How to Get Your Customers to Review Your Business Once you ve created a profile for your business on these local review sites, you can send a link to your residents that are advocates asking them for a review. The review sites you list should include direct links to your review page there. You can make the list into hyperlinks, or just include the link to your review page after the name of the review site. Sometimes these links are very long, so use a service like Bit.ly, tinyurl.com or goo.gl to create a shorter link. Ask your residents for their email address during the leasing process, while they are in your leasing office, when you have them on the phone or during a maintenance visit. A simple question from your leasing or maintenance staff such as Do we have your email address? And would you be willing to write a short review for us? is a good way to collect your customers email addresses if you don t already have them. Then follow up with your residents using your email template, and watch how a growing list of reviews helps your apartment community attract new residents! Follow the easy steps below. FIRST STEP - When to ask for a review At any point when a resident has stated they have had a positive experience or they are in the process of one of the below examples, be sure to verbally ask for the review and then follow up with one of the email templates that we have provided below. Staff Email Signatures Place a link to the review sites in your email signature. See examples. - See what others have said about our apartment community on [insert review site url or ForRent.com ad url] - Our residents love us! [insert review site url or ForRent.com ad url] During the Lease-Signing Process Upon the prospect signing the lease, your staff can ask if the new resident has had a positive experience while leasing. If they did, encourage them to share their thoughts on a review site of their choice. This can be the best time to ask, since they are excited to move into their new home. Renewal Send an email after residents renew their lease to thank them for the renewal. Consider placing a link to the review sites within this message. Office Visit/General Conversation When a resident says something positive about their experience unsolicited in a conversation at your apartment community or at a resident event, these are also great times to direct them to review sites. Be prepared in advance and have Review Cards printed or local listings on review sites bookmarked on your computer. Work Order/Call Back Many residents are most influenced by their experience with the maintenance work at their property - so it is ideal to solicit feedback and a review at the close of each work order if it was a positive experience. After the work order or call back, if the resident had a positive experience, send the resident a followup email asking for the review. Move Out If a resident that is moving out had a positive experience, send them a follow-up email to encourage them to share their thoughts on a review site of their choice.
SECOND STEP - Ask for a review Asking in Person Thanks for the positive feedback. We really appreciate it if you could provide us with a review on [pick your review site]. Would you mind if I sent a follow up email with a link to make it easy for you? Asking by Email Create an email template, so it is easy to send a nice follow up to your residents asking for a review. The template could look something like the following: During Lease-Signing Process Office Visit/General Conversation Work Order/Call Back Move Out Renewal Providing a Review Card Capture positive reviews from residents by giving them a review card and asking them to post a review of your property! Review us! Check us out on Yelp.com We value your opinion Download the Review Card template here to print your cards.
THIRD STEP - How you can use positive reviews in the leasing process Print for Display Create a brag book through a site such as Snapfish or create a binder with printouts of reviews and have the book available to prospects at the leasing office. Also include reviews in your marketing collateral (print brochures, newsletters, etc.). Example: Here is what they are saying behind our backs or Our Residents Love Us. Facebook/Other Social Sites Highlight positive reviews and/or emails on your Facebook Business page. Copy the text of the review and paste it into your Facebook Business Page status update. Example: Another great review from one of our valued residents! [Insert Review Here] Property Website Create a page on your website that highlights a collection of positive reviews. You can also cross-promote this page where residents log in to pay rent and to request maintenance.
During Lease-Signing Process Thank you for choosing [your business name] for your next home. Our residents satisfaction is our main priority. We invite you to please share your positive opinion on review sites. It is very important for us that our residents experiences are shared. Here are direct links to our apartment community in each of them: Google+: [insert your Google+ URL here] Yahoo Local: [insert your Yahoo Local URL here] ApartmentRatings.com: [insert your ApartmentRatings.com URL here] Yelp: [insert your Yelp URL here] Citysearch: [insert your Citysearch URL here] Bing: [insert your Bing URL here] ApartmentRatings.net: [insert your ApartmentRatings.net URL here] We would like to thank you for selecting [your business name] as your new home and look forward to seeing you around. Management By the way, don t forget to Like us on Facebook! [Insert Facebook Business Page URL]
Office Visit/General Conversation Hello [Name], It was great speaking with you today. I really appreciate the fact that you said you would give us a positive review. To make it really easy for you, I have provided the link to where you can leave the review. Google+: [insert your Google+ URL here] Yahoo! Local: [insert your Yahoo Local URL here] ApartmentRatings.com: [insert your ApartmentRatings.com URL here] Yelp: [insert your Yelp URL here] Citysearch: [insert your Citysearch URL here] Bing: [insert your Bing URL here] ApartmentRatings.net: [insert your ApartmentRatings.net URL here] Thanks again for your positive feedback. Sincerely, [Your Name] By the way, don t forget to Like us on Facebook! [Insert Facebook Business Page URL]
Work Order/Call Back Hello [Name], Thank you for allowing us to make it just right - it is our goal to make sure you are thrilled. If you are less than thrilled with the maintenance completed in your home, let us know right away so we can get it just right. If you are thrilled, we would love it if you would provide a review. Google+: [insert your Google+ URL here] Yahoo! Local: [insert your Yahoo Local URL here] ApartmentRatings.com: [insert your ApartmentRatings.com URL here] Yelp: [insert your Yelp URL here] Citysearch: [insert your Citysearch URL here] Bing: [insert your Bing URL here] ApartmentRatings.net: [insert your ApartmentRatings.net URL here] I really appreciate your feedback! Sincerely, [Your Name or Maintenance Supervisor] By the way, don t forget to Like us on Facebook! [Insert Facebook Business Page URL]
Move Out Hello [Name], Thank you for choosing [your business name] as your home. We were delighted to hear you had an enjoyable time at our apartment community. At your convenience, would you please take a moment to share your experience online with your friends and others on your favorite review website? Here are direct links to our apartment community in each of them: Google+: [insert your Google+ URL here] Yahoo! Local: [insert your Yahoo Local URL here] ApartmentRatings.com: [insert your ApartmentRatings.com URL here] Yelp: [insert your Yelp URL here] Citysearch: [insert your Citysearch URL here] Bing: [insert your Bing URL here] ApartmentRatings.net: [insert your ApartmentRatings.net URL here] It was a pleasure to have you as our resident. We wish you the best. [Staff Name] [Your Business Name] [Direct Phone] [Staff Email] By the way, don t forget to Like us on Facebook! [Insert Facebook Business Page URL]
Renewal Email Subject Line: [Name], it will mean a lot to hear your opinion Email Body: This is [your name] from [your business name] Thank you for renewing your lease. We are excited that you have continued to make [your business name] your home. Online reviews are becoming increasingly valuable to businesses like ours. If you have nice things to say about us or your experience here, it would help us if you would take a few minutes and share your experiences on one of the online review sites listed below. There are several different review sites where reviews can be posted for us. Here are direct links to our apartment community in each of them: Google+: [insert your Google+ URL here] Yahoo! Local: [insert your Yahoo Local URL here] ApartmentRatings.com: [insert your ApartmentRatings.com URL here] Yelp: [insert your Yelp URL here] Citysearch: [insert your Citysearch URL here] Bing: [insert your Bing URL here] ApartmentRatings.net: [insert your ApartmentRatings.net URL here] Your review can be short and sweet it should only take a few minutes. If you have any concerns or feel you have not had a positive experience, please respond to this email or call us at (xxx-xxxx) so we can provide the best customer service possible. Thank you for your willingness to help us out! Sincerely, [your name] By the way, don t forget to Like us on Facebook! [Insert Facebook Business Page URL]
Creating, Claiming & Editing Your Online Local Business Listings There are multiple search engines, review sites, directory sites and social sites available to list and promote your property online. Creating and claiming these sites will save you time, increase your online presence score and put your Reputation Management to work by alerting you when you receive new activity. Each site has a different type of set up or claim process. This guide will help you create, claim or edit your listings so your Reputation Management (Social Listening) reporting can be as thorough as possible. Local Business Directories List One way local businesses can be found is through inclusion in online directories. Every individual directory that you submit to is another chance to get found online, so it s important to make sure you re listed in every directory possible. We have compiled a list of many popular local directories available on the Internet. - CitySearch (Free and paid advertising option available) - Google+ Local (Free) - Yahoo! Local (Free and paid advertising option available) - Bing Local (Free and paid advertising option available) - Judy s Book (Only paid) - TripAdvisor (Free and paid advertising option available) - Yelp (Free and paid advertising option available) - 411 (Free and paid advertising option available) - Localeze (Free and paid advertising option available) - Local.com (Free and paid advertising option available) - LocalEdge (Only paid) - SuperPages (Free and paid advertising option available) - Weblocal (Free and paid advertising option available) - Yellowbook (Free and paid advertising option available) - Yellow Pages (Free and paid advertising option available) - ZipLocal (Free and paid advertising option available) - DexKnows (Free and paid advertising option available) - ApartmentRatings (Only paid, unless it s a single listing) - YellowBot (Free and paid advertising option available) - Angie s List (Free and paid advertising option available)
Search Engines Bing Local Create a Listing Go to http://www.bingplaces.com and click Get Started. Fill out the form with your business information and click Search. When you see your business, click Select beside it and make necessary updates. Click Submit at the bottom of the page and follow the prompts to verify yourself as the owner of the listing. Go to http://www.bingplaces.com and click Get Started. Fill out the form with your business information and click Search. When you see your business, click Select beside it and make necessary updates. Click Submit at the bottom of the page and follow the prompts to verify yourself as the owner of the listing. Edit Contact Info If you haven t claimed your listing yet, you can make changes to it before you claim it, as explained above. If you have already claimed your listing, visit http://www.bingplaces.com and log into your account to edit your listing. Google Plus Local You will have to sign in using a Gmail account. If you do not have a Gmail account, create one here: https://accounts.google.com/signup. Once you have created your Gmail account, go to http://www.google.com/local/add. Enter your business details on the form and submit. Go to http://plus.google.com/local/add and search for your listing. If the page is available to claim, go to is this your business? Then, click Manage this page. (you will have to sign in using a Gmail account). Enter your business details on the form and submit. Google will provide you the option to verify your business by phone or postcard. Edit Contact Info You must claim your listing in order to edit it - see above. Yahoo! Local Create a Listing To create a listing on Yahoo! Local, go to http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/local-listings/basic-listing/. Select Sign up now, which will then lead you to a login page. You will then have to login with a Yahoo! account, or with a Facebook or Google account. If you do not have any of these accounts, you will have to create a Yahoo! login. Once you are logged in, you will fill out the business information form and click Submit. When you choose to edit the details of your business (see below), you have the option to Edit as a business owner. Choose this link to update the details. Edit Contact Info From local.yahoo.com, search for your company, select Edit Business Details and choose Edit as a business owner. Fill out the form and follow the prompts to complete the process.
Review Sites City Search To add your business to CitySearch, currently you will need to email customerservice@citygrid.com. State that you are requesting a free CityGrid business listing in the subject of your email, and include in your email your business name, contact information, hours, business category, website and social media links. To claim your listing in CitySearch, go to CitySearch.com and search for your business. Select your business, and then click on Unlock this Page on the top right hand corner. You will be brought to a new window. Fill out the form on the left, and click Claim Today to submit. Edit Listing Info The best way to add or fix information is to first claim your listing. Once claimed, you can log in to edit the listing. Insider Pages First, go to http://www.insiderpages.com/ and log into your user account. If you do not have an account, create a user account or sign in via Facebook. You will need to validate and confirm your account by checking your email they send. Search for your business. If it does not show up, click the Add a New Business link at the bottom of the page. After that, fill out the following form and follow the prompts. To claim an existing listing, go to insiderpages.com and search for your business. Select it, and then click on the Claim Business link under the map. Fill out the form to create an Insider Pages account and click Claim Today. Edit Contact Info The best way to add or fix information is to first claim your listing. Once claimed, you can log in to edit the listing. If you choose not to claim your listing, first go to www.insiderpages.com and search for your business. After you select your business, click the Edit Business link under the map. From there you will be prompted to create an Insider Pages account and edit the listing.
Review Sites Cont Judy s Book Select Business Owners under the Our Services heading at the bottom of the page on www.judysbook.com (or click here) to start the sign-up process. Note: This service is not free. There is a monthly fee for a basic listing. Select Claim it under the package you are interested in and then Subscribe to access the form and complete the process. Search for your company and then select Claim your Business on the left side beside the listing details. You will then have to select your package and complete the sign up process as described above. Edit Listing Info To edit your listing, you must first claim it. Once claimed, you can log in to make changes. Alternatively, you can also send an email to correct a listing. Just below the Claim your Business button on your business s page, it says Incorrect info? Send your corrections here. Clicking on this link will open up your default email client and create an email with a predefined recipient, subject line and body text. DO NOT CHANGE anything in this email, except for adding the details of your business where they are asked. After you ve added your details, send this email. Yelp Go to https://biz.yelp.com, click Create your free account now and follow the easy 4-step process to create your listing. Find your business listing by searching for it on www.yelp.com. Under company s address and hours, select the Edit Business Info link. On the resulting page, select Yes for the question, Is this your business? Update the remaining information if it needs updating, enter your email in the appropriate field and submit the changes. Edit Contact Info If you created your listing using your business login on Yelp, you can edit the listing through your account. However, if your listing wasn t created by you, follow the process mentioned above (Claim an existing listing) to edit information on it.
Directory Sites 411.com 411.com partners with Localeze and other data providers to deliver business search results on WhitePages. To add your business to WhitePages business search results, visit Localeze s Add Your Business Listing page and add your information through their website. Once validated, the information will appear in WhitePages business search results. Please allow up to 60 days for information to appear on WhitePages. Visit Localeze s Add Your Business Listing page and search for your business either through the phone number or by name and zip code. Once you find your listing, click on it to view its details. On this page, you will see options to upgrade, claim, modify, or close the listing. Click on Claim this Listing and follow the process. Edit Listing Info To edit a listing, you should first claim it. If you d rather not claim it just yet, visit your listing page (see instructions above) and click on Modify this Listing. You will be required to verify yourself to prove that you re authorized to make changes to the listing through this option as well. Dex Knows To create a listing on DexKnows.com, visit DexOne.com and click Free Online Profile at the very bottom of the page. Submit info a representative will contact you with more information. Alternatively, you can also contact Dex One Customer Care at 1-877-4-Dex-Biz (1-877-433-9249). Create a profile link: http://www.dexknows.com/info/build.asp Edit a profile link: http://www.dexknows.com/ Listings are created by business owners only; therefore, you will never have a listing you didn t create yourself. Edit Listing Info When you create your listing, you will be required to create a login. To make changes to your listing, you can log in to your account and edit business details. Local.com Select Advertise with Us at the top or bottom of the page on www.local.com. Fill out the form and click Get Started to follow their sign up process. The process to claim a listing starts in the same way as the one to create a listing see above. Edit Listing Search for your company on http://www.local.com and select Sign in to update this listing and follow the process.
Directory Sites Cont LocalEdge.com LocalEdge is a paid service. To create a business listing, visit www.localedge.com and search for your business. If your business doesn t appear in the list, you will see a box on the right saying Get Listed Today, and the link: Click Here to Get Started. Click on that link and fill out your information. Someone from LocalEdge will contact you with further instructions. It is very unlikely you will have an unclaimed listing. But if for some reason someone has created an account for your business, visit the listing page and click on Is this your business? and follow the prompts. Edit Listing Once you have created an account with LocalEdge and claimed your listing (or created one), you can log in to access your listing and make changes. link: www.localedge.com Superpages.com Visit www.supermedia.com and click Claim Your Listing at the top of the page. This will bring up a search box where you can enter the phone number for your business to search for it. If you haven t already created a listing, the search will come up empty, and the page will give you an option to Add your business. Click on Select beside this sentence and click on the Next button that appears below it. Follow the steps thereafter to enter the rest of the details for your listing. Visit www.supermedia.com and click Claim Your Listing at the top of the page. This will bring up a search box where you can enter the phone number for your business to search for it. If you already have a listing, the search will bring it up in the results, and you ll see a Select button beside your listing in the search results. Once you click on it, the sentence Continue to edit your listing will appear. Click on it and follow the steps to edit your listing. Edit Listing The best way to add or fix information is to first claim your listing. If you d rather not claim your listing just yet, search for your company on www.superpages.com and select Improve this Listing under the Info tab. Make your changes and submit.
Directory Sites Cont Yellow Book Go to the Yellowbook360 Business Center. You will have to create a Business Center account by clicking the CREATE ONE FOR FREE link or the Create an Account button on that page. Once you are a member (or if you were already), you can sign in by entering your email address and password in the sign in area. Once signed in, click Claim your FREE business profile and then select Add your Business Listing. Search for your business on www.yellowbook.com and visit your listing page. On this page, click on the Claim this listing link on the right sidebar. Continue through their sign up process and follow the prompts to claim your listing. Edit Listing The best way to add or fix information is to first claim your listing. If you d rather not claim your listing just yet, visit your listing page (see above) and click on the Report Incorrect Info link on the right sidebar. Fill out the form and submit. YellowBot At the bottom of the page under Submit a business, select the link that says add your business listing. Fill out the form and follow the prompts. You will have to create a YellowBot account. Search for your business on www.yellowbot.com and click on the relevant listing in the search results. On the listing page, select Is this your business? Claim it now! under the address and website URL. You will have to choose a membership option and create a YellowBot account. You will then be able to follow their process to claim your listing. Edit Listing The best way to update your listing is to claim it first. If you d rather not do it just yet but still want to report a correction for your listing, visit your listing page (see above) and click on the Submit a Correction link right below the link that says claim your listing. On the page that comes up, you will see a Submit corrections button beside this text: Just looking to be a good neighbor and submit corrections for this listing? Click on it, sign into your account on the next page, and follow the prompts to submit your corrections.
Directory Sites Cont Yellowpages Go to http://adsolutions.yp.com/ and click on Get Your Free Listing. Follow the prompts to create your free listing. You can claim your listing in two possible ways: 1. Go to http://adsolutions.yp.com/ and click on Get Your Free Listing. When you fill in your company information on the first page and select Continue, your company will come up on a list. Select it and continue through the form. 2. Go to www.yellowpages.com and search for your business. Once you find your listing s page, click on Is Your Business? Take charge of this listing link, and follow the process. Edit Listing You can edit your listing in two possible ways: 1. Search for your company on www.yellowpages.com. When you see your listing appear in the search results, hover over it to reveal the Improve this listing link. Clicking on this link will open up a form, which you can fill out to correct or update your listing. 2. Search for your company on www.yellowpages.com and select Edit info for this business beside Business Details. This will bring up a form, which you can fill out to correct or update your listing. Ziplocal Select Update Listings at the bottom of the page on http://www.ziplocal.com. Enter your phone number. If it s not found, select add this number, fill out the form, and submit. There is no separate process to claim a listing than the one to update it. See below. Edit Listing Select Update Listings at the bottom of the page and enter your phone number. When your business comes up, select it. You can then select either Update your listing or Add more information to edit the general contact info, or Update or add Business Profile to add more detailed information about your company. Before you submit the form, select that you are the business owner at the bottom of the page.
Social Sites Facebook Create Company Page Create a Facebook Page by clicking here. Select the type of Page you would like created (most likely Local Business or Place). After entering the required information, you will be prompted to log in to an existing Facebook account or create a new one. If you do not currently have a Facebook account, please select I do not have a Facebook account. Enter your email address and date of birth. Editing Company Page Once you log in to the account you created or used when creating your Facebook Page, you will see it listed on the left under PAGES. You can click on this page to edit information on it. Claiming an Existing Page and/or Merging Duplicate Pages A Facebook Page may exist for your business even if you or someone else from your business didn t create it. This happens for a variety of reasons. For example, when someone checks into a place that doesn t already have a Page, a new Page gets created to represent the location. If you ve been removed as an admin of a Page that you want to manage, try contacting the current admins directly, if you know them. If you re the official representative of an organization, business, celebrity, or band and someone else has created a Page for it, report the Page. If no one is managing the Page, you can request to claim it. From the Page, click the menu. Select Is this your business? Follow the steps that appear on your screen. Add and verify information about your business, such as the address and website and click Continue. Next, Facebook will ask you to claim your Page to prevent other people from becoming an admin without your permission. Choose to verify your connection to the business by Email or by uploading Documentation. 1. Email: Choose this option if you have an email address associated with your Facebook account that is officially issued to you by your business. Email addresses from generic providers like Yahoo! or Gmail will not be accepted. The email address should correspond to your business s name (jane.doe@acmeproducts.com). 2. Documentation: Upload a scan or photo of an official document that shows your business s name and address (e.g.: phone bill, business license, business tax file, articles of incorporation, etc.) Click Submit. It could take up to one week for the Facebook Pages team to review your claim request and respond. If your request is accepted, you become an admin of the Page and can begin managing it. Once you ve claimed your Page, you can merge it with any duplicate Pages that you may have. The Pages must represent the same thing and have similar names to be eligible for merging. Additionally, if the Pages have physical locations, make sure the addresses are the same.
Social Sites Cont Foursquare Before adding your venue on Foursquare, you should check to see if an entry for it already exists. To check this, you can go to www.foursquare.com and search for your venue. If no venue exists for your search, the resulting page will give you an option to Add a new place to foursquare. Create a personal account at www.foursquare.com or log in to your existing account. Then search for your business at www.foursquare.com/search, and click the name of your business to go to your listing. On this page, click the Claim here link after Do you manage this location? at the bottom of the right sidebar (you may need to scroll down). Edit Listing To edit a listing, you have to claim it first (see above). After you ve claimed a location, you can edit its details by logging in your account. LinkedIn Create a Company Page Before you add a company page on LinkedIn, make sure you meet LinkedIn s requirements to be able to add a company page and that your company doesn t already have one. To check if your company page already exists, just log into your account on www.linkedin.com, and where it says People on the search box drop down area, change it to Companies. Type the name of your company in the search box and see if it shows up in the search results. If it doesn t, visit http://www.linkedin.com/company/add/show and follow the steps. If the work email address you provide is an unconfirmed email address on your LinkedIn account, a message will be sent to that address. Follow the instructions in the message to confirm your email address and then use the instructions above to add the Company Page. NOTE: Because domains like gmail.com or yahoo.com or similar generic email services are not unique to one company, those domains cannot be used to create a Company Page. You might consider creating a group if your company doesn t have a unique email domain. Editing a Company Page Sign in to your LinkedIn account and hover over the Companies menu. If you ve created the company page or have been added as an administrator, you will see a blue Edit button. You can click on it or hover over the drop down arrow beside it for more options. Twitter Create an Account Go to www.twitter.com and sign up. Fill out the form to create your account. Once created and logged in, you can edit your logo and colors. Update Profile To make any changes to your account, just log in on www.twitter.com and select your profile name in the top right corner. Select Settings from the drop down menu to make changes to your profile, account information, and more.