Comments on: TripAdvisor Sends Conflicted Message: We Can Incent Reviews but Business Can’t

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:48:13 +0000

@Lauren
I am not very knowledgeable about the nuances of the TA system… anyone?

By: Lauren R

Lauren R — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:41:43 +0000

Do you think TA gives this message for hotels that increase reviews dramatically similar to how Google flags too many links that happen too quickly? If a biz decides to follow all the TA suggestions offered in the Manage My Listing section, and all initiatives become live at once, will TA automatically flag the biz due to increased activity versus a perceived incentive? Which leads me to other questions? Is their a manual review process for this flag? Can a biz appeal the flag to be removed? or is it permanent?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:28:41 +0000

I agree with all that you say… with the exclusion of an incentive… I find that many, (enough) customers will leave a review without an incentive with just an ask…

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:13:47 +0000

@Mike. I see what you’re saying. That hotel obviously went too far, but I think their only real mistake was saying the review had to be positive. I like your scenario about a contest for people who leave reviews in a given quarter. However, I am still personally OK with a direct incentive if there is no stipulation on the nature of the review. If I have a hotel and I’m confident that by and large people are having good experiences, getting good value, etc., then I would be confident that more reviews would be a good thing. I wouldn’t see anything wrong with me saying that you get a voucher for a free breakfast or something like that if you leave a review of any kind. As a consumer of this kind of user generated content online, I am often frustrated by the pervasiveness of angry and/or nasty reviews. My assumption has always been that people are far more motivated to write a review when they’re angry (I’ve even done this myself). To me, getting a series of reviews from a more balanced cross section of the population would be a good thing. Just my two cents. Thanks for the discussion.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:53:32 +0000

@Lauren That is a great question and one that I have had myself... they certainly can see the referrer in their logs... Here is what Yelp says on their website: There is a way to let your customers know you’re on Yelp without being overly solicitous. The power of word-of-mouth is that folks generally trust recommendations when they occur as part of an organic process. There is an important distinction between “Hey, write a review about me on Yelp,” [BAD] and “Hey, check us out on Yelp!” [GOOD]. It’s the difference between actively pursuing testimonials and simply creating awareness of your business through social media outlets. The latter allows consumers to vet your online reputation without feeling like they’re being solicited. To an established Yelp community member, a reminder of your Yelp presence can act like a dog-whistle prompting them to share their feedback about your business with fellow Yelpers. Here are three ways to remind customers on Yelp without being overly solicitous: 1. Stick a “Find us on Yelp” image on your website and/or print it out for your front counter or window. These have even been spotted on business-branded vehicles. All of these images are available via our Flickr (image sharing) page.* 2. Include a link to your Yelp business listing in your email signature with the words, “Check us out on Yelp!” 3. Embed a badge on your website. This handy widget can help you generate the necessary code to do this. So it would seem that it should not be associated with a request for a review but phrased more generically.

By: Lauren R

Lauren R — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:37:27 +0000

Hi Mike, does solicitation (Yelp) mean that businesses can’t have links to review sites on their website? Does this mean that Bright Local Review Biz tool is in violation of Yelp’s guidelines?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:08:09 +0000

@Scott
I am not saying it is NOT OK for a business to incent reviews…. I am saying that the risks outweigh the rewards particularly with a direct incentive (see Hotel story above). A direct incentive is a precarious environment that could go terribly wrong… imagine a Yelper ripping into you for bribery…

A contest like environment (all reviewers that made reviews during the last quarter are eligible to win the lotto…. ) might make sense.

Regardless it is imperative that EVERY customer be included in the incentive … many SMBs are hesitant to do so and unless they include everybody they should NEVER consider it..

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:52:20 +0000

Thanks for the insight, Mike. This is such an interesting topic right now.

I think it makes perfect sense for TripAdvisor to incent users to write reviews. Good, user-gen content is their bread and butter. They obviously should be completely neutral in their approach, but enticing more reviews seems to be a legit content strategy for them.

In terms of the business, I don’t know that I agree when you say that it’s clearly not OK for them to incent reviews. It’s a real challenge for businesses to get balanced reviews from customers. People are far more motivated when they’re upset or disappointed. To me, as long as there is no stipulation that the review has to be in any way positive, I don’t have an issue with businesses trying to get a more balanced review picture out there.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:24:33 +0000

Yelp does not like any solicitation. TA and Google do seem to accept solicitation as long as no direct incentives are involved in the solicitation of a review.

The question revolves around contest like situations where a company says… write a review and be eligible to win… that is not prohibited by either TA or Google.

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:05:40 +0000

Mike,
I confess, I have been confused as to what IS allowed ever since Google updated their review guidelines last February (think it was Feb). I remember this discussion of the update at Matt’s blog and I didn’t feel like anyone actually understood what the revision meant:

http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/google-tweaks-guidelines-soliciting-reviews/4084/

What do you think at this point? Not okay to offer money…but okay to offer gifts??? I honestly can’t say.