

You might also like, how to respond to a 1-star review on google (pain-free) paid members public.

Bad reviews getting you down? Read our article on how to respond to a 1-star review on Google!

Franchise Marketing 101: Your Quick-Start Guide for 2024 Paid Members Public

How should you market a franchise in 2024? Discover the top tips and strategies working today, and tomorrow.

Featured Posts

How to embed google reviews on my website (2023).

Join 1,750,000+ using Smash Balloon to build beautiful social media feeds

How to Get Facebook Reviews for Your Business Page (15 Easy Ways)

Wondering how to get Facebook reviews with ease?

Since it’s the largest social network in the world, Facebook business reviews can be a great way for your brand to get ahead of the competition.

But getting customers to leave reviews on your Facebook page can be tough.

In this article, we’ll show you how to get customer reviews on your Facebook business page and easily transform people into customers.

Here’s a table of content to help you navigate this article quickly. Click any section to jump right to it.

• Enable Reviews for Your Facebook Page
• Promote Your Page on Other Social Media Platforms
• Embed Facebook Reviews on Your Website
• Add a Facebook Review Widget
• Send Email Invitations to Recent Customers
• Write a Facebook Post Asking for Reviews
• Ask for Reviews via Facebook Messenger
• Send SMS Messages Asking for Feedback
• Enable Notifications for New Reviews
• Respond to Negative Reviews
• Answer Comments and Questions From Fans
• Promote Stand-Out Reviews on Facebook
• Encourage Facebook Check-Ins
• Ask for Reviews in Person
• Offer Discounts and Rewards

Before we get started with our list, let’s see how adding Facebook reviews can help your business.

What Are the Benefits of Facebook Page Reviews?

According to our detailed research on social media statistics , Facebook has more than 3 billion monthly active users. It’s definitely one of the best social media platforms to promote your brand’s products or services online.

By getting Facebook reviews and testimonials for your brand, you’re leveraging social proof in your marketing strategy to improve your online presence.

Here are other benefits of Facebook reviews for small businesses and big brands alike:

• Make your brand’s online reputation more credible to potential customers
• Increase the organic reach of your posts by boosting Facebook page engagement
• Gain the trust of your Facebook page fans and potential customers
• Promote positive customer reviews directly on your page
• Get to the top position in the Facebook professional services finder
• Positive reviews act as social proof , which convinces more people to buy from you
• Boost your site’s SEO when you embed relevant and keyword-rich reviews feeds

Follow the Guidelines for Facebook Business Page Reviews

Before gathering online reviews on your Facebook business page, it’s important to check out Facebook’s guidelines and community standards for business recommendations .

According to these recommendations, Facebook reviews should:

• Focus on the product or service offered by the business
• Be based on the user’s personal experience
• Not be from anyone who manages the page for that business

If your reviews don’t meet these guidelines, you can request them to be removed.

With that, let’s take a look at the easiest way to get Facebook reviews and boost your sales.

Easiest Way to Get More Reviews for Your Brand

For a simple way to get tons of reviews, you can embed review feeds on your site using a WordPress plugin.

And the best option that you can use is the Reviews Feed Pro plugin.

Business owners like you use this plugin to create, customize, and embed review feeds on your website in just a few simple clicks — no coding needed.

On top of showing Facebook reviews, you can show feeds with reviews from highly trusted platforms and review sites, like Tripadvisor , Yelp, Google Reviews , Trustpilot and more.

With the plugin’s visual customizer, you can quickly and easily customize the templates and design of your Facebook review feeds using the customization options on the left-hand side.

Plus, Reviews Feed Pro automatically copies the design of your WordPress site. So, your review feeds will perfectly match your branding and look beautiful right away.

The best part?

Reviews Feed Pro comes with a helpful support team who are always ready to lend their expertise and help you out.

Ready to get more Facebook reviews with ease? Grab your copy of Reviews Feed Pro here .

To learn more, you can look at this guide on how to embed Facebook reviews on your WordPress website .

How to Get Facebook Reviews (15 Proven Ways)

Now, let’s go ahead and look at our tried-and-tested methods that you can use to get more Facebook reviews for your brand.

1. Enable Reviews for Your Facebook Page

The first thing to do is make sure you’re allowing visitors to see and leave Facebook reviews.

To do that, first, start managing your Facebook business page and click on the Settings option on the left.

Doing that will allow you to change the settings of your Facebook page.

Next, click on Privacy to change your page’s privacy settings.

On the left, click on the Page and tagging option to continue.

Finally, look for the option labeled Allow others to view and leave reviews on your Page? and toggle it on.

You can now start collecting customer reviews with star rating and Facebook recommendations from your customers, which will be displayed on your Facebook account’s Reviews tab.

Then, you can also add a short call-to-action in your posts to encourage customers to review your business.

For more details, you can look at this tutorial on how to create the perfect call-to-action .

2. Promote Your Page on Other Social Media Platforms

If you’re not telling fans on other social media platforms that they can leave reviews on Facebook, they might never find out.

So it’s crucial that you cross-promote your Facebook page on the different social channels you own, including Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You can simply promote your page or group on other social platforms and ask people to join you.

That way, interested people can follow your brand on Facebook, where they can leave reviews and testimonials.

Want to kickstart your social media following on all these platforms?

You can embed social media feeds on your website so visitors can interact with your posts and follow you for more.

3. Embed Facebook Reviews on Your Website

By embedding Facebook reviews on your homepage, you can encourage website visitors to leave more reviews of your brand.

After all, you’re showing people that you check your reviews and listen to what they have to say.

It’s easy to embed a feed of Facebook reviews on your website. All you have to do is use the Facebook Feed Pro plugin from Smash Balloon.

With a few clicks, you can seamlessly connect your page and display beautiful Facebook feeds styled to match your site design.

To help you do this yourself, we’ve put together this guide on how to add a Facebook reviews feed to your WordPress website .

4. Add a Facebook Review Widget

Another way to convince people to leave reviews is to embed a Facebook review widget.

That means anyone browsing your feed only needs a click to visit your Facebook business page and leave a review.

For instance, you can easily add your Facebook reviews feed to your sidebar or footer areas using Facebook Feed Pro .

Then, you just need to edit the Facebook feed header to something that will encourage your site visitors to review your business, like this:

Using Reviews Feed Pro, you can even embed review widgets to show reviews from other major platforms like Tripadvisor, Yelp, and Google Reviews.

The best part is that you can do this for your own website — even if you’re a WordPress newbie. Check out how to add a social media review widget to your website for more information.

5. Send Email Invitations to Recent Customers

Did you know that email marketing can return $36 for every $1 you spend?

Email marketing can be a fantastic way to promote your brand, convert visitors, and get reviews.

You can directly send an email to your new customers and ask them to drop you a review on Facebook. To sweeten the deal, you can try offering discounts, coupons, free trials, and more.

If you want to get started with email marketing, here are some great ways to grow your email list .

6. Write a Facebook Post Asking for Reviews

Sometimes, satisfied customers on your Facebook page might have just forgotten to leave a review.

To fix this, you can create a new post on Facebook and remind your customers to leave a review.

You can also add an engaging image to the Facebook post so you’ll have an easier time grabbing people’s attention.

As a bonus, you can also use Facebook Feed Pro to embed photos and remind website visitors to leave reviews.

7. Set Up a Chatbot on Facebook Messenger

Chatbots are getting more attention as technology improves. And as they continue to make inroads in the customer service and marketing industry, they’re proving pretty valuable.

The fact is, messages sent by chatbots tend to have higher open rates, and with customers getting used to them, they’re tools worth utilizing.

Asking for a review using a Facebook Messenger chatbot can help you reach lots of new people easily. And that means more reviews for your business.

If you think a chatbot can be helpful, check out our full list of the best Facebook marketing tools .

8. Send SMS Messages Asking for Feedback

Did you know the majority of all searches for local businesses nowadays happen on mobile devices?

The truth is, much of the online world is navigated by mobile now, so collecting reviews in this way makes it super convenient for your customers.

You can use the power of mobile to get more Facebook reviews by asking customers to leave a review via SMS.

If customers have opted in to receive updates via text message, send them a short message containing a link to leave feedback on your Facebook page.

Just make sure you keep your messages short and to-the-point, so people are more likely to read through them.

On top of Facebook pages, you can use SMS messages to grow your Instagram account , Facebook group, Twitter page, and more.

9. Enable Notifications for New Reviews

If you aren’t notified when people leave new reviews, you can’t respond to them or share them with others.

The easiest way to solve this is to enable notifications for new reviews. That way, Facebook will let you know whenever someone leaves a new review.

To enable notifications for new Facebook reviews, follow these steps:

• Go to your Facebook page
• Click Settings on the left column
• Click Notifications
• Next to New Page review, click Turn On

Once that option is activated, you’ll be notified whenever someone leaves feedback on your Facebook business page.

And if you get negative Facebook reviews , you can now respond to them immediately.

10. Respond To Negative Reviews

While bad reviews can harm your brand, there are ways you can turn them into positive reviews.

Here are the steps you can take when faced with a negative Facebook review:

• Respond to the review as fast as you can
• Start by politely apologizing for the problem
• Offer them ways to reach out to your support team
• Remind them to change the review score if you helped solve the issue

By helping a customer with a problem like this, you can improve your brand’s reputation and encourage others to leave their feedback as well.

We’ve got a full article on how to handle negative Facebook reviews here that you can check out.

11. Answer Comments and Questions From Fans

Following on from responding to negative feedback, you should also reply to comments on your Facebook page and questions from potential customers.

If people see your page is busy with activities and conversations about your product, they’re more likely to ask their own questions.

Plus, answering questions removes obstacles that prevent people from shopping with you.

Even better, if customers have a great experience with the buying process, they’re much more likely to leave a review describing that positive experience.

You can also embed Facebook posts on your website to show these interactions to your visitors.

12. Promote Stand-Out Reviews on Facebook

Actively highlighting the feedback you receive on Facebook is another way to draw attention to your reviews tab.

You can make it a regular feature to promote the best reviews on your page to celebrate your customers and add a call to action for others to leave their own feedback.

Why not run a Facebook Live stream where you read out your recommendations, making it an event your fans can rally around and engage with?

Pro-tip : Are your reviews presented as videos? You can also use Custom Facebook Feed Pro to embed Facebook videos on your website .

13. Encourage Facebook Check-Ins

The likes of Foursquare made virtual check-ins to business locations a viral trend.

Facebook took that functionality and added it to business pages where customers can check-in, notifying friends of their location.

Facebook’s check-in functionality also has a nifty feature to help you collect reviews. After someone checks in, they receive a message from Facebook afterward, asking them to review the business.

For a lot of business pages on Facebook, it’s another excellent way to get more reviews for your Facebook page.

On top of getting new reviews, you can also get tons of Facebook likes for your page this way.

14. Remember to Ask for Reviews in Person

Most of the tips in this article focus on getting Facebook reviews online.

But if you have a physical business, you have a great chance to remind them to leave a review on your Facebook page.

You can do that verbally or with reminders around your store. For instance, you can add the review URL on your receipts, hang up signs in your store, and so on.

We’ve got a list of the best visual content creation tools to help you design beautiful signs with ease.

15. Offer Discounts and Rewards

You can also give out discounts or rewards to people in exchange for Facebook reviews.

Here are a few examples to help you get started:

• Offer a discount coupon
• Enter people into an online giveaway
• Give out free product samples
• Offer a free trial of new products

Give these offers a try, and you can see which works best for your business. In some cases, it might be best to run your incentives for a limited time.

In some states, offering incentives for reviews is forbidden or requires disclosure, so make sure to check your local laws.

If you want to run a giveaway for people who leave reviews, check out our list of the best WordPress giveaway plugins .

There you have it!

In this article, you’ve learned how to get Facebook reviews for your business page. Give these a try, and you can improve the trust of your customers, increase sales, and grow your business.

For a simple way to get lots of Facebook reviews, you can embed a reviews feed on your website. As a result, you can easily grab people’s attention and remind them to leave a review.

Ready to embed Facebook review feeds? Get your copy of Reviews Feed Pro here .

If you’re interested in increasing your Facebook page engagement, check out our tutorial on how to display a Facebook Events calendar on your website .

Hi! Just wanted to ask – what do you call the picture on No. 5 (Send Email Invitations to Recent Customers). How do I make one? Is there an app or a website? I can’t seem to find how to make one online. Thank you!

Hi Joanna, thanks so much for your question.

That picture is a screenshot from an email newsletter. You can recreate it by adding individual call to action buttons in the body of the email, or, depending on which email provider you use, they may have social media buttons you can embed.

Hope this helps! 🙂

Hi i log in to facebook but is saying account disabled so how am i going to do it

Hi Victoria,

Thank you for contacting us! I’m sorry for the long delay in our response; your comment went out of our radar. This looks like a problem with the Facebook account itself; you could try using a different Facebook account. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us using the support form here https://smashballoon.com/support/

Add a Comment Cancel reply

We're glad you have chosen to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our privacy policy, and all links are nofollow. Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

Related Articles

How to Display a Beaver Builder Twitter Feed Easily (Step-by-Step)

How to Add Customer Testimonials to Your WordPress (6 Ways)

Learn more about our products.

Facebook Feed Pro

Seamlessly integrate Facebook content into your website.

Instagram Feed Pro

Display completely customizable Instagram feeds on your website.

Twitter Feed Pro

Seamlessly integrate Twitter content into your website.

YouTube Feed Pro

Display completely customizable YouTube feeds on your website.

TikTok Feed Pro

Seamlessly integrate TikTok content into your website.

Reviews Feed Pro

Build brand trust with positive reviews from Google and more.

Social Wall

Use our Social Wall aggregator plugin to combine all your channels into one engaging social media wall.

How to write a review or recommendation on any Facebook business page

• You can write a review on Facebook to help others make an informed decision about a business.
• To leave a review on Facebook, you can either recommend or not recommend a business. 
• You can leave this recommendation directly on a Facebook business page.

If you've just been to a really great — or not so great — business, you probably want to tell someone about it. You could just post about it on social media, but that only goes to your friends. It would probably be more useful to let people who actually want the information know.

There are many ways to do that, but one way is to post on a business' Facebook page, if it has one. You don't have to leave a generic post on the page, and it's not the traditional star rating like you're used to either.

Facebook has changed their reviews to recommendations, which can include photos and tags in addition to text. Now, star ratings for a business are calculated by a combination of past reviews and customer recommendations. 

Here's everything you need to know about Facebook recommendations.

How are Facebook recommendations different from reviews?

While they serve a similar purpose, there are a few key differences between recommendations and reviews. 

First, Facebook reviews are visible to anyone on Facebook, while recommendations can be limited to just friends. Facebook reviews also have a star rating whilst recommendations do not.

What are the benefits of using Facebook recommendations?

When recommending a business, you can add photos to accompany your text and select tags to highlight key features about a business (like child-friendly or cozy atmosphere). 

Additionally, if one of your Facebook friends recommends a business, it will appear first on that Facebook page as well as on your friend's timeline.

How to write a review on Facebook

1. Go to the Facebook page of the business you want to review. 

2. Click the Reviews tab.

3. Underneath Do you recommend [Business Name]? click Yes or No .

4. Write your review about the business. Reviews must be at least 25 characters long.

5. In the Sharing section , select who will be able to see your review. You can choose just friends, or set it to public so that anyone can see it. When you're finished, click Post . 

• Main content

Everything You Need to Know about Facebook Reviews

by Andrea Vahl | Jul 17, 2015 | facebook | 47 comments

Are you a local business that gets reviews?  Reviews can be very powerful to draw in new customers.  Recent studies have shown that 88% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations .  That’s HUGE!

Also Reviews show up much more prominently on mobile devices which is when people are near your location.   Allowing people to leave a review for your location on Facebook is a good idea and gives social proof to potential customers.

UPDATE:  Facebook Reviews are available for any type of Page.  All you need to do is to add the Review tab to your Page.  I think Reviews can be a valuable form of social proof for any type of business.

Here is everything you need to know about Facebook Reviews.   **This article contains updates from the original post.

1.  How to Enable Reviews or turn them off

The Ratings and Reviews feature (where you see the star rating on the main Facebook page) is available for any type of Page. For many types of Pages, the Reviews tab is on by default, reviews and star ratings are displayed. However, you can hide the Reviews tab if you want.

First go to to the Settings section on your Facebook Page and select Edit Page from the left sidebar.

Next scroll down to the Reviews section and make sure the Tab is set to On.  You may have to add a tab if you don’t see the Reviews tab there. Note that you can also get the direct URL address of your Reviews tab here to send to your customers.

Enable or disable reviews on your Facebook page.

If you turn the Reviews off and then back on later, all the previous Reviews you have received will still be there.

2.  Responding to Reviews

As a Page owner, respond to the reviews by either Liking the review or posting a comment.  Do this for both positive and negative reviews.

3.  Deleting a Negative Review (Spoiler Alert: You Can’t)

Many Page owners wonder how they can delete a negative review.  In general, this is not a good practice – it’s better to respond to a negative review so that people who are looking at the reviews see that if there is a problem with your product or service, you care enough to correct the situation.

Only a the owner of the review can delete the review.

If you have a negative review, respond thoughtfully and try and take the situation offline (ask if they can give you a call or send an e-mail).  If you correct the situation, you can always ask the reviewer to post an update or even edit or delete the review.

If there is a text review along with a star rating, you can Report the Post to Facebook.  They will then decide if the review doesn’t meet their community guidelines and take it down if that is the case.  (And of course, I wouldn’t want to report this nice review)

Remember that reviews can be an indication of a real problem in your business if you are getting too many negative reviews.  Look at negative reviews as an opportunity.

You could also try and message the reviewer to see if they would take the review down.  Only the person who posted a review or Facebook can remove a review.

If you don’t want reviews to display at all, you can uncheck the box to display reviews but all the reviews that you have received will still remain if you enable them again in the future.

4.  Reviews and Featured Videos

When you enable Reviews and the Map on your Facebook Page, the map shows up in the about section on the left sidebar along with the reviews.

When you have the map enabled, you can’t have a Featured Video that shows up in your About section on your left sidebar.  So that is one downside is that your Featured Video doesn’t show up as prominently but it’s much better to make it easy to find out your location.

Take a look at this quick video I did on Facebook Reviews.

How about you? Are you using Reviews on Facebook? How are they helping your business? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

47 Comments

Hi Andrea, how do you promote the reviews? I think FB reviews are better than TripAdvisor since they aren’t anonymous.

Great question Mauro – unfortunately there is no way to “share” the review other than to cut and paste it into a Status update – maybe a “thanks for this great review that just came in from Jane” type of thing. You could also link to the Review tab. Or you could take a screenshot of it and send it out as a photo update. Hope that helps spark some good ideas!

Thanks for the great info. I noticed a few pages, listed under “Companies & Organizations” (not “Local Businesses”) that have reviews enabled. How did they manage to do that?

What if I run my business out of my house and don’t want everyone on Facebook to have my home address… is there a way to enable reviews without needing an address?

Hi Andrea, I’ve tried disabling the reviews however after checking off the box the reviews are still there. (It now says “Show map and check-ins on the Page”). It doesn’t mention “star-ratings”.

Then there is the issue of fake 1 star reviews: https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=420667118130767

Hey there! In the section where you would write the street address, select the arrow and select ‘location within a place’ and then retype your city/town 🙂

Hope that helps!

Good morning Andrea, when I disable reviews on my business page, it also disables “Check-in’s”. How can I still have check-ins but not reviews? Thank you for your assistance.

Unfortunately that’s not possible – you either get both or none. Sorry!

Facebook now allow people to post anonymous star ratings. I know we have received a vindictive rating from someone my business partner had a disagreement with outside of the business in another work place and I don’t think this is fair. Is there anyway to report to facebook or delete this rating? thanks

Hi, I was wondering if there was a way to direct clients to the review function at the end of a sale? Any suggestions? Is there a link I could use?

Many thanks

Um; not everything I need to know. As a photographer, I check in and post photos with locations. Recently, FB started asking me to write reviews and if I don’t, it keeps asking me again and again, nonstop, sometimes every 10 minutes. How can I turn this off; it’s driving me crazy?!?

Yes I suppose that was too broad 🙂 That sounds crazy! So I looked at the Notifications section of a personal profile on Mobile and didn’t see anything. But possibly if you turn off all notifications maybe it would help: https://www.facebook.com/settings

Hi Andrea, I’m trying to get reviews on my facebook App page. I have enabled reviews in the settings. User can click and write their reviews (and choose the number off stars) but somehow they are not able to save the review (clicking ‘done’ does not result in an action). The only way out of the review dialog box is clicking the ‘x’ and choose for discard my review. Any ideas?

I’m trying to send our Facebook review link to our customers via email. But the feedback I’m getting is that when they click on it, it asks them to log on to their Facebook account instead of automatically opening in their Facebook app. How can I work around this?

How does Facebook decide which reviews are “Most Helpful”? We really need to know this, because 95 of our 105 reviews are 5-star reviews. but two of the negative reviews are classified by Facebook as “Most Helpful”. This means that they appear at the top of the reviews, as the defauilt category by which Facebook displays a reviews is not “Most Recent” or “Star Rating”, but is “Most Helpful”. How does Facebook decide which reviews are “Most Helpful”?

We’re you able to find a solution for this? I am having the same problem where negative reviews are showing up first even with a overall 4 start rating. Thanks!

Hi Kelsey, unfortunately no one has so far sent any suggestions. However, we believe that getting people to comment on posts may cause these posts to be categorized by Facebook as “Most Helpful”. You have nothing to lose by trying this and it may work. We´re currently experimenting in this area. Let me know what you find. Best regards, Mike

When I review a business on Facebook do my friends see it in their timeline, and/or do they get a notification regarding it?

Hello all… is there some way I can order my reviews to be latest first, when showing ont he main page? TIA

“All about Facebook Reviews” *Fails to mention how to review things on Facebook*

What happens when you cant comment on reviews on you page? has that happened to anyone else?

Hi this has also happened to us in the last day. Would love to know what is causing it.

is it posible to write a review of an other page as my page (company) instead of just as my personal profil ???

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9315791ea2b135612b79189e9c535aef0ed0e7284fe4ba1c8db2dc04e317e939.jpg I can’t see my reviews on my page as the owner or viewing it as a customer but I know customers can – help! Thanks x

We have had a 3 star review show up on the top of the reviews for months. We have since received many 5 stars review. Is there anyway to not have an outdated review placed further down?

I disabled my reviews for a while but I’ve just allowed people to post review back on my page. My review sections had re-appeared and my old reviews are still there but no one can post a new review, any advice? x

I have one 3* review from 3 years ago which is leaving me at 4.9* rating! I have 34 other reviews at 5*! How many 5* reviews does it take before the one! 3* gets cancelled out in my overall rating? If ever? Or I am I stuck at 4.9 because someone I barely know leaving below star rating?

I have a 1 star review and it keeps showing. All the other reviews which are more current are 5-stars. Why won’t it go away? So annoying. I see others have asked the same question but haven’t seen a reply yet

I am having the same problem. Did you ever find an answer? Thanks

Some of my reviews appear then dissappear? Why is this and how can I retrieve them?

I would like to know how to find all the reviews I have given out personally. I thought at one time they were on our personal profile somewhere?

Also Reviews show up much more prominently on mobile devices which is when people are near your location. Allowing people to leave a review for your location on Facebook is a good idea and gives social proof to potential customers.

So, how does Facebook decide which reviews are most helpful? That appears to be the default sort for reviews, yet it is clearly not based on “likes” of the review, nor is there any way to rate a review. Most of the questions related to this seem to have been deleted from the official Facebook pages. I found one that was answered completely inaccurately and one that has been ignored, but no answer. Do you have an answer?

I have multiple pages for my business, as of late i cannot see ANY reviews, even though they exist.(i have confirmed this through other peoples accounts) I also cannot make or see any reviews on other pages. I have searched everywhere and can’t find a reason for this and of course Facebook support is an oxymoron.

At the same time, Facebook messages to my pages have not been working correctly, we just received a message on Saturday,that was from April of 2015!!!!!!!!

I’m having the exact same problem. Can’t see my own reviews. Can’t see any reviews on other pages. I also have multiple business pages. And I also confirmed from other peoples pages that they can see and leave reviews for me and anybody else, but I’ve lost my ability to see or leave any reviews on any page whatsoever. It’s the strangest thing. I’ve never even left reviews for any other pages at all so it can’t be that I left a bad or fake review and lost the privilege.

I’m thinking it might have something to do with having multiple pages. Although I was never notified of such a change in my permissions. And I’ve never acted dishonestly or broken any type of facebook rules. How many pages do you have? I have 9. All real estate related.

I have quite a few, i would have to count, we set up pages for distributors but maintain ownership in case the distributor for a certain area decides not to distributet we can replace them, and it protects our brand. Your description is almost exactly as my situation, and I am starting to see a climbing number of other people with the same problem, this seems to be a major Facebook bug. I think as you can see from my post there is also a major bug in the messaging, not receiving a message for almost a year and a half then having it appear? if there are messages getting dropped down a black hole somewhere this would definitely explain all the complaints online that response time and rate are not correct….its impossible to respond to something that you don’t receive

and the review tab just reappeared….now for them to fix the msg problem

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that star rating and review had disappeared even though review tab was still there. Now I can see review under most recent but this is only on laptop and star ratings not visible under star ratings tab. Neither showing mobile devices anywhere. Can’t find fix anywhere. Have tried all suggestions; removing and adding back the review tab, making sure it’s a ‘local businesses’, Making sure there is a physical address, map is showing and tick in box below. Nothing works. Driving me mental.

I can only see 2 reviews on my page but there were 4. Where have the other reviews gone?

i created a page on FB for a friend. Now I want to write a review as myself on the page I created, but I can’t. Is this because I am an administrator?

I want to leave a review on a page that I am an admin at. Is there a way to do this?

I have a question…. Is there a way to have only the “most recent” reviews appear by default? This where all reviews are seen in a running list.

The others “Most Helpful” and “Star Rating” are not as important.

Hi Andrea Like many other people I’m finding that the few 1 star negative reviews tend to be the ones shown first, despite others being newer, more liked, more commented etc. Do you know of any way to get a more balanced view shown?

What do the number of “Reviews” mean on each individual review? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f48e183618a8e71d9e2c8be0f2944b83b11d56df07dad523e6623688118dd5bd.png

Hi there – thanks for this! I’m trying to add this feature but FB isn’t giving me the option to add the Review Tab – when I click on TABS, I only see 4 options and REVIEWS isn’t one of them.

Grandma Mary - Social Media Edutainer

New Course!

Connect with Andrea

How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business

Killer Recent Entries

• Facebook Ads: What’s Working in 2023
• 3 Facebook Ad Audiences to Create For Your Sales Funnel
• Meta Verified announcement from Mark Zuckerberg
• The Difference Between Meta Business Suite and the Business Manager
• Facebook Lead Ads: Step by Step

Full Guide to Facebook Reviews in 2023

According to recent statistics, there are close to 3 billion active monthly users on Facebook. The simple fact remains that Facebook is the leader in the clubhouse regarding user engagement. This reality stimulates many proactive business owners to increase the number of positive Facebook reviews in 2023.

Facebook reviews can solidify one's online presence and increase brand visibility. They are one of the most effective marketing strategies any business owner should focus on in 2023. They can boost your brand's reputation, attract more customers, and ultimately increase sales.

But there are some key facts that you need to know about how Facebook reviews and, specifically, their Facebook ratings are used to improve social proof among future customers.

Below, we'll outline some facts about Facebook business reviews. We will explain how the Facebook rating system works, how to take advantage of Facebook ratings, and how ReviewsOnMyWebsite can help you drive your customers to your Facebook business page to write glowing reviews.

How does the Facebook rating system work? 

The Facebook rating system used to be based on a 5-star system. Before 2020, a user would click and select from 1 to 5 stars, with each star representing a different level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Each star had its own meaning:

• 1 Star - Very Unsatisfied
• 2 Stars - Somewhat Satisfied
• 3 Stars - Neutral
• 4 Stars - Very Satisfied
• 5 Stars - Extremely Satisfied

However, in 2020, Facebook changed its system to a recommendation vs. the number of ratings. Their reasoning remains a mystery, as they've been very quiet about this change. However, the business recommendation rating number - under the reviews tab on your business page - which is based on a five-point scale, is still active. 

What are Facebook star ratings?

Technically, there are no Facebook star ratings – as of 2019. The platform changed its star reviews rating system to a yes/no recommendation system. While this recommendation rating system is like a star rating in the score criteria, those numbers are collected via multiple elements beyond a simple number assigned by previous customers.

What are Facebook page recommendations?

Now, when your customers leave a Facebook review, they'll instead be asked to make a Facebook recommendation with a straightforward question - would you recommend this company?

If the answer is yes, your business is assigned a 'point.' The company's business Facebook page receives a negative point if the answer is no. While Facebook is quite vague about the actual point total assigned for positive or negative reviews, it's assumed that the number is 5 - since the recommendation in the reviews section total is based on that scale.

After a business collects a non-specified number of reviews, Facebook will assign a recommendation 'scale' - which is based on several factors, including the number of positive recommendations vs. negative recommendations, the quality of the users’ feedback, how often that social network page is shared by reviewers, and other criteria.

How many recommendations are needed for a Facebook rating?

The Facebook Help Center claims that ratings are based on multiple things, such as user reviews and recommendations. They state that only businesses that "allow" Recommendations will have a rating, meaning if there aren't enough recommendations, the business won't be assigned a recommendation rating.

However, when it comes to answering the question, we cannot provide any factual statistics.

What are the benefits of getting good Facebook reviews?

Having good reviews on Facebook is one of the critical methods to increase your business' reputation.

Not only can customers see and interact with the reviews, but they are also shown when someone looks up your page or searches for you on Google reviews.

So, it makes sense that an excellent strategy for improving your Facebook business page recommendation rating is to drive as many happy customers as possible to your platform - and recommend your business.

There are multiple benefits when you increase the number of positive reviews on your Facebook business page.

Benefit #1 - Increases your organic reach 

People will trust your brand and be more likely to engage with it when you have many positive reviews. Facebook also rewards local businesses with higher recommendation numbers than competitors with local searches.

As such, your organic reach for local searches of your business type will be ranked higher.

Benefit #2 - Improves your credibility 

For potential customers considering doing business with you, the fact that multiple other customers have left glowing reviews will make them more likely to trust your business.

This naturally leads them to think you must offer good products and services.

Benefit #3 - Enhances your professionalism 

Receiving many Facebook reviews is a great way to portray a professional image for your business. Having those 5-star ratings on your page is a great way to show that you care about customer experience.

Plus, it helps build trust in potential customers who are new to the business.

How to set up and activate your Facebook page reviews 

The top three review platforms increasing in the number of direct user business reviews are Amazon, Google, and Facebook. As such, if your small business attracts new customers via these platforms or you sell products through them - it's a wise idea to take advantage of their free business rating and review systems.

Following the step-by-step guide below, you can easily set up and activate your Facebook page reviews in just a few minutes. Before you begin, make sure you’re clear on Facebook community standards. 

Step 1 - Create your business page 

The first step is to create your business page if you still need one. Setting it up is straightforward and requires only basic information about your company and industry.

Here are some essential items to include in your business profile.

• Your business address and phone number
• Your website URL
• Hours of operation
• Industry you serve
• General customer demographic information which can lead to more Facebook reviews and increased organic traffic

Step 2 - Enable reviews 

After creating your page, you need to enable reviews by going to the Settings tab and clicking on "Reviews." Here, you can choose whether people can leave reviews for your page. Make sure it is turned "on."

Step 3 - Invite customers to leave reviews 

Once you've enabled reviews, the next step is to invite your past and current customers to leave a review on your page. You can do this by emailing or posting through social media. If you want to get more reviews, consider creating a special offer for people who take the time to leave a review.

Leverage feedback and reviews to improve your online reputation

Get more online reviews and turn your customers into raving fans with ReviewsOnMyWebsite review generation software.

Start a 14-day free trial

Note: in order for your customers to leave a Facebook review, they need to have an active Facebook account.

How to see reviews on your Facebook business page? 

You can access reviews for your business anytime by going to the "Reviews" tab on your page. Here, you can view all the reviews left for your business and how many people have recommended it.

It's essential to keep in mind that Facebook typically displays only positive reviews on your timeline. If you receive negative reviews, they will not be visible unless someone clicks on the "See All" button.

Why can't I see all my Facebook reviews? 

Like Amazon and Google, Facebook does hold customer reviews in moderation in some situations. You may only be able to see some of your reviews because some are flagged as suspicious. This can be done if specific keywords are in the review or if a visitor to your Facebook business page reports it as fake or unacceptable.

If a review falls into this category, it will only appear on your business page once it has been approved by Facebook.

Received a negative review that you don't want to be visible? You can always ask Facebook to delete the review if you feel that it's fake or violates Facebook's terms, or reach out to the review author and ask them to update it.

How long do Facebook reviews take to post?

Once you've enabled reviews and invited customers to leave them, it may take some time for the reviews to appear on your page. Generally, it takes around 24 hours for a review to be posted.

Keep in mind that Facebook also has its own filtering system in place. So, if a review contains suspicious words or phrases, it may take even longer to get approved.

How to get reviews on Facebook?

Getting reviews on Facebook is a great way to build credibility and trust. Start asking your existing customers for honest feedback to get more reviews. You can also use social media to spread the word and let people know you're looking for reviews.

In addition to this, you can use ReviewOnMyWebsite to send direct SMS and email requests to your customers asking them to leave a review for your business.

How to manage Facebook reviews?

Managing your reviews is an essential part of building a successful brand. However, many business owners or marketing managers are time-strapped to continually sit on their Facebook pages to wait for customer reviews.

Every business can embrace a few essential tips that will permit them to activate an online reputation management strategy and scale it - once their number of reviews and business grows.

Tip #1 - Activate the new review notification feature

The New Review Notification feature allows you to receive an email whenever someone leaves a review on your page. This means you can stay on top of customer feedback and quickly respond if necessary.

Tip #2 - Assign a daily task to an employee

Another easy way to check your Facebook business page reviews is to assign this task to a trustworthy employee who has excellent communication skills and can speak intelligently about your company. Have them check user reviews regularly, so they can promptly respond to user reviews as soon as they are posted.

Tip #3 - Respond to both positive and negative reviews 

Whenever you receive a review, be sure to leave a response. That way, you can adequately thank customers for their feedback and address any negative comments.

Anytime a user leaves a negative comment, take it seriously. However, always reply in a calm, professional, and measured manner. If you can, ask the user to contact you privately to see if you can resolve their issue.

Tip #4 - Use review widgets to display your reviews

Several tools can help businesses manage their online reviews, including ReviewsOnMyWebsite. It will notify you via email when new reviews are posted and allow to quickly respond to reviews.

Plus, it can be configured as a widget on your website. This makes it easy to display your Facebook reviews on your high-traffic landing and conversion pages of your website.

Can you delete reviews on Facebook?

What happens if you receive a review that's either incorrect or outright malicious? You may want to remove it as soon as possible. Fortunately, there are two ways to delete reviews on Facebook:

• People can delete their reviews within 48 hours of posting them. The easiest way is for them to go into the Settings menu on the review and click "Delete."
• If the review is older than 48 hours, you can submit a request to have it removed by Facebook. After receiving your request, they will evaluate it and decide within 72 hours.

Managing Facebook marketplace reviews

Facebook Marketplace is the platform's buying and selling feature, allowing users to post reviews about their experience with certain sellers or buyers.

If you receive any negative feedback, it can be damaging to your reputation. However, here are a few tips on how to manage your Facebook Marketplace reviews:

1. Reply as soon as possible

Be sure to respond to a positive or negative review. If you can, try and find out what went wrong and fix it. If they had a great experience, thank them for their comment, and ask if there is any room for improvement.

2. Apologize for their poor experience

Apologizing will show the customer that you care and are willing to take responsibility for any mistakes. Offer your sincere apology and assure them you'll do whatever it takes to make things right.

3. Follow up with an email

If the customer has provided their contact information, follow up via email or phone to ask how they're doing and if there is anything further you can do to help. This shows that you're engaged and that you care about their experience.

How ReviewsOnMyWebsite can help boost your Facebook reviews

When managing your Facebook reviews, taking a holistic approach is essential. You must be consistent and proactive when responding to reviews on your social media platforms.

ReviewOnMyWebsite can help you do this by streamlining the process of collecting customer feedback across multiple channels in one place.

Related Posts

Full Guide to Viewing Your Google Reviews in 2023

How to Spot and Remove Fake Google Reviews in 2023

How to Edit my Google Reviews? Full Guide to Editing Google Reviews in 2023

Nikola Bojkov

How to leave facebook reviews with the new facebook recommendations.

Learn everything about Facebook reviews and 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. 

Embed Facebook Recommendations and Reviews on your Website

Try EmbedReviews , generate Facebook and Google reviews, and display a social media reviews widget on your website. Automatically and in seconds.

All PRO features | Cancel any time.

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.

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:

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

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:

• Go to the recommendation that you want to report and click the 3 dots in the top right corner
• Select “Find support or report Recommendation”
• 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:

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

If you want to enable this feature via the Facebook app, follow these steps: 1. Open the Facebook app on your device. 2. Go to your Business Page. 3. Tap on the “More” option 4. Tap on “Settings”. 5. Scroll down to the “Templates and Tabs” section. 6. Find the “Reviews” or “Recommendations” tab 7. Once the tab is visible, make sure it’s set to “ON” or “Off.”

No, buying Facebook recommendations is against Facebook’s Community Standards and can result in penalties, including the removal of your page.

To post a recommendation for a business or place on Facebook, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Page of the business/place 2. Look for the “Recommendations” or “Reviews” section 3. Click on “Yes” to recommend the place 4. Write your recommendation 5. Post the Recommendation

Table of contents: Toggle Table of Content Toggle

CEO of EmbedSocial 

Nikola Bojkov is the CEO of EmbedSocial, an entrepreneur who turns problems into products. With over a decade of hands-on experience with social media APIs, he guides EmbedSocial in its role as a technical partner for both SMEs and large agencies, maximizing the impact of their user-generated content. EmbedSocial has offices in Skopje, Tokyo and Lisbon with over 250,000 users.

•   shares
• Facebook 309
• Pinterest 9

Related Articles

Related tutorials

Learn how to embed social media feeds from different platforms.

• Instagram feed for WordPress
• WordPress Facebook reviews
• Instagram stories for Webflow
• Instagram feed for Shopify
• Instagram feed for Webflow
• Squarespace Google reviews
• Social media feed for Webflow
• How to add Google reviews to website?
• Embed Google Reviews with photos
• Embed a Google reviews badge
• How to embed Facebook reviews?
• How to embed Airbnb reviews?
• How to embed Wall of love?
• How to embed Instagram feed?
• How to embed YouTube Shorts?
• How to embed TikTok feed?
• How to embed LinkedIn feed?
• How to embed Pinterest board?
• How to embed Instagram Reels?
• How to embed Facebook feed?
• How to Embed YouTube channel?
• How to embed Youtube playlist?
• How to embed Vimeo feed?
• Embed social media mentions
• Embed Instagram hashtag feed
• How to embed Instagram stories?
• How to embed Facebook albums?

Join 250,000+ websites that embed reviews & UGC widgets to sell more

Privacy Overview

Business Listings

Get listed in directories

Generate more referrals

Generate more reviews

customer communication

All-in-one communication

Live chat feature for your site

Social Management

Easy social media management

Schedule and Appointments

Simple scheduler to save time

Turnkey Marketing

Let us handle all your marketing needs

market edge

Payment Solutions

Fast, safe and secure gateway

Insights Dashboard

Actionable insights simplified

Customer Survey

Customer feedback platform

Talk with our sales team

Financial services

Financial Flourish: Elevate, Succeed

Dental & Medical

Medical Prosperity: Stand Out with Happy Patients

Hospitality

Hospitality Excellence, Amplify Your Success!

Retail Triumph: Power Up Your Sales!

Home service

Home Service Pros, Thrive with Us!

Drive to Success: Accelerate with Us!

Real estate

Real Estate Mastery: Excel, Conquer!

Savor Success: Let Our Solution Cook!

Have Your Chairs Filled and Tills Ringing!

Customer Reviews

All that you need to learn about customer reviews.

Google Reviews

Insights related to Google specific reviews

Yelp Ratings

Insights related to Yelp and how to optimize it.

Facebook Reviews

What you need to know about Facebook reviews.

• Book a Demo

How to Get Facebook Reviews: The Ultimate Guide

L earn how to get Facebook reviews with this ultimate guide. After reading, you’ll have actionable steps to take to improve your business’ rating on Facebook.

Understanding Facebook Recommendations

How Facebook Reviews and Recommendations Drive Sales

How Facebook Reviews and Recommendations Affect Local SEO

How Facebook Reviews and Recommendations Affect Paid Ads

The Simple Key to Success with Facebook Reviews and Recommendations

Getting Started with Facebook Reviews and Recommendations

How to Respond to Negative Facebook Reviews and Recommendations

What’s the difference betweek Facbook “reviews” and “recommendations?”

I n August of 2018, Facebook announced it was making the switch from “reviews” to “recommendations,” which work differently.

While Facebook previously allowed for ratings of one to five stars, now there’s more of a pass/fail system, where customers can say they either do or do not recommend a business, either publicly or just to their friends. If your business received several reviews before this switch, the average star count you had is included in your new rating

Facebook recommendations also behave more like posts, so when a customer recommends your business, they have the option to just show the recommendation to his or her friends like a typical post. If a reviewer chooses to do this, that recommendation will not show up in your final rating. A recommendation must be public for it to count as part of your overall rating, which appears like this on your business’ page:

How does Facebook calculate your rating from recommendations?

The overarching Facebook rating is determined by a ratio of how many individuals recommend your business to those that don’t. These are then posted on a scale of one to five.

So, if your business received 8 positive recommendations and two negative, you would receive a 4/5 overall rating. Reviews from before Facebook made this change can affect the calculation differently because a three-star rating is counted as a three and not a “yes” or “no” in the final score.

What happened to the reviews I got before Facebook switched to recommendations?

Nothing! All the reviews you received before Facebook made the switch are still there, and the star ratings you had are included in your business’ new, overall rating.

What are the advantages of showing customer reviews on Facebook?

There are a few potential advantages to displaying customer reviews on Facebook:

• You show that your business values transparency. Everyone knows you can’t make the whole world happy and that you will eventually get negative recommendations. When you turn on Facebook recommendations anyway, you let people know that you care about honest, real experiences at your business: positive or negative.
• You allow your business’ biggest fans to cheer you on publicly. Your biggest fans want to see you succeed, and when you give them the chance to review you, they’ll happily do so in a way that encourages purchases from others in the future.
• You embrace the opportunity to show off quality customer service. It may come in a day, a week, or a year – but someday, you will receive a negative recommendation. When that day comes, you have a unique opportunity to deliver excellent customer service in a public way, which other potential customers will notice (and appreciate).
• You benefit from a boost in sales. As mentioned previously in this post, Facebook reviews drive sales. This is potentially the most important advantage to displaying Facebook reviews.

What are the disadvantages of displaying customer reviews on Facebook?

While there are several advantages to displaying Facebook reviews, there are some disadvantages you should be aware of:

• The time commitment. When you turn on Facebook reviews, you also need to be able to monitor them and respond. While we believe reviews are highly valuable, if you don’t have the time to commit to doing it well, it may not be the right time to accept reviews of your business on Facebook.
• Harassment potential . Sometimes, though rare, businesses can experience harassment from dissatisfied customers or disgruntled employees by way of constant negative reviews. These can be reported or disputed, but are time consuming to deal with.
• Improperly dealt-with negative reviews. When you turn on Facebook reviews, you want your most satisfied customers to leave recommendations. The best way to ensure that happens – and bypass poor reviews – is by pre-screening customers and only directing your happiest to Facebook to review you. Check out our facebook review tool  to automate the pre-screening process for your business.

This chapter will unpack why Facebook reviews matter from a business perspective. If we’re going to tell you how to get Facebook reviews of your business, we’re going to begin by telling you why they matter in the first place. They’re not just about looking good – they’ve actually been proven to drive sales.

Are Facebook reviews important for businesses?

C onsumers who click on a product review shared to Facebook are 40 percent more likely to convert than those who click on a Facebook post from your business.

Facebook reviews aren’t just about building a reputation (which is important, don’t get us wrong), but they work for your business. When you take a look at every stage of the sales funnel, there’s an opportunity for Facebook reviews to impact your potential customers:

• Awareness: Facebook reviews educate potential customers about your products, services, and the overall experience customers have of your business. When a user shares a review or recommendation of your business, all of their friends are then introduced to it.
• Consideration: Facebook reviews give potential customers a method of comparison between you and your competitors. The higher quantity of positive recommendations you have, the better.
• Decision: Potential customers are ready to make a choice, and are seeking validation of their decision. Facebook reviews reinforce the decision to buy from your business.

How do consumers use Facebook reviews?

According to Market Force research, 81 percent of surveyed consumers from the U.S. and the UK made purchasing decisions based on recommendations shared by their friends. And it’s not just recommendations from friends that consumers trust: 91 percent of those aged 18 to 34 take online reviews from strangers just as seriously as those personal recommendations.

Facebook takes that personal touch a step further by displaying reviews from a user’s friends first, so a potential customer can see what their friends have said before anyone else. That establishes a kind of connection you don’t get from Google or Yelp reviews.

Bottom line: consumers use Facebook reviews to make purchasing decisions. Sometimes the decision to buy is influenced by a friend’s recommendation, sometimes it’s reinforced, but either way, purchasing decisions are made.

In this chapter, we’ll touch on the relationship between Facebook reviews and local SEO. By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of why Facebook reviews and recommendations matter – and not just to your social media presence.

How Facebook Reviews Can Boost Local SEO

W hen it comes to local SEO, even the smallest factors can make all the difference. Google pulls from multiple sources to get information and seek credibility of your business. The more Google has, the more confident they are to include your business in the local three-pack, which is a selection of local businesses related to the user’s search:

Facebook reviews can help boost your ranking because it’s possible for them to show up under Google’s “Reviews from the web” section:

Positive Facebook reviews and recommendations can play a role in improving your local SEO.

In this chapter, we’ll briefly discuss the power of Facebook reviews in how they can affect the overarching costs of your paid advertising.

How Facebook Reviews Lower Paid Advertising Costs

F acebook ads are cost-effective and can be helpful for many businesses. Anyone who is served a Facebook ad is likely to check out the Facebook Page the ad came from, including the reviews, before making any purchasing decisions.

Since your Facebook reviews will affect conversion rates, that also means your Facebook reviews and recommendations can affect the overall advertising cost per acquired customer.

In this chapter, we’ll break down how your business can find success with Facebook reviews. We’ll discuss the rating your business should have, how to get more recommendations, and by the end of the chapter, you’ll have actionable steps you can take to improving your business’ Facebook review presence.

How high should a Facebook rating be?

Simple answer: Ideally, at least a rating of 4 (out of 5).

Better answer: Higher than your local competitors’.

Detailed answer:

According to a Bright Local survey, 57 percent of consumers will only use a business with a rating of four or higher. When a rating is lower than that, consumers worry that’s a low-quality business and will purchase elsewhere.

On the flipside, consumers can become suspicious when you’ve got a perfect five out of five stars. They’re more likely to wonder whether those reviews are real – even they know you can’t make everyone happy all the time.

Facebook has actually made it easier for you to get many positive recommendations without raising suspicion. With the new Facebook recommendations, Facebook has removed the ambiguity between a four and five-star review. Now, you either get a “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down,” and the rating displayed is the ratio of like-to-dislike. You can have an average rating of five because there are only two options to choose from, as opposed to five.

How to get a high quantity of Facebook reviews and recommendations

The answer to how to get Facebook reviews is simple: ask every satisfied customer to recommend you on Facebook. This is especially true of this review platform, as review conversion rates on Facebook tend to be lower than those for Google or Yelp.

While Google and Yelp have specific review popup links you can send customers to in order to encourage reviews, like this:

Facebook does not:

As you can see, those directed to Facebook have to click on “Yes” to recommend the business – and there’s a lot to distract them away from it. That means you need to ask a lot more people to recommend your business in order to get the quantity of recommendations you need.

It may seem like a lot of work, but there are a few ways to ease the burden and get results for your business, as we’ll discuss in the next section.

How to get raving Facebook reviews

The best way to get raving Facebook reviews is to ask your most satisfied customers to leave recommendations. Here are a few best practices you can follow in order to effectively get more positive Facebook reviews:

• Pre-screen your customers so only the happiest leave positive, public Facebook recommendations. Those who were dissatisfied should be directed to provide feedback that is kept private between you and the customer.
• Follow-up regularly. Customers who don’t respond to the first review request should be sent emails or text messages as follow-ups. You can easily double the number of reviews you get by doing this.
• Frequently ask new customers to leave reviews. At least weekly, you should send out review requests to customers. They’re more likely to leave reviews when the experience is fresh in their minds.
• Automate the process so these best practices are followed in the most efficient way.
• Check out our Facebook review management tool  to help you get more Facebook reviews, or watch the video below to learn more about how it all works:

It all begins with a basic pre-screening of your customers. They’re sent an email that looks something like this:

If your customer gives your business a thumbs-up, they’re asked to leave you a recommendation:

If they give you a thumbs-down, they’re sent to a different screen to provide more feedback which goes directly to you so you can make improvements within your business:

Customers who do not respond to the initial email are sent follow-ups, which can often double the number of recommendations you receive.

Remember: because Facebook recommendations work a little differently, the average conversion rate is low. It’s a bit harder for customers to figure out how to recommend you, and there’s a lot that can distract them away from the task at hand. You should regularly ask for recommendations from your customers and provide them with instructions on how to recommend you, so they’re less likely to become confused.

The best part is that it’s all automated. Just be sure you or a member of your team is monitoring reviews left on your Facebook page so you can hop over and say, “thanks!”

Now that you know the “why” of Facebook reviews, now we’re going to talk about the logistics of how to get Facebook reviews. This chapter will give you the step-by-step guides to turning Facebook reviews on and off, and how to get the nifty “Reviews” button to show up on your Facebook page.

How do I get the “Reviews” button to show up on my Facebook page?

I f you’re wondering how to get Facebook reviews, you first have to allow your business to receive them. By adding the “Reviews” button on your Facebook page, you are automatically turning on reviews for your business. It’s fairly simple:

1. Head to your business’ Facebook page. 2. Click “Settings” at the top of your page:

3. Locate the tab called “Templates and Tabs” on the left-hand side:

4. Scroll down until you find “Add a Tab:”

5. Next to “Reviews” or “Recommendations,” click “Add Tab:”

How do I hide customer reviews on Facebook?]

If you do decide to hide customer reviews on Facebook, it’s fairly simple:

4. Click “Settings” next to the “Recommendations” or “Reviews” tab. 5. Select “Off” next to “Show Reviews.”

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to deal with negative Facebook reviews. Every business gets them, but not every business knows how to respond to them. These guidelines will help you turn negative Facebook reviews into an opportunity for your business.

How do you respond to negative Facebook reviews?

Y ou don’t ever want to ignore a negative Facebook review. It would come across to other potential customers that you don’t care about that customer’s experience, and that won’t help your business.

Here are some simple steps you can take to respond to negative Facebook reviews:

• Respond in a timely manner. You want your customer to know you care about his or her experience, and you don’t want other potential customers reading that negative review thinking that you chose to do nothing.
• Be authentic. If you’re sorry, say so. If your business was at fault here, tell them that. People respect honest responses and sincere apologies.
• Offer to make it right. Is there something you can do to fix or improve upon the situation? Offer to do that.
• Take it offline. Leave your phone number or email address so they can contact you with any further concerns. Because Facebook recommendations function like Facebook posts, you could end up commenting back and forth with an upset customer – and that’s something you want to avoid.

Should you respond to positive Facebook reviews?

You should always respond to positive Facebook reviews if you want customers to keep coming back.

Positive Facebook reviews are from your top fans: the people who love your products or services and want you to succeed. Take a moment to thank them for their time, for their kind words, and let them know you can’t wait to see them com back.

Can you remove a negative Facebook review?

You personally cannot remove a negative Facebook review simple because it’s negative. However, if the review or recommendation violates Facebook’s Community Standards , you can report it. Facebook does not permit reviews that:

• Are irrelevant to your business
• Involve hate-speech, violence or harassment
• Involve nudity
• Involve drug-related language or imagery
• Are related to suicide or self-harm

Once you report the review, Facebook will look into it. If they find that it does violate those standards, Facebook will remove it on your behalf.

How do you remove a negative Facebook review?

We wrote an entire article on the subject of how to remove Facebook reviews if you’re looking for serious, in-depth information.

But, for the time being, here’s a brief version of how you can report a review that violates any of the Community Standards:

1. Go to your business’ Facebook page. 2. Click the “Reviews” button on the left-hand side:

3. Locate the review you want to report. 4. Click the exclamation point icon to the right of the review:

5. Select the reason you wish to report the Facebook review:

All Blog Topics

Customer Reviews Blog

Google Reviews Blog

Yelp Ratings Blog

Facebook Reviews Blog

Local SEO experts in a city near you

Blog RSS Feeds

The Trust-Driven business

Scheduling & Appointment

Insight Dashboard

Customer Surveys

Financial Services

Home Services

Real Estate

Restaurants

Top Blog Posts

Customer Reviews (How to Get Positive Reviews)

How to Get Google Reviews: The Ultimate Guide

How to Get a Google Review Link (The Right Way)

Yelp Business Reviews (Dangers You Need to Know About)

Don’t Buy Yelp Reviews – It’s Illegal

Billing Legacy

© 2024 Rising Star Reviews. All rights reserved. Rising Star Reviews, 236-1231 Pacific Blvd. Vancouver, BC, V6Z0E2.

Privacy Policy     Terms of Service

Return to homepage

Users who signed up before July 2023

Users who signed up after July 2023

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then   View saved stories .

• Backchannel
• Newsletters
• WIRED Insider
• WIRED Consulting

Review: Rolser Wallaby Tweed 2-Wheel Foldable Shopping Trolley

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more . Please also consider subscribing to WIRED

Some of the greatest icons of the streets of Paris are les dames d'un certain âge pulling their grocery trolleys down the sidewalk. In my mind, theirs always seem to be rickety things, giant wire baskets on cheap plastic wheels all holding a tarp-like bag into which they can put wine, cheese, leeks, and baguettes. Trolleys are supremely practical, particularly if you are on foot or even in the Métro, but thanks to a touch of modernization, they may be ready to make the leap across the pond.

Spanish trolley manufacturer Rolser is leading that charge. The company sells a full line of trolleys, including my favorite, the Wallaby Tweed 2 Wheel Foldable Shopping Trolley . First, and kinda crucially, it's good-looking, trading the rattling basket for a folding tubular frame with a 40-liter bag that, at roughly 7.5 inches deep, 13 inches wide, and 26 inches tall, looks a bit like a giant, fold-flat pannier. That sturdy fabric allows the bag to have sharp corners, and it's rubberized to keep your Cheerios from getting soggy if you get caught in the rain. Combine that with fat-toothed zippers nestled in natty contrasting tape and the whole thing has a surprising hipness. Plus, big wheels with a 6.5-inch diameter and a bit of squish help smooth out bumps in the pavement.

I love using my trolley because it allows me to make a full grocery run without having to lug heavy bags all over my neighborhood, but what I immediately noticed about my Wallaby once I started using it was how many compliments I got every time I hit the street with it. A nice lady at the Mexican grocery down the block switched from admiring its practicality to making sure she knew the make and model before I left the store. Two other people on that same outing went out of their way to ask about it. At the grocery store, I came to appreciate a feature on this model where you fold it in half and then use a row of plastic hooks to clamp the empty trolley to the grocery cart while you shop. At the register, you want to make sure you load heavy stuff in first to keep from crushing more delicate or more delicate items, and there's a large zipper that runs down most of the outer panel, making loading and unloading a bit easier. While other models have a cinch with a flap at the top, this one just has a stiff flap that gets in the way a bit when it's time to load it. However, there are also a few well-placed pockets, both on the top flap and inside the bag for items like pens, keys, and produce bags. As someone who frequently marches around the supermarket with the grocery list on a clipboard, I like the large pouch on the back of the bag that accommodates it nicely.

Out of the sidewalk, it functions surprisingly well under load. Rolser has both a recommended load limit of 55 pounds and a “maximum load” of 88 pounds. For months, I've pushed mine toward what feels like it could be the limit, stuffing it with a few six packs, a big jug of kombucha, milk, and other heavy groceries to fill the bag. With its fairly large wheels and sturdy frame, it handles just fine. One day, I loaded it about two-thirds full with a fat stack of cookbooks to donate to the Seattle Public Library and, while the tires felt a little splashy on the way over to the Columbia Branch, the multi-block walk was still pretty easy. If you happen to have extra totes, those can be hung over the main bag, helping you free up a hand for waving to your jealous neighbors.

Not that it's a surprise, but this thing doesn't lift itself. Thanks to the three flights of stairs up to my kitchen, I trained myself to bring smaller bags to help break up the load once I got it home. Rolser has a whacky 6-wheel model that allows you to pull it up stairs, but that's more for a stoop than a flight, and it's got a contraption-y vibe that takes any semblance of cool and throws it out the window. I do wish it had some sort of handle to help make lifting it up a large number of stairs easier, though I'm not sure that's a thing that can be invented. Maybe this is my chance to finally install a dumbwaiter!

I would say that a grocery trolley is more of an invention for urban dwellers, particularly those who live in a walkable neighborhood. As long as there aren't too many stairs, it's very subway friendly, but it's less practical to fill it up and tuck it into the trunk of a grocery getter.

I really enjoy using my Rolser. It's practical and kinda hip, and I don't tire myself out lugging heavy bags back to the house from the grocery. Everything I review gets sent back to the manufacturer or donated to a nonprofit, but I just bought this and will take all the compliments I can get.

Ghana finance min confident of bondholder deal 'at some point' as IMF completes review

• Medium Text

• IMF, Ghana agree on second review of $3 bln loan programme
• IMF wants to keep seeing progress with bondholder talks
• Finance Minister: NDA with bondholders expires on Monday

IMF PROGRAMME RESULTS

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Christian Akorlie; Writing by Alexander Winning and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alessandra Prentice, Alex Richardson and Hugh Lawson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

World Chevron

Landslides kill 18 on Indonesia's Sulawesi island, two missing

Landslides on Indonesia's Sulawesi island on the weekend killed at least 18 people with rescue efforts, including police sniffer dogs, still ongoing for two missing people, local authorities said on Monday.

• Automotive Services
• Home Services
• Pet Services
• Dental Practices
• Listings Management
• Social Media Manager
• Social Media Pro
• AudioEye ADA Compliance
• 800-693-1089

Related Articles

• How to Remove Spam Reviews from a Facebook Page
• How to Get the Best Facebook Page Reviews with Examples
• How to Change a Facebook Page Name for Your Business
• How to Get 5-Star Ratings On Your Facebook Page
• How Long Does a Facebook Review Take To Show Up?

How to get reviews on Facebook

Social media plays an important role in running your local business today. With almost 3 billion users , it’s no question that your potential customers are using Facebook. Every business should have an active Facebook business page to easily connect with potential customers.

Facebook is particularly crucial for local, service-based businesses. A Facebook business page lets you keep your customers up-to-date about your company, allows you to interact with them, and enables them to leave reviews and feedback. A Facebook business page also improves your SEO rankings, making you appear higher on search result pages.

There is no doubt that potential customers are using Facebook to search for your business. They’re looking at your profile and customer reviews and comparing you to your competitor to decide who to buy from. 

Let’s understand how Facebook reviews help your business and how you can promote your business on Facebook .

Free Guide: 10 Tips To Get More Customers From Facebook

How facebook reviews impact business.

Small businesses worldwide rely on Facebook and Google reviews as the new word-of-mouth. Positive reviews on Facebook will increase your chances of getting new customers because online reviews build trust. 

Your ideal customers are not only paying attention to your star rating but also reading the reviews left by customers and how you, as a business owner, respond. Even if you have a few poor reviews sprinkled in, a thoughtful response shows that you value their feedback and will take action to fix the situation.

84% of people trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. These positive reviews are testimonials for your business from real customers. Now that we know how much they matter, let’s look at the ins and outs of Facebook reviews.

How to enable reviews on your Facebook Business Page

If you search for a company on Facebook, you’ll see a star rating correlating to their business listing. You might wonder how they got that!

Once you have a Facebook Page set up for your company , you’ll want to ensure your page is configured to receive star ratings and reviews. Your reviews might be hidden, which means you’re missing out on the chance to snag some stellar comments!

How to enable reviews on your Facebook Business Page:

• Click “Settings” at the top of your Page
• Go to “Edit Page” in the left-hand column
• Scroll down to “Reviews”
• Click “Settings” next to the Reviews section
• Change the slider from OFF to ON
• “Save” changes

How to get the reviews tab to show up on your Facebook Page

After your Facebook page is capable of receiving reviews, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for your audience to access the feature. Facebook allows Page Managers to customize their tabs on the left-hand side of the page, and you can make one of those tabs feature “Reviews” for easy access.

Here’s how to get the Reviews tab to show up on your Facebook Page:

• Click “Settings”
• Click “Edit Page”
• You will see a section titled Tabs

• There, choices for pre-picked tabs will show up
• Scroll down until you see “Add a Tab.” Click it.

You can now order your tabs as you’d like them to appear on your page. The more importance you place on getting reviews, the higher on the list you may want to put it. Just hover over the tab until your cursor becomes the little hand symbol, then click and drag the tab to the position you’d like.

How to ask for Facebook reviews

Once you’re set up to receive Facebook reviews, you can gently push your customers to leave their thoughts and recommendations. Customers often don’t realize how critical their reviews are to their favorite businesses. 

7 out of 10 customers will leave a review if asked to do so. That means all you need to do is ask, and you shall receive. If asking for Facebook reviews sounds uncomfortable, know you’re not alone. Many business owners have trouble with this part, but luckily, we have some ideas to help you.

• Use these email templates to ask for reviews
• Create automated follow-ups via text, email or direct mail
• Offer a coupon or voucher if people check in
• Require people to check in if they want to use your WiFi
• Give a free upgrade if people check in
• Promote a great review from Facebook on your website with a call-to-action
• Put up signs requesting reviews in the office waiting room
• Ask customers directly after you’ve provided a service they’re happy with
• Create a link to your review page so its easier for customers

Troubleshooting Facebook reviews

You may run into complications with your Facebook reviews. Maybe you’re getting bad reviews from someone who is not a customer, or the review isn’t truthful. You can report these reviews to Facebook for an independent review. Facebook will evaluate it and decide if the review will be removed. Learn more about removing negative reviews from your Facebook page.

How to respond to negative reviews

Responding to reviews is a critical part of your social media presence. Customers want to see your response to positive and negative reviews. Although, we can all admit that responding to negative reviews is the most difficult. 

When responding to negative reviews, acknowledge their concerns, commit to improving the situation, and then take the conversation offline. You can use a template like this: 

“Thank you for your review. Customer satisfaction is really important to us, and we’re sorry that we may have missed the mark. We’re working with our team to remedy the situation, and we will reach out to you with the next steps.” 

Responding to your reviews helps solidify your online reputation. Whether they are positive or negative reviews, thoughtful responses should be part of your social media marketing strategy.

How to turn off Facebook reviews

Before you turn off your Facebook reviews, consider the repercussions. Consumers often view a lack of reviews as a deterrent to hiring a company. So unless you’re in an extenuating circumstance, reviews should likely be left on.

However, if you do need to turn off your Facebook reviews, you can do so in your Facebook settings. Keep in mind that other review sites, like Google, will not let you turn off reviews.

Improve your social media reputation with Broadly

There are plenty of ways to let customers know you’d like to receive more Facebook reviews , and one of those ways is to express how helpful they are to your business’s success. Broadly can help you get more reviews and manage your online reputation across social media platforms from one platform. 

Watch your online reputation transform with Broadly

Get more out of broadly., how do i check a company’s reputation, how to respond to a missed call by text for local service businesses, maximizing business growth with referral software, smile wide: mastering reputation management for dentists, stellar referral marketing examples for small businesses, law firm marketing strategies to grow your legal practice, rev up your business: auto repair shop marketing strategies, the best review websites for local service businesses, the best plumbing invoice software, reputation monitoring for local service business owners.

Advertisement

Supported by

Critic’s Pick

‘Civil War’ Review: We Have Met the Enemy and It Is Us. Again.

In Alex Garland’s tough new movie, a group of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst, as a photographer, travels a United States at war with itself.

• Share full article

‘Civil War’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The writer and director alex garland narrates a sequence from his film..

“My name is Alex Garland and I’m the writer director of ‘Civil War’. So this particular clip is roughly around the halfway point of the movie and it’s these four journalists and they’re trying to get, in a very circuitous route, from New York to DC, and encountering various obstacles on the way. And this is one of those obstacles. What they find themselves stuck in is a battle between two snipers. And they are close to one of the snipers and the other sniper is somewhere unseen, but presumably in a large house that sits over a field and a hill. It’s a surrealist exchange and it’s surrounded by some very surrealist imagery, which is they’re, in broad daylight in broad sunshine, there’s no indication that we’re anywhere near winter in the filming. In fact, you can kind of tell it’s summer. But they’re surrounded by Christmas decorations. And in some ways, the Christmas decorations speak of a country, which is in disrepair, however silly it sounds. If you haven’t put away your Christmas decorations, clearly something isn’t going right.” “What’s going on?” “Someone in that house, they’re stuck. We’re stuck.” “And there’s a bit of imagery. It felt like it hit the right note. But the interesting thing about that imagery was that it was not production designed. We didn’t create it. We actually literally found it. We were driving along and we saw all of these Christmas decorations, basically exactly as they are in the film. They were about 100 yards away, just piled up by the side of the road. And it turned out, it was a guy who’d put on a winter wonderland festival. People had not dug his winter wonderland festival, and he’d gone bankrupt. And he had decided just to leave everything just strewn around on a farmer’s field, who was then absolutely furious. So in a way, there’s a loose parallel, which is the same implication that exists within the film exists within real life.” “You don’t understand a word I say. Yo. What’s over there in that house?” “Someone shooting.” “It’s to do with the fact that when things get extreme, the reasons why things got extreme no longer become relevant and the knife edge of the problem is all that really remains relevant. So it doesn’t actually matter, as it were, in this context, what side they’re fighting for or what the other person’s fighting for. It’s just reduced to a survival.”

By Manohla Dargis

A blunt, gut-twisting work of speculative fiction, “Civil War” opens with the United States at war with itself — literally, not just rhetorically. In Washington, D.C., the president is holed up in the White House; in a spookily depopulated New York, desperate people wait for water rations. It’s the near-future, and rooftop snipers, suicide bombers and wild-eyed randos are in the fight while an opposition faction with a two-star flag called the Western Forces, comprising Texas and California — as I said, this is speculative fiction — is leading the charge against what remains of the federal government. If you’re feeling triggered, you aren’t alone.

It’s mourning again in America, and it’s mesmerizingly, horribly gripping. Filled with bullets, consuming fires and terrific actors like Kirsten Dunst running for cover, the movie is a what-if nightmare stoked by memories of Jan. 6. As in what if the visions of some rioters had been realized, what if the nation was again broken by Civil War, what if the democratic experiment called America had come undone? If that sounds harrowing, you’re right. It’s one thing when a movie taps into childish fears with monsters under the bed; you’re eager to see what happens because you know how it will end (until the sequel). Adult fears are another matter.

In “Civil War,” the British filmmaker Alex Garland explores the unbearable if not the unthinkable, something he likes to do. A pop cultural savant, he made a splashy zeitgeist-ready debut with his 1996 best seller “The Beach,” a novel about a paradise that proves deadly, an evergreen metaphor for life and the basis for a silly film . That things in the world are not what they seem, and are often far worse, is a theme that Garland has continued pursuing in other dark fantasies, first as a screenwriter (“ 28 Days Later ”), and then as a writer-director (“ Ex Machina ”). His résumé is populated with zombies, clones and aliens, though reliably it is his outwardly ordinary characters you need to keep a closer watch on.

By the time “Civil War” opens, the fight has been raging for an undisclosed period yet long enough to have hollowed out cities and people’s faces alike. It’s unclear as to why the war started or who fired the first shot. Garland does scatter some hints; in one ugly scene, a militia type played by a jolting, scarily effective Jesse Plemons asks captives “what kind of American” they are. Yet whatever divisions preceded the conflict are left to your imagination, at least partly because Garland assumes you’ve been paying attention to recent events. Instead, he presents an outwardly and largely post-ideological landscape in which debates over policies, politics and American exceptionalism have been rendered moot by war.

‘Civil War’ Is Designed to Disturb You

One thing that remains familiar amid these ruins is the movie’s old-fashioned faith in journalism. Dunst, who’s sensational, plays Lee, a war photographer who works for Reuters alongside her friend, a reporter, Joel (the charismatic Wagner Moura). They’re in New York when you meet them, milling through a crowd anxiously waiting for water rations next to a protected tanker. It’s a fraught scene; the restless crowd is edging into mob panic, and Lee, camera in hand, is on high alert. As Garland’s own camera and Joel skitter about, Lee carves a path through the chaos, as if she knows exactly where she needs to be — and then a bomb goes off. By the time it does, an aspiring photojournalist, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), is also in the mix.

The streamlined, insistently intimate story takes shape once Lee, Joel, Jessie and a veteran reporter, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), pile into a van and head to Washington. Joel and Lee are hoping to interview the president (Nick Offerman), and Sammy and Jessie are riding along largely so that Garland can make the trip more interesting. Sammy serves as a stabilizing force (Henderson fills the van with humanizing warmth), while Jessie plays the eager upstart Lee takes under her resentful wing. It’s a tidily balanced sampling that the actors, with Garland’s banter and via some cozy downtime, turn into flesh-and-blood personalities, people whose vulnerability feeds the escalating tension with each mile.

As the miles and hours pass, Garland adds diversions and hurdles, including a pair of playful colleagues, Tony and Bohai (Nelson Lee and Evan Lai), and some spooky dudes guarding a gas station. Garland shrewdly exploits the tense emptiness of the land, turning strangers into potential threats and pretty country roads into ominously ambiguous byways. Smartly, he also recurrently focuses on Lee’s face, a heartbreakingly hard mask that Dunst lets slip brilliantly. As the journey continues, Garland further sketches in the bigger picture — the dollar is near-worthless, the F.B.I. is gone — but for the most part, he focuses on his travelers and the engulfing violence, the smoke and the tracer fire that they often don’t notice until they do.

Despite some much-needed lulls (for you, for the narrative rhythm), “Civil War” is unremittingly brutal or at least it feels that way. Many contemporary thrillers are far more overtly gruesome than this one, partly because violence is one way unimaginative directors can put a distinctive spin on otherwise interchangeable material: Cue the artful fountains of arterial spray. Part of what makes the carnage here feel incessant and palpably realistic is that Garland, whose visual approach is generally unfussy, doesn’t embellish the violence, turning it into an ornament of his virtuosity. Instead, the violence is direct, at times shockingly casual and unsettling, so much so that its unpleasantness almost comes as a surprise.

If the violence feels more intense than in a typical genre shoot ’em up, it’s also because, I think, with “Civil War,” Garland has made the movie that’s long been workshopped in American political discourse and in mass culture, and which entered wider circulation on Jan. 6. The raw power of Garland’s vision unquestionably owes much to the vivid scenes that beamed across the world that day when rioters, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “ MAGA civil war ,” swarmed the Capitol. Even so, watching this movie, I also flashed on other times in which Americans have relitigated the Civil War directly and not, on the screen and in the streets.

Movies have played a role in that relitigation for more than a century, at times grotesquely. Two of the most famous films in history — D.W. Griffith’s 1915 racist epic “The Birth of a Nation” (which became a Ku Klux Klan recruitment tool) and the romantic 1939 melodrama “Gone With the Wind” — are monuments to white supremacy and the myth of the Southern Lost Cause. Both were critical and popular hits. In the decades since, filmmakers have returned to the Civil War era to tell other stories in films like “Glory,” “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained” that in addressing the American past inevitably engage with its present.

There are no lofty or reassuring speeches in “Civil War,” and the movie doesn’t speak to the better angels of our nature the way so many films try to. Hollywood’s longstanding, deeply American imperative for happy endings maintains an iron grip on movies, even in ostensibly independent productions. There’s no such possibility for that in “Civil War.” The very premise of Garland’s movie means that — no matter what happens when or if Lee and the rest reach Washington — a happy ending is impossible, which makes this very tough going. Rarely have I seen a movie that made me so acutely uncomfortable or watched an actor’s face that, like Dunst’s, expressed a nation’s soul-sickness so vividly that it felt like an X-ray.

Civil War Rated R for war violence and mass death. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes. In theaters.

Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic for The Times. More about Manohla Dargis

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Even before his new film “Civil War” was released, the writer-director Alex Garland faced controversy over his vision of a divided America  with Texas and California as allies.

Theda Hammel’s directorial debut, “Stress Positions,” a comedy about millennials weathering the early days of the pandemic , will ask audiences to return to a time that many people would rather forget.

“Fallout,” TV’s latest big-ticket video game adaptation, takes a satirical, self-aware approach to the End Times .

“Sasquatch Sunset” follows the creatures as they go about their lives. We had so many questions. The film’s cast and crew had answers .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

• Personal Care

Solar Eclipse Eye Protection: How to Tell If Your Glasses Are Safe or Fake Today

Watching the solar eclipse? You don't want to get caught with rip-off eclipse glasses today. What to know.

Special glasses can protect your eyes when watching this year's solar eclipse.

Ready? The total solar eclipse is today -- April 8, 2024 . This eclipse, which will be visible across North America, is the last one in the continental US for almost 20 years. If you're in the path of totality today or outside the area and viewing a partial eclipse, you're going to need solar eclipse glasses to protect your eyes while staring at the sun. 

Solar eclipse glasses are special glasses that block out the most dangerous parts of the solar spectrum for human eyes. When you look through them, the sun should appear as an easy-to-view yellow-orange circle. Use them to watch the entire eclipse, but be aware that these glasses will block out all light -- so you won't want to use these glasses while walking, driving or doing anything besides eclipse viewing. 

Read more: Need Free Solar Eclipse Glasses? Stop by Warby Parker

However, bad actors may sell eclipse glasses that don't actually do anything to protect your eyes from the sun. So, if you're viewing the eclipse in person today, you're going to want to make sure that your eyes are really being protected. Read on to find out about the steps you can take to make sure your solar eclipse glasses are legit. 

For more, here's how Solar Snap can help you take great eclipse photos  and why you should download your Google Maps route before you travel to see the eclipse.

Check the ISO number of your eclipse glasses

According to the American Astronomical Society , a real and safe pair of solar eclipse glasses should be labeled with ISO 12312-2 (sometimes written in more detail as ISO 12312-2:2015), which is an international safety standard that denotes the glasses reduce visible sunlight to safe levels and block UV and IR radiation.

Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Best Photos We've Seen

Check the list of reputable eclipse glasses vendors

However, fake glasses may also be labeled as being compliant with ISO 12312-2 because, as a general rule, people are greedy, selfish and not to be trusted. To double-check the veracity of your eclipse glasses' ISO claims, you can see if the vendor from which you purchased the shades is trustworthy in the eyes of the AAS. See its list of Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters and Viewers . Really, the safest thing you can do is pick a vendor from the above list and purchase your glasses from there, so there are no concerns about counterfeits and fakes when it comes to your eye safety. 

The list also includes big-box retailers and chains where you can grab AAS approved eclipse glasses, including Warby Parker , which is giving glasses away for free starting April 1. Personally, I got my glasses from a trusted local museum, but I'll still be checking mine to make sure that I'll be protected. 

In assembling its list, the AAS checks to make sure a manufacturer earned its ISO rating with proper, labs-based testing. It also asks manufacturers for their authorized resellers and resellers for their manufacturers. If the vendor of your eclipse shades is listed, then you are safe. But the opposite isn't necessarily true. If your vendor isn't listed, it doesn't necessarily mean they are slinging counterfeits. It just means the AAS hasn't checked them out or hasn't been able to track everything down.

So, what are you to do if your vendor isn't on the list? Perform an eye test.

How to test your solar eclipse glasses

If your mystery pair of eclipse glasses look pretty darn dark, that's a good place to start start. You should not be able to see anything through them except the sun itself or something similarly bright.

What's something as bright as the sun you can use as a test? The AAS suggests you check sunlight reflected off a mirror or a shiny metal object. If sun is behind the clouds or on the other side of the earth when you want to test your glasses, you can use a bright-white LED such as the flashlight on your phone or a bare lightbulb. The reflected sunlight or bright, white, artificial light should appear very dim through a safe pair of eclipse glasses. If you can see light behind a lamp shade or a soft, frosted light bulb through the glasses through your eclipse glasses, then you know that these glasses aren't strong enough to stare safely at the sun. 

When staring at the sun through safe solar eclipse glasses, the sun should appear comfortably bright like the full moon, according to the AAS. If your eclipse glasses are uncomfortable to use, that is also a good sign that they might not be legitimate. 

For more, here's how to buy last-minutes solar eclipse glasses and where you can get a free pair of eclipse glasses .

Personal Care Guides

• Best Places to Buy Glasses Online
• Best Places to Buy Replacement Prescription Lenses
• Best Eye Drops
• Best Places to Buy Contacts Online
• Best Prescription Sunglasses
• Best Blue Light Blocking Glasses
• Best Electric Toothbrush
• Quip Toothbrush Review
• Best Invisible Braces
• Best Teeth Whitening Strips and Toothpaste
• Best Teeth Whitening Kits
• Best Mental Health Apps
• Best Teas for Stress and Anxiety
• Best Fidget Toys for Anxiety
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Online Couples Therapy
• Best Online Psychiatric Services
• Betterhelp Online Therapy Review
• Cerebral Review
• Talkspace Online Therapy Review
• Talkspace vs. Betterhelp
• Best Sunscreen
• Best Shower Filter
• Best Hand Soap
• Best Period Underwear
• Contact Lens King Coupons
• 1-800 CONTACTS Coupons
• Discount Contact Lenses Coupon Codes
• ContactsDirect Coupons
• EZ Contacts Coupons
• Zenni Optical Promo Codes
• SmartBuyGlasses Coupons
• EyeBuyDirect Coupons