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Social Broker’s founder Sarah Barnett reveals the power of Google reviews and ratings for brokers.
It’s always a good idea to collect Google reviews from your happy clients. It boosts your Google rankings, converts prospects, and gives you a nice — and public — pat on the back for a job well done.
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And, let’s face it, when you’re your own boss, this positive reinforcement is always welcome!
According to Spiegel Research Centre, as many as 95 per cent of consumers read a review before making a buying decision. And as Bright Local research uncovered, 91 per cent of Millennials trust a review as much as they would a recommendation from a friend.
But you don’t want your Google reviews to just sit there gathering dust, only seen by people who view your Google Business Profile. No, in an ideal world, you’ll share your Google reviews to your social profiles, where all your followers can see them, too.
Google reviews are an invaluable form of user-generated content (UGC) and tend to be far more compelling and believable than any marketing spiel. In the wise words of Intuit co-founder Scott Cook, “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.” Sharing your Google reviews to your socials lets you shape your brand story with trusted content.
Go where your prospects are
You probably already know you need to show up where your prospects spend time online. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. First off, the customer journey is not linear. We don’t know where a new client will first encounter your brand. It could be on your Facebook page or your website or in Google search results. This means it’s vital to ensure people see your positive client reviews wherever they look.
As the mortgage broker market share continues to climb and brokers become more and more active online, consumers will increasingly have more than one broker on their radar. They may not need your services today, but you want them to trust you enough that when they do, you’ll be the one they call — and not the other broker they’ve heard about.
Your positive Google reviews will help build trust and credibility and give your audience a sense of your unique value proposition, helping you attract more of your ideal client. And ‘your ideal client’ is what’s key here.
Like attracts like
One often overlooked benefit of Google reviews is that they can give your prospects a sense of who you serve and the specific problems you solve.
Remember that like attracts like, so if you only collect reviews from first home buyers and their reviews talk about support, answering questions day and night, and making the process simple, then you’ll be more inclined to attract clients with those same needs.
If, on the other hand, you’re collecting reviews from investors or upgraders who talk about the strategic lens you apply to loan structuring or the strong negotiation skills you demonstrate, you’ll be more likely to attract those same types of clients.
How to publish your reviews to socials
One way to publish your Google reviews to your social media profiles is to copy and paste the review text into a Canva or Adobe social media template, download it then post it across your social profiles.
As a more efficient alternative, my business, Social Broker, has recently launched a neat tool that automatically publishes your Google reviews to your Facebook and Instagram profiles.
The idea came about because a lot of our clever broker clients wanted to share their reviews across socials. We know firsthand how time-consuming it is to do it manually — not to mention prone to errors — so socialreview.io was born.
Good luck collecting and sharing your reviews! It’s such a great way to let your happy clients market your business for you to ultimately convert more of your ideal client type.
Sarah Barnett is the founder of Social Broker and socialreview.io. She’s on a mission to help finance businesses turn their followers into clients and their clients into raving fans, with smart content marketing solutions.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn here.
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