How to Enable Reviews on a Facebook Business Page

Facebook Reviews have a new name and a slightly new look, but their power to build trust for your brand remains as strong as ever. Getting this feature turned on is a quick but powerful step to collecting social proof, and this guide will show you exactly how to do it. We'll walk through the process of enabling Recommendations on your page, troubleshoot common issues, and share simple strategies for getting great feedback from your customers.

Why Bother with Facebook Recommendations? (Because Social Proof is Everything)

Before jumping into the "how," it's worth taking a moment to appreciate the "why." In a world filled with sponsored posts and slick advertising, authentic customer feedback cuts through the noise. It’s the digital equivalent of a friend telling you, "You have to try this place!" Here’s why enabling this feature is a non-negotiable for modern businesses:

• Builds Instant Trust and Credibility: A potential customer who stumbles upon your page sees real feedback from real people. This social proof is often more persuasive than any marketing copy you could write. A collection of positive recommendations immediately signals that your business is legitimate and valued by its community.
• Boosts Local SEO and Visibility: For local businesses, Facebook recommendations are a goldmine. Search engines like Google often pull information from Facebook pages, including review counts and scores, into their search results. A well-reviewed page can improve your visibility not just on Facebook, but across the web.
• Provides Invaluable Customer Feedback: Recommendations aren't just for show. They are a direct line to your customers' thoughts. You get to hear what you’re doing right and, just as importantly, where you can improve. This feedback loop is essential for refining your products, services, and overall customer experience.
• Generates User-Generated Content (UGC): A glowing recommendation is a piece of marketing content you didn't have to create. You can screenshot and share positive reviews on your feed, in your Stories, or even on your website to celebrate your customers and showcase their satisfaction.

In short, turning on Recommendations transforms your Facebook page from a one-way broadcast channel into a dynamic, community-validated asset that works for you 24/7.

The Important Shift: Understanding "Reviews" vs. "Recommendations"

A few years ago, Facebook made a significant change that still causes some confusion. They replaced the old 1-to-5 star rating system with a simpler, more direct format: Recommendations. Instead of choosing a star rating, customers are now asked a simple question: "Do you recommend [Your Business Name]?" They can answer "Yes" or "No."

When someone recommends your page, they're then prompted to provide more specific feedback using tags (like "great service," "friendly staff," or "quality products") and a comment to explain their experience. This makes the feedback richer and more useful for potential customers.

So what happened to the old star rating?

Your page still displays an overall rating score out of 5 stars. This score is aggregated from a combination of things:

• New "Yes" or "No" recommendations from customers.
• Past star ratings and reviews your page received before the change.
• Feedback shared across other places on Facebook.

The key takeaway is that while the input method has changed, the outcome is the same: to show potential customers at a glance whether your business is well-regarded by others. So when we talk about "enabling reviews," we're really talking about enabling the Recommendations feature.

How to Enable Recommendations on Your Facebook Page: The Step-by-Step Guide

The good news is that turning on Recommendations is straightforward. You just need to be an Admin, Editor, or Moderator of the page. Here's how to get it done on a desktop computer, which is the easiest way to manage page settings.

1. Navigate to Your Facebook Business Page: Log in to your personal Facebook profile that has admin access. In the left-hand menu, find your page under "Your shortcuts" or click your profile picture in the top right and switch to your business profile.
2. Access Your Page Settings: Once you're viewing your page, look for the "Manage" button near the top. Click it. This will take you to your page's professional dashboard. On the left sidebar, scroll down until you see "Page access," "Page quality," and other settings. Click on "Settings."
3. Go to "Templates and Tabs": On the settings page, you'll see another menu on the left. Find and click on "Templates and Tabs." This is where you control the layout of your page and which sections (or "tabs") are visible to your visitors.
4. Find and Activate the "Reviews" Tab: Scroll down the list of tabs. You'll see things like "Home," "Posts," "About," and "Photos." Look for a tab named "Reviews" or "Recommendations." To the right of it, you'll see a toggle switch. If it's grayed out, simply click it to turn it on. The toggle will turn blue, indicating the tab is now active and visible on your page.

That's it! The "Reviews" tab should now appear on your public Facebook page, ready for customers to leave their recommendations.

Troubleshooting: What if I Don't See a Reviews Tab?

If you've followed the steps above and still can't find the "Reviews" or "Recommendations" tab, don't panic. This is a common issue and usually has a simple fix.

1. Check Your Page Template

Facebook provides different page templates optimized for different business types (e.g., Services, Restaurant & Cafe, Nonprofit, Business). Some templates, like "Nonprofit," have the Reviews tab turned off by default.

• Go to Settings >, Templates and Tabs.
• At the top, you'll see your "Current Template." Click the "Edit" button.
• Browse through the available templates. The "Business" or "Services" templates are great general-purpose options that always support reviews.
• Select a new template and apply it. This won't delete any of your content but may reorganize your tabs. After applying the new template, check the tabs list again - the "Reviews" tab should now be available to toggle on.

2. Add a Physical Address (for Local Businesses)

For some business categories, Facebook requires a physical address to be listed on the page before recommendations can be enabled. After all, it's hard to review a location that isn't publicly listed.

• Go to your page and click "Edit details" on your intro section or navigate to Manage >, Settings >, Page Info.
• Make sure your address, city, and zip code are filled out accurately.
• If you operate without a storefront but serve a local area, you can often add your address and choose to hide it while still defining a service area.
• After adding your location info, go back to check "Templates and Tabs."

3. Check Page and Tagging Settings

Sometimes, broad page settings can interfere. It is useful to verify that people are allowed to post on your page.

• On your page, go to Settings. Then select “Privacy” and click on “Page and tagging.”
• Ensure that the "Allow others to post on your page” setting is enabled. These permissions typically apply also to Reviews.

Now What?: Strategies for Getting and Managing Great Recommendations

Enabling the feature is just the first step. The real success comes from actively encouraging and managing the feedback you receive.

Asking for Recommendations - The Right Way

• Share Your Direct Reviews Link: Go to your page, click the "Reviews" tab, and copy the URL from your browser's address bar. This is the direct link you can share anywhere. Your URL will look something like this: https://www.facebook.com/yourpagename/reviews.
• Make it Part of Your Process: The best time to ask for a recommendation is right after a positive customer experience. Train yourself or your team to ask happy, satisfied customers, "If you had a great experience, we'd love it if you could share a recommendation on our Facebook page!"
• Use Other Channels: Add the direct link to your email signature, receipts, or post-purchase follow-up emails. Post a periodic reminder on your feed, perhaps featuring a recent happy customer (with their permission).
• Don't Offer Incentives: Be very careful here. Facebook's policies prohibit incentivizing reviews. Asking for honest feedback is great, offering a discount in exchange for a recommendation can get your page flagged. Focus on genuine satisfaction.

How to Handle Every Type of Recommendation

• For Positive Recommendations: Always respond! A simple, "Thank you so much, [Name]! We're so glad you enjoyed [the product/service]. We hope to see you again soon!" shows you're engaged and appreciative. It also encourages others to leave feedback.
• For Negative Recommendations: This is an opportunity, not a disaster. Respond publicly, professionally, and quickly.
  1. Thank them for their feedback.
  2. Apologize that their experience didn't meet expectations.
  3. Offer to make it right and move the conversation to a private channel (e.g., "We're sorry to hear this. Please send us a message with your contact details so we can look into it for you immediately.")
  This shows everyone else that you take customer service seriously.

Final Thoughts

Enabling customer recommendations on your Facebook page is a small technical task with a major impact on your brand's reputation and visibility. By turning on this feature and actively managing the feedback you receive, you open a powerful channel for building trust, connecting with your community, and proving your value.

Once you get those recommendations flowing, managing the conversations becomes part of your daily routine along with comments, shares and messages across other platforms. At Postbase, our goal is to simplify this process. We built a unified engagement inbox where you can reply to comments and DMs from all your platforms in one place, so you can stop jumping between apps and focus on what matters: building relationships with your audience.