Are Review Sites good or bad for businesses?

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Social media review sites have the potential to make or break businesses. Here’s why…

 

 

 
With the emergence of social media and online review sites such as Eatability and Choice, online marketers went a little nuts.

The peer-review and recommendation functionality made possible by social media is one of the driving forces behind online and social marketing. You can’t swing an iPad without hitting a social media marketer who’ll rant with all the zeal of a convert about the benefits of user reviews and peer-to-peer recommendation.

Marketers love quoting statistics about the increased likelihood of someone purchasing a product if they hear about it from a friend or acquaintance, and we spend a lot of time trying to promote positive word of mouth online about the products we represent.

 

 

The dark side of social media marketing

 

Yet like the first wave of web marketers to discover they could manipulate Google’s search algorithm, there have been more than a few marketers and brands who have abused the system.

It’s all well and good to promote word of mouth and learn from the not-so-positive reviews you might get, but there have been cases across the board of businesses twisting review sites to rig the system. The travel industry, in particular, has been plagued by hotels writing fake reviews about themselves under pseudonyms, with major player TripAdvisor the latest site to become embroiled in controversy.

 

The new kids on the social media block

 

US startup Yelp has launched an Australian version of its review site that promises to address the issue of fake reviews and dodgy recommendations.

Much like Google’s constantly updated algorithm, the site aims to largely eliminate dodgy practices that misrepresent reviews. It also aims to stop smear campaigns run by rival companies, an ugly by-product of the review-site rage. Also, like Google’s algorithm, the way in which it does this is largely cloaked in secret, presumably to prevent brands and marketers from cracking the system.

Yelp also boasts an innovative social functionality, which works in conjunction with Facebook Connect to give personal relevance to the reviews you read and feature those that come from your personal networks first.

 

While it’s early days as yet, it seems we’re in for a bit of a shake up in the online review space. Like Google’s algorithmic changes, it’s only the dodgy players that need be concerned.

 

A Tick Yes digital and social media blog