Review Harvest Walkthrough: Every Screen From Review Requests to Social Posts
By Clay Lawrence, Review Harvest · · 5 min video
The short version
Set up Review Harvest in this order: add a personalized image to your review request, leave smart messaging on, then load your past customers for a review reactivation. After that, connect your integration so each new customer gets a request when a job is completed or paid. From the same account you can adjust request timing and follow-ups, have four and five star reviews answered for you, embed review widgets on your website and post new reviews to Facebook and Instagram.
Do this, in order
- 1
Add a personalized image to your review request
Upload a photo of you or your team so the customer recognizes who is asking. Review Harvest fills in the customer's name on the image to get their attention.
- 2
Leave smart messaging on, or write your own message
Smart messaging is on by default and uses the script, follow-up cadence and time of day that convert best, so you do not have to split test wording. You can customize the messaging if you prefer.
- 3
Run a review reactivation with your past customers
Add past customers with a CSV file, or add an integration and pull them from a system you already use. Review Harvest can get 10 to 15% of them to leave a review.
- 4
Send new customers in as jobs are completed or paid
On an ongoing basis, each new contact is added when a job is completed or a customer pays, and goes into the review request process.
- 5
Follow each customer on the Contacts page
Contacts lists everyone pulled in by CSV or integration and the stage each is in: about to get the first request, in the follow-up process, or clicked the link to leave a review.
- 6
Set the timing under Request scheduling
Adjust how long Review Harvest waits to ask after a contact arrives from the integration, then adjust the follow-ups and how many requests a customer gets.
- 7
Open the Reviews tab
All your reviews are pulled through here. Four and five star reviews are answered for you.
- 8
Embed a review widget on your website
Click Widgets and pick the pop-up, the carousel or the grid. If someone else manages your website, enter their email and they are sent the directions to embed it.
- 9
Connect Facebook and Instagram under Social posting
Choose the caption for review posts, set the schedule for stories and for feed posts, and set the time of day.
- 10
Manage the review queue
Go through your previous reviews and add the ones you like to the queue, and adjust which new reviews are lined up to post.
- 11
Build posting templates in your brand
Create 5, 10 or 15 templates that shuffle as new five star reviews are posted. Edit the feed post and the story post, resize the review card, change its colors and add your logo as a watermark.
- 12
Add another Google Business Profile for each location
If you have multiple locations, click the name of your business and add another Google Business Profile to send reviews to.
What to set up first
Start with the review request itself. A lot of requests go unanswered because they are a boring text or email that nobody follows up on.
In Review Harvest, add a personalized image: a photo of you, your team or anything that gives the customer brand or facial recognition. The customer’s name is filled in on the image automatically, which gets their attention and gives you the best chance of getting the review.
For the wording, leave smart messaging on. It is the default, and it applies the script, follow-up cadence and time of day that have converted best across hundreds of thousands of review requests. If you would rather write your own message, you can customize it.
How to get reviews from past customers
Run a review reactivation before anything else. Load your previous customers in one of two ways:
- Upload a CSV file.
- Add an integration and pull contacts from a system you already use.
Review Harvest can get 10 to 15% of previous customers to leave a review. Newer customers are far more likely to respond than older ones, but you are probably still sitting on a bunch of reviews from past work.
How ongoing review requests work
After the reactivation, each new customer is added when a job is completed or a customer pays, and they go straight into the review request process. Businesses are getting 50, 60 and 70% review conversion rates from these new contacts.
Two screens let you keep an eye on it:
- Contacts shows every customer and the stage they are in: about to receive the first request, in the follow-up process, or clicked the link to leave a review.
- Request scheduling controls how long to wait after a contact arrives before asking, how the follow-ups run and how many requests a customer gets.
Reviews themselves appear under the Reviews tab, where four and five star reviews are answered for you.
How to show reviews on your website
Click Widgets and choose from three:
- Pop-up. Appears in the bottom corner of your site every four or five seconds with a line like “Clay left a review”.
- Carousel. Scrolls through all your reviews automatically. Most people put it on the homepage.
- Grid. Can get large, so it suits a page dedicated to reviews where visitors can scroll through all of them.
If someone manages your website for you, enter their email. They receive the directions to embed the widget and you do not have to do anything.
How to post reviews to Facebook and Instagram
Click Social posting and connect Facebook and Instagram. Choose the caption for review posts, set when stories and feed posts go out, and pick the time of day.
The review queue lets you go through earlier reviews and add your favorites, and reorder which new reviews post next.
Posting templates are where you make the posts look like your brand. Create 5, 10 or 15 templates and they shuffle as new five star reviews are posted. Each template has a feed version and a story version. You can resize the review card, change its colors to your brand colors and add your logo as a watermark.
What to do if you have more than one location
Click the name of your business in Review Harvest and add another Google Business Profile. Reviews can then be sent to that location as well.
Common questions
How long does it take to set up Review Harvest?
Setup is pretty simple and takes 15 to 30 minutes. A lot of people do it by themselves: add a personalized image, load past customers by CSV file or integration, and connect the system that marks jobs completed or paid.
What is a review reactivation?
It is the first step after setup: loading your previous customers into Review Harvest and asking them for a review. You add them with a CSV file or through an integration. Review Harvest can get 10 to 15% of previous customers to leave a review, so you are probably sitting on a bunch of reviews.
How many customers leave a review when asked through Review Harvest?
Businesses are getting 50, 60 and 70% review conversion rates from the new contacts they add after a job is completed or paid, and 10 to 15% from older customers during a review reactivation. Newer customers are much more likely to leave a review than older ones.
Can I change when and how often Review Harvest asks for a review?
Yes. Under Request scheduling you can adjust how long it waits to send the first request after a contact comes in through your integration, and you can adjust the follow-ups and how many requests a customer gets.
Can Review Harvest show my Google reviews on my website?
Yes. Under Widgets there are three to embed. A pop-up appears in the bottom corner every four or five seconds showing that a customer left a review, a carousel scrolls through your reviews and usually goes on the homepage, and a grid suits a dedicated reviews page. You can enter your web manager's email to send them the embed directions.
Can Review Harvest post my reviews to social media?
Yes. Under Social posting you connect Facebook and Instagram, choose the caption, and set when to post stories and feed posts. Posting templates shuffle through and post new five star reviews for you, and you can edit the review card's size and colors and add your logo as a watermark.
