10 Rules of Marketing on User Review Sites
We talk a whole lot about Blogger Relations, and that’s a valuable conversation that will continue to be relevant for a long time to come.
But, blogs are only one part of the Social Media scene. We hardly ever talk about the opportunity for companies to perform well in user forums, e.g., Amazon.com, Angie’s List, TripAdvisor, Epinions and Yelp. (Disclosure: Yelp is a former SHIFT client.)
While it’s true that “only” B2C companies have a play in such forums — well, that’s a whole lotta companies — especially if you think about the deep-dive’s worth of local content on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor and Angie’s List.
The growing ubiquity (and popularity) of User Review sites will make this an increasingly important issue for B2C marketers at companies of all sizes and types.
Here are 10 rules for participation in Online User Review sites:
#1. Read & understand each site’s Terms Of Use (TOS), especially how they pertain to businesses that might be reviewed (and don’t break those rules).
#2. Track the sites daily, to see what people are saying about your company. Most Social Media Monitoring firms are working on ways to automate this process, if they haven’t figured it out already.
#3. Join the conversation (where TOS allow you to), responding to both good and bad reviews. Remember that your “audience” is not just the commenters, but also the infinitely larger number of “lurkers” who will read these reviews and responses. Remember that Google will likely catalog all of this content, as well.
#4. You should thank people for saying nice things about your company/product.
#5. When someone posts a negative review, don’t get defensive.
#6. When you post responses to negative reviews, make it clear in your response that you are present, you are listening and you are there to help fix any issues. Even if you don’t agree with the issue, remember that perception is reality, and most readers will assume that there is a “nugget of truth” in every rant.
#7. If possible, communicate directly with the person who posted the review, in a transparent and non-defensive way, to see if you can rectify the situation. DON’T pretend to be someone you’re not, i.e., “just another user” with a made-up name.
#8. If someone posts something that is clearly batshitcrazy, reply promptly and courteously but don’t engage in a lot of back-and-forth. Just leave it alone – you can’t fix it. Most readers will see that you are doing your level best to be nice and responsive to everybody, including Mr. Batshitcrazy. They’ll understand if you don’t engage an obvious hater.
#9. You think that that negative and false review is harming your business? Don’t sue the hosting company (Yelp, Angie’s List, etc.) to take it down. This just makes you look guilty to consumers. You must simply do what you can to knock the socks off of future customers, so that they post more positive stuff. While this process takes more time than you’d like, it is the best way to make it obvious to everyone reading the reviews that your brand’s haters are clueless loons. Surround the brand haters with authentic brand evangelists.
#10. Make it obvious and easy for your good customers to post reviews: make sure they know that you appreciate it when they post on these relevant review sites. Add the appropriate links to your business cards and e-mail signatures.
This is a high-level look at the best practices in user review site marketing. It may seem simple but I’ve seen companies of all sizes screw this up pretty regularly.
Do you have more tips or experiences to share?
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RT @tdefren 10 Rules of Marketing on User Review Sites « PR-Squared [link to post]
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Todd,
As someone who typically doesn’t reach into user review communities, I found this post extremely informative…and hilarious (see #8).
#4 and #5 really hit a home run for me. Thank those who like you, but don’t jump on the backs of those who feel otherwise. A simple gesture, but incredibly powerful advice.
Thanks,
Brandon
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10 marketing rules for user review sites (Ryanair should have read before last week) from @TDefren: [link to post]
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Todd,
I was the communications director for a company that owned its own forum. Not only was it great to get instant feedback from our customers, but it helped us directly answer their questions and concerns.
As in most forums, there’s always a few key players who are more vocal than anyone else. Our challenge was to balance what they were saying with what other people wanted to say. The worst, however, was when the users would gang up when something didn’t go right.
Now I’m agency side, and there’s an ongoing (possibly never ending) debate about this topic. Do we engage directly on behalf of clients? Do we post something in forums as though we are the client? Do we post something and reveal that we’re the client’s representative?
The hybrid idea that you tweeted is a great idea (thanks for the quick response!). And you just responded to my above q’s before this response was finished! so..double thanks!
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If you work in PR, reading this post from [link to post] will make you feel good about the future of the discipline
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Great points, bossman, especially number three. Two things I’d add…
First, keep it short. If your response goes over two paragraphs, you’re probably getting defensive.
Secondly, leverage the commentary. These are responses from actual customers. Encourage them to contact you directly and solicit feedback, preview new features or secure references for media opportunities. Why pay for a focus group when you can get it straight from the source?
Besides reacting to reviews, authentically listening and taking suggestions from users (particularly if you can demonstrate how a user comment led to action or a change in policy) would go a long way.
Companies that admit mistakes and show a human side get a lot of points with me. Great suggestions, a good primer that B2C firms should take note of.
@ryancmiller
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Interesting blog post on User Review Site marketing by @TDefren 10 Rules of Marketing on User Review Sites [link to post]
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Let’s not forget about User Forums (PR-Squared)
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post interessante do todd defren sobre marketing em sites de reviews escritas por utilizadores [link to post]
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RT @websuccessdiva 10 Rules for marketing on user review sites, great stuff for B2C marketers… [link to post]
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