Facebook Recommendations vs. Google Reviews — What's Different
In 2018, Facebook replaced its traditional 5-star review system with Recommendations — a binary yes/no system where users either recommend or don't recommend your business, accompanied by an optional written comment and tags.
This creates a fundamentally different dynamic than Google reviews:
- No star ratings: Instead of 1–5 stars, Facebook shows a recommendation percentage (e.g., "92% of people recommend this business").
- Tag-based feedback: Customers can select tags like "great service," "cozy atmosphere," or "long wait" — giving structured feedback alongside their written comments.
- Social visibility: Facebook recommendations appear in friends' news feeds, making them a powerful word-of-mouth amplifier.
- Limited business controls: Unlike Google, where you can reply publicly to any review, Facebook only lets you reply to recommendations that include a written comment.
Despite these differences, the core strategy is the same: respond to every piece of feedback, fast, and with genuine care.
Where to Find and Manage Them
Facebook recommendations live in several places, which makes them easy to miss:
- Your Page's Reviews tab: Navigate to your Facebook Business Page → click "Reviews" in the left sidebar. This shows all recommendations in chronological order.
- Page notifications: Enable notifications for new recommendations in your Page Settings → Notifications.
- Meta Business Suite: If you manage multiple pages, Meta Business Suite aggregates recommendations across all your pages in one dashboard.
- Third-party tools: Platforms like Reviio pull in Facebook recommendations alongside Google reviews, so you can manage everything from a single inbox.
10 Reply Templates (Positive + Negative)
Positive Recommendations
"Thank you so much for recommending us, [Name]! We're thrilled that you enjoyed your experience. Your kind words mean the world to our team. We can't wait to welcome you back!"
"[Name], this just made our day! We work hard to create an experience worth talking about, and knowing we delivered for you is the best feedback we could ask for. See you again soon!"
"Hi [Name], thank you for the recommendation and for mentioning our [specific product/service]! It's one of our team's proudest creations. We appreciate your support and look forward to serving you again."
"Wow, [Name], thank you! We're so glad everything exceeded your expectations. Recommendations like yours help other people in the community discover us, and we truly appreciate you taking the time."
"[Name], thank you for your thoughtful recommendation! We're especially glad you noticed [specific detail they mentioned]. Little touches like that are what we're all about. Hope to see you again soon!"
Negative Recommendations (Does Not Recommend)
"Hi [Name], we're sorry to hear that your experience didn't meet expectations. Your feedback matters to us, and we'd love the opportunity to make things right. Could you message us directly so we can look into what happened?"
"[Name], thank you for letting us know about this. We take every piece of feedback seriously, and we're already looking into the issue you described. Please reach out to us at [email/phone] so we can resolve this for you personally."
"We appreciate your honest feedback, [Name]. This isn't the experience we strive to deliver, and we want to learn from it. Could you send us a direct message with more details? We'd like to make this right."
"Hi [Name], we're genuinely sorry about your experience with [specific issue]. This is not reflective of our standards, and we've already taken steps to address it. We'd love a chance to earn back your trust — please reach out to us directly."
"[Name], thank you for sharing this. We know it takes time to write a review, and we don't take your feedback lightly. Our team is reviewing the situation, and we'd like to follow up with you personally. Please message us or contact us at [email/phone]."
Turning Recommendations Into Marketing Content
Positive Facebook recommendations are marketing gold — and most businesses never use them. Here's how to maximize their value:
- Share on your feed: Screenshot a glowing recommendation and post it to your page with a thank-you caption. Social proof drives engagement.
- Feature on your website: Embed your best recommendations on your homepage or testimonials page using a reviews widget.
- Use in ads: Customer testimonials in Facebook ads outperform generic ad copy. Quote real recommendations (with permission) in your social campaigns.
- Internal motivation: Share positive recommendations with your team. Public recognition from customers is a powerful morale booster.
Managing Facebook and Google in One Inbox
If you're managing reviews on both Facebook and Google separately, you're doubling your workload. Both platforms require monitoring, responding, and analysis — and switching between dashboards wastes time and creates blind spots.
A unified review management platform lets you:
- See all reviews from all platforms in one feed
- Respond to Google reviews and Facebook recommendations from the same interface
- Track response rates, sentiment trends, and rating changes across both platforms simultaneously
- Use the same AI-powered reply suggestions regardless of where the review originated
For a deeper dive into cross-platform strategy, read our guide on managing Facebook and Google reviews together.
How Reviio Unifies Both Platforms
Reviio connects to both your Google Business Profile and your Facebook Business Page, pulling all reviews and recommendations into a single, unified inbox:
- One dashboard: Google reviews and Facebook recommendations appear side by side, sorted by date. No more platform-hopping.
- AI-powered replies: Reviio's AI generates tailored responses for both platforms, adjusting tone and format for each platform's conventions.
- Cross-platform analytics: Compare your Google rating with your Facebook recommendation percentage. Identify which platform is stronger and where you need to improve.
- Consistent brand voice: Set your brand tone once, and Reviio maintains it across all replies — whether the review is on Google, Facebook, or any future platform integration.
For a deep dive into how AI can write replies for you, see our guide on the best AI tools for replying to Google reviews. And for a look at how to respond to positive reviews specifically, check out our 15 positive review response examples.
FAQ
Can I delete a Facebook recommendation?
No, businesses cannot delete individual recommendations. You can report a recommendation that violates Facebook's community standards, but removal is at Facebook's discretion. You can disable recommendations entirely in Page Settings, but this removes all of them — positive included.
Why can't I reply to some recommendations?
Facebook only allows replies to recommendations that include a written comment. If a user simply clicked "Recommend" without writing anything, you can't respond directly.
Do Facebook reviews affect SEO?
Facebook recommendations don't directly impact Google SEO, but they contribute to your overall online presence and brand authority, which Google considers as part of prominence signals.
Should I prioritize Google or Facebook reviews?
For most local businesses, Google reviews have a larger direct impact on search visibility. But Facebook recommendations are valuable for social reach and trust-building. Ideally, manage both.
Unify your review management across Google and Facebook. Start your free Reviio trial and never miss a review on any platform.