With almost 2 billion users, Facebook is by far the largest social media service in the world—and it’s not just for connecting people.

Facebook reviews and local search are becoming increasingly powerful tools to help people find the best businesses in their city, like your dental practice.

Facebook is the most common place people go to share their experiences with friends and family. Because of this, business Facebook reviews carry a lot of weight—people value the opinions of their friends. In fact, 71 percent of consumers say they “somewhat” or “completely” trust business reviews they see on Facebook.

However, it’s not always easy for businesses to join the conversation. Facebook has policies that restrict overly intrusive advertising, and between baby photos, recipes and memes, competition for a spot in your potential patients’ news feeds is fiercer than ever.

A steady flow of positive reviews on your business page is one of the best things to help your practice stand out on Facebook, in more ways than one. Of course, seeing a five-star (or close) rating makes a great first impression with potential patients. But positive reviews also help you stay relevant and appear more often on the news feeds of your fans, their friends, and others in your community.

Get Your Practice Page Review-Ready in Three Easy Steps

Reviews are one of the factors Facebook takes into account to determine what’s called your EdgeRank. What’s EdgeRank? Simply put, the higher your EdgeRank, the more often your page’s content will appear on more news feeds. Fan interaction with your page—like commenting, sharing, and leaving positive reviews—boosts your EdgeRank.

Do these three things today to set up your business page to get reviews:

1.Enable Reviews

Follow these simple instructions to make sure users are allowed to leave reviews on your page.

2. Complete Your About Page

Add relevant information such as page category, address, hours of business, contact information and homepage.

3. Get Verified

Getting your page verified will make it easier for patients and fans to find and connect with you. It’s easy!

Congratulations! Your business page is now optimized to receive reviews and grow your presence on Facebook.

Facebook Professional Services

Facebook Professional Services is a great new tool to help connect people with the best local businesses—and it’s heavily influenced by reviews. Try searching for dentists in your area by putting “Dentists” in the first box and your city in the second.

You’ll notice that the results are ranked by the strength of their reviews listings, taking into account both the quantity and average star rating of reviews.

This page will be the starting point for many of your potential patients when they start looking for a dentist. To take the top spot, your practice is going to need positive reviews, and a lot of them.

Getting Reviews the Smart Way

With the right reviews strategy and a consistent effort from your team, your practice can be in the top results any time someone uses Facebook to search for a dentist in your area. Not only that, managing your reviews will also help you build trust with existing patients and boost retention.

But one big question remains: how do you get your valued patients to leave reviews? My Social Practice can help your team learn the most effective ways to turn your patients into advocates for your practice. Start by reading our free ebook available below, and contact us for a free demo of our reviews service!