Marketers Beware: Reviews Work Wonders, but Should Not Be Faked- Ed Keller

A recent article in the New York Times caught my eye Entitled quotThe Best Book Reviews Money Can Buyquot the article says there is a growing practice of authors who commission reviews for their books rather than letting them spring up organically on online sites such as Amazoncom or BNcomIt39s not just authors who crave positive reviews The products and services from businesses of all sizes and sectors are now being reviewed online whether on Amazon or travel sites such as Trip Advisor or Expedia or restaurant sites such as Open Table or sites relating to local service providers like Angie39s List and Yelp or the many retail and manufacturers that offer online ratings on their websitesThe growth of ratings and reviews makes perfect sense The research is very clear that online reviews are popular with consumers and are a powerful driver of online and offline commerce According to Google39s widely quoted ZMOT zero moment of truth report 70 of Americans say they look at reviews before taking the next step to purchase products And according to a 2012 global study by Nielsen online consumer reviews are the second most trusted form of advertising with 70 percent of global consumers surveyed online indicating they trust this platform an increase of 15 percent in four years only word of mouth recommendations directly from friends or family is more trusted The Times article quotes professor Bing Liu from the University of Illinois who says quotThe wheels of online commerce run on positive reviewsquotThe troubling part about the Times article is the underlying premise that people with something to sell feel so strongly motivated to get positive reviews that they would fake it by writing them themselves or paying people to write positive reviews rather than building up a stable to authentic reviews from customers This is a bad business practice on two countsFirst the marketplace is too wise to let fake reviews go unnoticed and there is a very good chance the people who do so will be quotsmoked outquot and publicly embarrassed thereby negating whatever benefit they might have otherwise achieved Second it is potentially against the law and many businesses do not realize that A few years ago the Federal Trade Commission issued new advertising guidelines that cover social media and word of mouth marketing The guidelines make clear that companies are subject to liability for false or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements or for failing to disclose a material connection between themselves and their endorsersIn one of the first cases the FTC brought under these new guidelines a PR agency Reverb was charged with having engaged in deceptive advertising by having employees pose as ordinary citizens while posting game reviews online and not disclosing that the reviews came from paid employees working on behalf of the game developers In the press release announcing the action Mary Engle the Director of the FTC39s Division of Advertising Practices stated quotCompanies including public relations firms involved in online marketing need to abide by longheld principles of truth in advertising Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting a product and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial connections to sellersquotIf you39re unsure what constitutes ethical business practices in this area you might want to check out the Word of Mouth Marketing Association The WOMMA Ethics Code provides a strong guidepost to help businesses whether large or small plan your social media disclosure activities DisclosureWOMMA recently partnered with social software company Bazaarvoice to develop new industry standards to strengthen the integrity of consumergenerated review content Brands around the globe recognize that the authentic voice of consumers drives business amp8211 and consumers trust these opinions over other forms of content including advertisements and editorial reviews In a recent comment on this subject Bazaarvoice CEO Brett Hurt said quotThrough a combination of device fingerprinting fraud management rules and proprietary algorithms we can readily identify potentially fraudulent contentquot The new standards ensure social content is free from fraud and SPAM free from edits classifications or alterations and is transparent Disclosure I am on the Board of Bazaarvoice My business partner Brad Fay is on the WOMMA Board of Directors and I am a former President of the associationIn terms of transparency WOMMA says that any word of mouth or social media marketing should includeamp183 Disclosure of identity Make meaningful disclosures of your relationships or identities with consumers in relation to any marketing initiatives that could influence a consumer39s purchasing decisionsamp183 Disclosure of consideration or compensation received Do not engage in marketing practices where the marketersponsor or its representative provides goods services or compensation to the consumer as consideration for recommendations reviews or endorsements unless full meaningful and prominent disclosure is providedamp183 Disclosure of relationship Any brand or representatives involved in a word of mouth initiative on their behalf should disclose the material aspects of their commercial relationship with a marketer including the specific type of any remuneration or consideration receivedWhat it all comes down in the end is that there should be genuine honesty in communication That39s what makes consumers turn to word of mouth and social media for advice recommendations and help in making product choices If you39re honest your efforts will be rewarded If you39re dishonest it will be come back to haunt youThe bottom line for all businesses is that your reviews are being read and are moving your business forward Embrace that But also you are being watched both by the FTC and also by consumers who have an uncanny sense of smell for what39s real and what39s fake Don39t kill the goose that is laying the golden eggsEd Keller CEO of the Keller Fay Group has been called quotone of the most recognized names in word of mouthquot His new book The FacetoFace Book Why Real Relationships Rule in a Digital Marketplace was recently published by Free PressSimon ampamp Schuster You can follow Ed Keller on Twitter Facebook and Google or contact him directly at ekellerkellerfaycomRead all Edamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at WOM MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Marketers Beware: Reviews Work Wonders, but Should Not Be Faked- Ed Keller

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