Today’s episode of the Today show on NBC featured commentary from Reputation Communications. Part of a segment on online travel reviews, the coverage reflects a growing concern among consumers regarding the credibility of such information. Our thought leadership was also highlighted in a recent USA Today article, Fake online reviews trip travelers.
Felony extortion charges were recently filed in Dallas against a man who purported to provide online reputation management (ORM) services, but threatened to undermine a client’s reputation as a way of demanding payment. It isn’t the first such incident. The episode highlights the unregulated nature of this industry, and some of its dangers. While protecting and managing one’s online reputation is becoming increasingly vital for businesses and individuals, it’s necessary to proceed with caution and discretion when seeking help. Read more
The Dark Side
In her 2013 Forbes.com post “The Dark Side Of Reputation Management: How It Affects Your Business,” Snapp Conner PR’s Cheryl Conner warned of “mugshot extortionists,” which NPR has also investigated, and other questionable and sometimes unlawful practices. In June 2013, Graeme Woods’ investigative article, Scrubbed: The World of Black-Ops Reputation Management, was published in New York Magazine.
Some companies offer to remove explicit photos or phony reviews from websites like Google Places, Yelp and Angie’s List—a promise that is often impossible to keep. Even Yelp itself has faced (unverified) accusations that it “filters out positive reviews and allows negative ones through, particularly if the restaurant in question has refused to purchase advertising,” according to Eater.com.
How to Avoid Such Practices
How to avoid such deceptive practices? Be sure to focus on trusted and verified sources when researching a firm with a specialization in online reputation management. We offer helpful advice in, How to Hire the Right Online Reputation Management Firm.
I encourage consumers to check the provider’s online information to see if they address your specific goals and are experienced in servicing your sector. Evaluate whether they specialize in a niche – including your area – or are generalists. Understand what ORM is and whether the goals you want addressed are possible – or can be guaranteed. If not, make sure you know what to expect.
Be Wary of Guarantees to Remove Content
“If an ORM company contacts you directly offering to delete or eliminate a bad review or demote the review for $X dollars, don’t take them up on the offer,” advises interactive media agency Small Screen Producer. It is very unlikely they can make such content simply disappear. Instead, ORM firms focus on reducing the impact that negative or misleading information from third parties will have on your online image. Such strategies can include moving down unwanted content onto lower pages. But it can return to prominence within weeks if continuous maintence is not applied.
In a world of waning industries, online reputation management is booming. So are consumer misunderstandings about what the practice entails and what results you can expect.
Related reading:
Your Online Reputation Checklist: Evaluating Your Internet Image
The Many Uses of Online Reputation Management: A Partial List
The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs
Fake reviews on Yelp and similar sites are an integral part of Internet culture. (Yelp is an online guide to local businesses worldwide. Its listings are based on consumer reviews. Anyone can write them, using their real name or a false one. Over 30 million reviews have been posted since its founding in 2004.)
Yelp is an invaluable research tool for consumers. It is also an important marketing resource for businesses that rely on positive word of mouth to attract customers.
Anyone can post a fake positive review, just as anyone – including the competitor across the street – can post a bad one. But Yelp allows businesses to create their own profiles with photographs and respond to reviews publicly or privately. That helps level the playing field. It also enables businesses to acknowledge their faults and build relationships with customers who give them bad reviews, should they want to. (A customer who cares enough to take the time to write a bad review may be one who cares enough to give you a second chance. Their critiques can help you make your business a better one.)
Today technology reporter David Streitfeld writes about Yelp’s new strategy for reducing inaccurate listings. Yelp’s action is a signal that the Internet is entering a new development phase: one where the drawbacks of fake reviews are addressed by the platforms that host them.
The more one utilizes the Internet for researching businesses, organizations and people, the more it becomes clear what a game-changer it is in terms of consumer empowerment. Reading Yelp reviews, it is clear that 30% (or, in some cases, all) of the overly effusive ones might be fake and that 30% of the bad reviews (or, in some cases, all) might be due to a bad day on the part of the reviewer. (Or that the reviewer is a competitor.) The rest provide a middle ground from which readers can draw their own conclusions. It isn’t perfect, but it is a rich mosaic of opinions which provide us with the best resource for helping make well-informed decisions: each other. That’s why Yelp’s step forward is a positive one.