Difference between posting customer reviews on social media and a social media review

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, it’s important to understand that a business posting customer reviews on social media and a customer writing a social media review represent distinct ways of sharing thoughts and opinions about a product, service, or experience.

A social media review is written by a customer directly on a social platform. These reviews tend to be concise and consist of a brief comment, rating, or a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down reaction. Social media reviews are quick and easy to consume and are definitely important sources of customer feedback. But these reviews often lack the depth of information that you can get in more traditional reviews. 

In the other scenario, when you as a business share customer reviews on social media that have appeared elsewhere online — such as your website, Google Business Profile, or third-party review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, G2, and others — you’re able to provide followers with more detailed and personal accounts of a customer’s experience. These reviews are often rich in context and can offer deeper insight into the reviewer’s perspective. Even if you choose not to post the full review, you can still pick out a sentence or two with the most beneficial details and shine a spotlight on that.

Bottom line: by posting customer reviews on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms, you’re able to get additional, positive, high-impact content about your business in front of your current followers as well as whole new audiences.

8 tips for posting customer reviews on social media

In the crowded, noisy world of social media, it can be tough to stand out and be heard. In order to have the greatest impact, here are some key tips for turning customer reviews into impactful social media content:

1. Choose the right platform

The first and one of the most important steps in posting customer reviews on social media is knowing which platform to use. Different platforms have different audiences and suit different purposes, and you want to ensure your review reaches the right people in the right way. Here’s a breakdown of popular social media channels and what they’re best for:

• Instagram: Instagram is ideal for visuals: beautiful photos of content related to your brand, products, services, or customer experiences. Customer reviews and testimonials that include quality photos, or can easily be enhanced by quality photos, are ideal for Instagram, and can be accompanied by the text of the review to tie it all together.
• Facebook: Similar to Instagram, Facebook works well for visuals — and also for text. You can repurpose a customer review you share on Instagram for Facebook. Videos are also a great source of engagement on Facebook, so if you include a video with the review, you could see a boost in user engagement. 
• TikTok: TikTok is all about videos — a few seconds to several minutes long — that harness trends, memes, and other cultural moments. Keep in mind that, while it is changing, the TikTok audience is still a bit younger than for other social platforms. In 2022, 67% of the platform’s users were 18-19 years old and 56% were 20-29 years old. So, if your business caters to a younger crowd, TikTok is a great option for posting customer reviews in compelling video form. 
• X (formerly Twitter): X’s feed is made up of short-form content, so brevity is key as far as how much text you write when posting on  platforms like X. If you want to share a longer customer review, it’s better to include it as an image or video. Or you could do a teaser of the review and then provide a link where users can access the full review where it originally appeared, such as on your website or a third-party review site.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is largely made up of plain-text posts, but you can include images and videos as well. LinkedIn followers use it for career-related information, industry news or trends, and to connect with others in their field, so posting a customer review that can be tied back to a trend or expert advice in your particular industry is a way to share positive feedback about your business while also making it relevant to the LinkedIn audience.

Note that these platforms provide their own tools for users to post feedback, ratings, or reviews, along with ways for you as the business to re-share that user-generated content. As we outlined above, getting a customer review within the social platforms where you have a presence is a valuable form of feedback in its own right. But to reiterate, we’re focused here on posting customer reviews on social media that were originally generated from other places online.

2. Be authentic and transparent

Customers value honesty, so it’s crucial to be honest and transparent when posting customer reviews on Instagram and other social platforms. Other than to accommodate space or text constraints, resist the urge to edit or manipulate reviews just to make your business look better. Instead, let your customers’ real experiences speak for themselves. 

For example, maybe you got a mostly positive review with a lot of great details over on Yelp, but there was also one minor complaint in it. Instead of editing that part out when you share on social media, leave it in. Leading with transparency and showing your audience that you aren’t afraid of receiving suggestions for improvement can go a long way toward building trust and credibility with your customers. 

3. Highlight the best reviews 

That being said, not every review is appropriate for sharing on social media. Vaguely worded reviews don’t add a lot of value to your social sharing strategy and can actually hurt your business reputation if people start to think the reviews are fake. Instead, pick out the most impactful reviews, such as the ones that mention specific services, products, features, benefits, or experiences that can really set your business apart from the competition — the more detailed, the better.

The goal is to share the reviews that will help potential customers understand exactly why they should choose your business and what their experience is likely to be. 

4. Include visuals

Visuals are an essential component of posting customer reviews on social media as they help your posts stand out in a sea of text-based content. Use photos, videos, or graphics to enhance customer reviews and make them more engaging and memorable. Here are some ideas:

• You can use an image generator to create branded graphics that can be automatically resized to fit various dimensions. 
• Consider pulling out and featuring a quote from the review to use in a graphic. 
• You can also take simple screenshots of the full review and use those for your visuals.
• Short videos or even video testimonials also work really well, especially if you have a relationship with the customer who left the review. You can ask them for permission to use the video if they included one, or see if they’re willing to make a quick video testimonial for you. Plus, if you want to post on platforms like TikTok, videos are a requirement, as we discussed above.

Stock imagery in marketing has its place, but on social media, it’s even better to use any images that your customers happened to include with their review as it lends a more authentic flavor to your post.

5. Use relevant hashtags

Yes, hashtags are still a thing. Hashtags in social media help your posts reach a wider audience, since they effectively function as a search tool that allows people to find information and discover your business — even if they don’t follow you. When posting customer reviews on Instagram and other platforms, use relevant hashtags that relate to your business or the review and include them at the beginning or end of your post. 

For example, if you operate a hotel, you may want to use hashtags like #travel, #vacation, or #luxury. Or if you have a dog grooming business, you can use clever hashtags like #doglovers or #petstylist. You can research popular hashtags in your business category or niche to further maximize your reach.

Hashtag challenges — which challenge followers to take some action or perform some activity related to a product or service — are especially useful if you want to gain traction on TikTok. For example, if you run a restaurant that serves tacos, you could start a #TwoTacoTuesday challenge that challenges customers to eat two tacos every Tuesday and post about it when they do. You can include the hashtag challenge with any customer reviews that sing the praises of your tacos. Not only does this increase engagement by getting followers involved in the fun, it can also give a boost to sales because more people can associate the hashtag with your restaurant and become interested in checking it out in person.

6. Publicly thank the reviewer

When posting, be sure to thank the customer in your post. This is a nice, personalized touch that shows you appreciate their positive feedback and value them as a customer — and it can help nurture a more loyal relationship with them. 

It has the added bonus of showing the wider audience that your business is human and that you treat your customers like humans too. If a potential customer sees someone else being called out and thanked for their feedback, they may feel inspired to write a review as well — creating a welcome snowball effect of more people giving you more reviews. 

7. Engage with your followers

Remember that social media works best when it’s a two-way street. Neither you or your followers want to feel like you’re talking into a void and no one ever responds. When you post a customer review on Instagram or elsewhere, proactively invite your followers to comment on and engage with the post. You can ask warm, funny, or witty follow-up questions — whatever best reflects the voice and personality of your brand — and see what comes back. Questions get others thinking and talking about the product or service mentioned in the review or your business in general.

Then be sure to monitor for any comments that come in and respond to them promptly and thoroughly. Make sure to answer any questions the commenters may have for you and thank them for their response. 

8. Use a content calendar

Finally, staying organized is half the battle when tracking and sharing customer reviews. There are many places where customer reviews can pop up, and just as many opportunities to reshare the really good ones. 

You can boost the impact of your post by keeping a content calendar. Knowing when to post and where enables you to maintain a consistent presence on your social platforms, where followers can regularly see what you’re up to and stay engaged with your business. And if you’re running a particular marketing campaign, you can strategically time your customer review posts to help reinforce campaign messaging.

Maximize the value of customer reviews with social sharing

With one customer review, you can create a powerhouse of content for posting customer reviews on Instagram and other selected social media channels. The most effective way to do this is to use a review management platform that includes a social sharing feature. This type of feature allows you to take customer reviews posted anywhere online — your website, Google, review sites, and more — and share them directly to your social platforms with just a few steps.

You’re able to maximize the value of positive customer reviews by increasing their reach — and increasing your brand awareness as a result.

To learn how GatherUp’s review management platform with social sharing can support your customer review strategy, start a free trial today.

FAQ

How do I promote my Google reviews on social media?

To promote Google reviews on social media:

1. Choose the right platform
2. Be authentic and transparent
3. Highlight the best reviews
4. Include visuals 
5. Use relevant hashtags
6. Publicly thank the reviewer
7. Engage with your followers
8. Use a content calendar

How do you showcase testimonials on Instagram?

Instagram is ideal for visuals: beautiful photos of content related to your brand, products, services, or customer experiences. Customer reviews and testimonials that include quality photos, or can easily be enhanced by quality photos, are ideal for Instagram, and can be accompanied by the text of the review to tie it all together.

Which customer reviews are good for social media?

Vaguely worded reviews don’t add a lot of value to your social sharing strategy and can actually hurt your business reputation if people start to think the reviews are fake. Instead, pick out the most impactful reviews, such as the ones that mention specific services, products, features, benefits, or experiences that can really set your business apart from the competition — the more detailed, the better.

What kind of visuals work for customer reviews?

You can use an image generator to create branded graphics that can be automatically resized to fit various dimensions. Consider pulling out and featuring a quote from the review to use in a graphic. You can also take simple screenshots of the full review and use those for your visuals.

Short videos or even video testimonials also work really well.