Oxfordshire is a hub for thriving small businesses. From boutique retail to cultural events, the county is alive with innovation. When running one of these businesses, it can be hard to know where to advertise your company. Do you take the rational physical print route or turn your attention to digital marketing? One way is to utilise third-party reviews.
What are Third Party Reviews?
Third-party reviews are independent reviews left by people who are not associated with your business or any of its working partners. Essentially, this comes down to your customers. Third-party reviews are left on websites that are not linked to your business, so testimonials on your website would not count, but a review on TripAdvisor would.
Third-party reviews are important as they work using trust. When new customers want to check your small Oxfordshire business, they will look online. As a business owner, you are always going to extoll the virtues of your product or service. A third party has no reason to do so as they don't have a vested interest. They are viewed as more honest and trustworthy.
If you can rack up an impressive roster of third-party reviews in different online locations, this should soon turn into football or website traffic. Footfall and website traffic end up becoming conversions, which increases profit for your small business.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a variation of a third-party review. A webmaster or social media influencer will review your product or rank it compared to others. When people want to buy the product, they follow a link. If the person makes a purchase then the affiliate marketer gets a small share of the profit.
While they have a vested interest, the best affiliate marketers have to be honest with reviews. This gives them a loyal following who are more likely to trust and buy products they recommend. Many industries use affiliate marketing, from Amazon to entertainment providers like online casinos. They will rank providers by their casino welcome offers and bonuses, telling people which is the best choice for them. They will also provide other factors, such as the choice of games on offer, giving a choice to their followers. In general, they are a great way for customers to get the product that is right for them with an honest review attached.
For Oxfordshire businesses, don't be afraid to hyper-local with affiliate marketing. Find people who do reviews of the local area or social media stars. Set up an account and reach out to them with ideas for affiliate collaborations.
Review Sites
Often known as aggregators, review sites are the most common place to get a third-party review for your small Oxfordshire business. You sign your business up and people can then leave a comment and give you a rating out of five. You may have used them before yourself. Sites like Trustpilot are more general, but specialist ones like JustEat and Checkatrade operate in the same way for more specific industries.
For business in Oxfordshire, there are also plenty of local review sites for different industries, such as Bitten Oxford Food Reviews. TripAdvisor, one of the world's most famous review aggregators, also has a dedicated Oxfordshire section.
Vital to local business is Google's version, Google My Business. This brings up a list of possible entries in the local area and shows them on a map. However, only the top three appear on the first page, meaning you need to get to the top. This requires knowledge of SEO so don't be afraid to contact a local Oxfordshire digital marketer to assist. Before long, the third-party reviews will have new customers rolling in.
