Did you know that 93% of customers read online product reviews before buying a product?
Instead, they rely on social proof and authentic customer reviews across all online platforms to make informed purchasing decisions.
When potential customers see that other people like your product, they're more likely to buy it.
Why?
Because, 84% of millennials don't trust ads and 91% of consumers in the 18–34 age range trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.
Genuine customer reviews on social media build trust, credibility, and brand authority, making reviews and testimonials marketing gold.
Plus, sharing reviews on your social media platforms helps increase your reach with access to over 2 billion monthly active users on Instagram alone.
That's what we call maximum reach with minimum effort.
In this guide, we'll share twelve methods you can use today to maximize your social media presence using Instagram customer reviews and UGC.
Are you ready to learn more?
Let's dive in!
Beautiful, simple reviews for your site
Easily collect, show & grow customer reviews, photos & videos for your business.1. Choose Reviews That Evoke Emotion
Emotions run deep in every human being.
So why not tap into these feelings and use them as a magnet to draw attention to your social media posts?
After all, we scroll mindlessly through our Instagram feed dozens of times per day.
Most of the time, we don't engage with posts or even stop to read what they say.
But if you can create an eye-catching image that stands out from the sea of posts, then drive it home by sharing customer reviews that spark some emotion, you can increase your engagement rates tenfold.
When scouring for emotion in your customer reviews, keep an eye out for the following:
- Appreciation
- Satisfaction
- Joy
- Gratitude
- Admiration
- Respect
- Dedication
- Amusement
- Pride
- Eagerness
Once you find a review that fits the bill, share it on your profile as its own Instagram post.
If you are looking for inspiration, check out what MegaFit Meals is doing.
They hone in on a comment about dedication from one customer striving to look good and feel good in her body. And she mentions that the hard work doesn't end in the gym — it requires a healthy diet.
Why does this work?
It sparks relatability and respect with others in the comments.
Other fitness-minded people agree with the statement, sharing their comments and boosting the post's engagement.
The more people engage with your post, the better it'll perform in the algorithm — generating a snowball effect and building brand awareness as it gains momentum.
And for the icing on the cake, posts that spark emotion are more likely to be shared among friends, family, and loved ones.
2. Share Customer Reviews on Your Social Platforms
You can leverage customer reviews to maximize your social presence in many ways.
One of them is to respond to positive reviews and repurpose these reviews into testimonials and share them in your Instagram feed.
This Instagram Reel by Tailor Brands is an excellent example of turning a positive customer experience into short-form video content to build trust with your audience.
The best part is you can take short-form video testimonials and repurpose them across other social media platforms.
For instance, YouTube Shorts and TikTok are taking the world by storm, with studies showing that 73% of consumers prefer watching short videos to learn about new products or services.
Add the power of short-form video and social proof, and you have an unstoppable dynamic duo.
Don't underestimate the power of short-form video in 2023!
3. Turn Reviews Into Content for Testimonials and Ads
As we mentioned earlier, people hate ads because they come off as spammy and offer little value to the consumer, resulting in lackluster conversion rates.
But what if you flipped the script, pulled a Stranger Things "upside down" maneuver, and turned high quality customer testimonials into an ad?
Viewers might not even realize it's an ad at all. It's the perfect play.
Here's an example from OptiMonk — they take an honest customer review and turn it into an Instagram ad. This example is a winner because it includes a few essential items that make it more trustworthy: a five-star rating, a customer quote, and a call-to-action for a free 30-day trial.
Consumers love free things!
It removes the friction of requiring them to hand over their hard-earned money for something they don't know if they will enjoy yet.
A customer review should help them decide (whether yay or nay), but the free trial can help remove any hesitation and increase conversions.
4. Repurpose Reviews on Your Website
With the help of social listening tools, you can easily gather reviews across your social media platforms and repurpose them across other distribution channels.
Utilizing data visualization techniques, such as graphs and charts, can help showcase customer sentiment and feedback in a more impactful and easily digestible way.
And the more reviews, the merrier.
Research shows that if a business has more than nine current reviews, they earn 52% more revenue than those without reviews. Further, if a business has more than 25 current reviews, that figure increases to 108%.
Imagine what's possible when you share reviews from over 10,000 happy customers.
The sky's the limit!
Your website is your digital storefront.
So why not show off what people are saying about your product? It's like having customers shout from the rooftops about how much they love your stuff.
And reviews are easy to add to your home page, product pages, and blog posts with the help of Fera. With Fera, you can import your Amazon reviews to Shopify, import your AliExpress to Shopify and request reviews from customers via email!
Turn your product reviews into SEO-friendly snippets that'll appear in SERPs, helping boost click-through rates and drive sales.
Beautiful, simple reviews for your site
Easily collect, show & grow customer reviews, photos & videos for your business.5. Leverage Customer Loyalty Programs
Tap into your ride-or-die customers to encourage them to share what they love most about your brand.
Offer rewards such as discounts, loyalty points, or exclusive offers to customers who leave reviews.
You can also give customers incentives to share their reviews on social media or refer friends to your business.
Then, at the end of the month, show how appreciative you are for the loyalty and support via an Instagram post that features some of your favorite comments.
Ulta Beauty has one of the best loyalty programs. Here's a look at what they do to thank their customers for sticking with their tight community.
You can drive more customer reviews and maximize your word-of-mouth marketing efforts by leveraging customer loyalty programs and boosting referrals.
6. Share Customer Reviews in Your Email Campaigns
Email marketing is an underrated marketing strategy, with some of the highest returns on investment (ROI).
One dollar spent on email marketing can generate 36 dollars in revenue. Not too shabby.
Consider adding customer testimonials to your email copy to help drive those numbers even higher.
This small addition helps you fill-up the email with more trustworthy content while saving time and money on creating new content to share.
Take a look at how Forbes turned a featured article on their website into a newsletter email blast and simultaneously shared behind-the-scenes videos on their Instagram profile.
Talk about a successful omnichannel campaign to promote luxury travel at Sensei Porcupine Creek.
Add some emojis and a compelling subject line to the email, and you'll see your conversions reach the numbers that you always dreamt of.
7. Try a Carousel Post Featuring Many of Your Best Reviews
Highlight customer quotes in graphics to stand out on your Instagram feed. You can turn customer reviews into eye-catching posts with the help of an AI text to image tool.
But instead of posting back-to-back with different reviews, compile them into one carousel post.
Carousels on Instagram have the most engagement out of all post types but only make up 19% of Instagram content.
Take a page out of Olipop's book for this method.
They compile a dozen of their favorite comments about their new soda flavor and share them with a cute carousel post that pops with color.
Followers are encouraged to click through each image to learn more about customers' thoughts about the new flavor.
The post was wildly successful, racking up more than 2,500 likes, comments from verified accounts, and the flavor selling out nationwide.
8. Tag the Reviewers and Encourage Customers to Tag You
Starbucks doesn't only reign supreme with the best holiday drinks.
They also hold a top spot for their posts on Instagram by following the latest trends and posting some of the best images on the app.
But another way they take their Instagram to the next level is by tagging customers in their customer review posts.
This simple action gives credit where credit is due and encourages customers to tag Starbucks, ultimately boosting its reach.
And customers love doing this because it gives them a chance to land a featured spot on Starbucks' profile.
It's like seeing your name up in the lights. Five seconds of fame.
But, hey, it's Starbucks we're talking about.
9. Repurpose Customer Reviews Into Blog Posts
Since you've already spent time and effort collecting customer reviews from Instagram, you can use them to create interesting blog content.
If writing isn't your strong suit, don't fret.
With the help of the best AI content generators, you can create valuable content that ranks on Google in a fraction of the time.
Interview your customers about their experiences with your products or services, and repurpose their reviews into a blog post.
You can also use customer reviews to create listicles, such as "Top 10 Reasons to Choose [Insert Product]" or "7 Benefits of Using [Insert Service]."
You can also share a "how to" guide, as Codecademy does, with Rosilta's story about how she learned to code with her disability.
This angle also ties in with the emotion methodology we covered earlier.
Creating blog posts from customer reviews is an excellent way to show potential customers that you value the feedback of your current customers.
Not only that, but it also puts your products and services in a positive light.
Plus, customers are more likely to share content they've been featured in, which can help to further extend your reach.
Or you can always inject customer reviews directly into existing blog posts on your site.
Here's an excellent example from Matchr, who adds the customer ratings for HR software in a related blog post about "how to manage payroll."
That way, when potential customers search for an educational blog post about managing payroll, they have everything they need to make an informed decision on the HR software that fits their needs.
They won't bounce back to the organic search results and look for another blog post that reviews different HR software with payroll features in more detail.
10. Find Brand Advocates
Finding passionate customers about your company who are willing to share their enthusiasm can significantly increase your brand's presence on Instagram.
One way to do this is by scanning your customer reviews for those who have had a particularly positive experience with your product or service.
You can then reach out to these customers and ask for permission to post about it on your Instagram.
You can offer them discounts, exclusive offers, or even a shoutout in your Instagram stories. La Croix Water takes this one step further by featuring brand advocates as user-generated content on their Instagram page and tagging the user for photo credit.
This simple strategy helps spark the fear of missing out (FOMO) and encourages customers who already drink their product to post their positive experiences on Instagram for a chance to be featured.
By finding passionate brand advocates and rewarding them for their loyalty, you can create an army of ambassadors who'll help spread the word about your brand on Instagram.
Say hello to free, authentic advertising.
11. Follow Up With Customers in Person
One of the most effective ways to maximize your social presence on Instagram is to follow up with customers in person.
After they've posted their customer reviews, thank them for their feedback and let them know that you appreciate their input.
You can also use this opportunity to learn more about their experiences with your business and ensure they have a positive one.
You can follow up with customers in person, through a private message, or in one-on-one conversations.
These simple approaches can make a significant difference, help you build customer relationships, and lock in loyalty.
It also allows you to address any issues that customers may have and ensure that their needs are met.
Never forget to thank customers for their feedback, show appreciation for their support, and nurture leads throughout the sales funnel.
12. Beware of Fake Reviews
As the saying goes, a bad apple can spoil the bunch.
In this scenario, the bad apples are fake reviews.
Fake reviews can undermine the credibility of your social proof and can do more harm than good when building your social presence.
Beautiful, simple reviews for your site
Easily collect, show & grow customer reviews, photos & videos for your business.Here are a few ways to spot fake reviews and nip them in the bud before they get out of control:
- Only five-star ratings
- Vague compliments with a lack of details about the product in the review
- Generic review titles such as "Nice product" or "Awesome"
- Mentions of rival products
- Typos and bad grammar
- Unrelated items in the "Customers also bought" section
- Take a look at some fake reviews spotted on Amazon. These certainly don't seem trustworthy and would likely lead to high bounce rates from this product page.
Customer reviews are the secret weapon that helps build trust with potential customers, pushing them closer to the buying decision.
However, if you have dozens of fake reviews (and it's obvious), you quickly strip away the power of authenticity.
Wrapping Up
If you're a business owner, it's important to take customer reviews seriously.
They give you a more accurate, honest picture of what people think about your business and provide valuable insight into improving your product or service.
As such, use reviews to further your social presence and sales efforts. You won't regret it.
Can you already hear the follower counts ticking up and the sales rolling in?
About the Author
Kelly Moser is the co-founder and editor at Home & Jet , a digital magazine for the modern era. She's also an expert in freelance writing and content marketing for SaaS, Fintech, and e-commerce startups.
