Read every review on your Facebook page, reply in public as the business the way you would to any customer, report only reviews that break the rules, and keep reviews switched on unless nobody can watch them.

The number under the name

A Facebook page for a local business shows its star rating out of five near the top of the page. On a phone it is one of the first things a visitor sees.

Behind it sits a reviews tab holding every rating and comment customers have left, some of them years old.

Plenty of owners have never opened it. The page was set up by an employee, posts go out now and then, and nobody thought of the reviews as something to read.

Visitors read them before they read anything the business posted.

Read what is already there

Open the reviews tab and read from the newest back, all of it, before replying to anything. Look for five things.

The third is the one to answer first. A complaint about slow service or cash only, left unanswered for two years, still reads as current to anyone who does not check the date.

Reply as the business, in public

Every review can take a public reply. Reply as the page rather than from a personal profile, so the answer carries the business's name.

Keep replies short and specific. Thank people for praise by mentioning what they praised; acknowledge complaints, say what has changed, and offer to continue in a private message.

Write for the next visitor as much as the reviewer. A calm, specific reply shows how the business treats people when something goes wrong.

Reply within a few days where you can. A late reply still helps the next visitor, but a prompt one reaches the reviewer while the visit is fresh.

Never argue the facts in public, and never mention anything private about the customer.

Old complaints about things since fixed

A review saying the shop was cash only, closed at two or never answered the phone may have been fair when written and wrong today.

A short reply corrects that for every later reader: thank the reviewer, then say plainly what has changed and since when.

Do not ask the reviewer to change the rating. Some will update it on their own after seeing the reply, and asking makes the reply read like a bargain.

Then make sure the rest of the page agrees: hours, payment methods, the about section.

A worked example

A fish and chip shop on a seaside walkway had a Facebook page set up by a former employee, and the owners posted photos of the daily specials most weeks.

Nobody had opened the reviews tab. The page showed a rating a little under four stars, and the newest reviews were mostly praise.

Further back sat a run of one-star reviews from one summer, when the shop took cash only, a fryer broke for a week and the line stretched along the walkway.

The owners replied to each: thanks, an apology where one was due, and a line saying the shop now takes cards and tap and runs a second fryer.

They also thanked the recent reviewers, turned on notifications for new reviews, and corrected the hours on the page.

Visitors now find the old complaints answered directly beneath them, with what has changed.

Reviews that break the rules

Facebook removes reviews that break its community standards, such as harassment, hate speech or spam, and any review can be reported from its menu.

A review that is merely unfair, or from a customer nobody remembers, will not usually qualify. Reply to it instead, calmly, saying you have no record of the visit and would like to hear more.

A review plainly meant for another business is worth reporting, and worth a short public reply pointing out the mix-up.

Never post reviews of your own business, or ask staff and family to. It breaks Facebook's rules, and misleading customers carries legal risk of its own.

Keeping reviews on or off

A page admin can switch reviews off in the page settings. The rating and the reviews disappear from the page, and they return if the setting is switched back on.

Switching off hides the praise along with the complaints. Customers who wanted to leave a good word will leave it somewhere else, or nowhere.

It also removes one of the few places a happy customer can vouch for the business where their friends will see it.

Nor does switching off and on again erase anything, so it is no way to clear out old complaints.

For most businesses with a fair rating, the reviews are worth more on than off.

Who watches the page

Reviews deserve the same attention as messages. Decide who reads new ones, and how quickly they get a reply.

Turn on notifications for reviews for that person, so a new one-star does not sit unseen for a month. Facebook's Pages Manager app can send them to a phone.

Make sure more than one person has an admin role on the page. A page managed only by a former employee is a page nobody can reply from.

And reply to the good ones too. A thank you takes ten seconds and shows the page is looked after.

The counter-case

Some businesses have reasons to switch reviews off: a clinic that cannot discuss patients in public, or a page hit by a burst of reviews from people who were never customers, while the reports are dealt with.

A business with nobody able to watch the page may be better with reviews off until someone can, rather than with complaints sitting unanswered.

And Facebook is one review site among several. Google reviews may matter more to how new customers find you.

For most local businesses, though: reviews on, read regularly, and every one answered in public as the business.

The first pass

  1. Open the reviews tab and read everything.
  2. Note complaints about things since fixed.
  3. Reply to those first, saying what changed.
  4. Thank recent reviewers for what they praised.
  5. Report reviews that break Facebook's rules.
  6. Turn on notifications for new reviews.
  7. Add a second admin to the page.

Step three is where the rating starts to mean something again. A visitor who sees an old complaint answered with what has changed reads it as history rather than a warning.

The photos a business posts shape the same first impression, as covered in Instagram posts with several photos.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Facebook show my star rating?

Near the top of your business page, on phones and computers, with every rating and comment kept on the page's reviews tab.

Can I delete a bad Facebook review?

No. You can report reviews that break Facebook's community standards, such as spam or harassment. An unfair review needs a calm public reply instead.

How should I reply to a review?

Publicly, as the business, briefly and specifically. Thank people for what they praised, acknowledge complaints, say what has changed, and offer to continue privately.

What about complaints that are out of date?

Reply saying plainly what has changed and since when. Every later visitor reads the complaint and your answer together, so it becomes history rather than a warning.

Should I turn Facebook reviews off?

Usually not. Switching off hides the praise with the complaints. It suits businesses that cannot reply in public, or pages facing reviews from people who were never customers.

Who should watch for new reviews?

One named person with notifications turned on, and more than one admin on the page, so a new review never sits unanswered for weeks.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Never opened your Facebook reviews tab?

Read it this week. We can help you draft replies to the old complaints that still shape first impressions.

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