EGC Group Managing Partner Nicole Larrauri
As companies increasingly rely on social media to connect with customers, promote brands and advertise products, social media reviews will play an increasingly important role in business. Companies spend large sums of money on websites like Facebook and Twitter to promote themselves. In turn, consumers rely more on social media-based reviews to determine what they buy. This makes sense – if an individual sees a friend or colleague ‘likes’ a particular product, in a sense vouching for it, that may encourage him or her to buy the product. According to one report, however, the increased reliance on social media ratings and reviews means that by 2014, 10-15 percent of social media reviews and ratings will be fake.
According to a Gartner analyst, the explosion of social media has left companies racing for new ways to attract online audiences and get positive reviews and Facebook ‘likes’ on their pages. Cash, coupons and promotions are among the techniques used by marketers to obtain positive reviews. Of course there are downsides to this approach; Gartner notes that the drawbacks may include fines and damage to reputation. This is an interesting topic, and shows a negative trend towards less honesty in online business. Fake reviews are nothing new to online commerce, though. However, in the current social media driven world, where shoppers may feel a closer connection to other users and value their opinions more, a fake social media rating or review can go further in influencing consumer spending habits.
So how should a company can address fake social media reviews? For the answer, I went to an expert on social media marketing, Nicole Larrauri, managing partner at The EGC Group.
“The issue of fake reviews has been on our radar since the emergence of social media,” Larrauri said. “In large part, fake reviews damage the credibility of review sites as well as the companies being reviewed.”
Larrauri said she advises her clients to stay away from “pay for review” or pay-per-like” companies. “The educated consumer can now spot a fake review or a fake like and it can hurt a reputation,” she said, adding its easy to spot fakes. “They usually contain a lot of over the top adjectives and they typically aren’t very specific in their description. In terms of fake fans or followers, I’ve also seen a retailer jump up by 20,000 Facebook likes in less than a day, only to be called out on their wall by an authentic customer. Not good for the brand.”
Companies are wise to ensure their reviews are genuine, for reputation and consumer relations, among other reasons. “The issue of fake reviews is hard to stop entirely, but can be contained, ” Larrauri said. Profile authentication and social media integration helps. There are a few companies who are developing tools intended to ferret out bad reviews, but there’s nothing widely used in the market just yet.”
Larrauri sees a continuing increase in social media reviews, but with it increased consumer knowledge and awareness. “The reliance of consumer reviews will still grow, despite the recent report. Consumers will grow smarter, and will come to recognize the authentic reviews from the fake. As “check-in” and location based reviews become more popular, these will become the more reliable source for many.”
As more and more business shifts online and companies rely on social media to grow, social media reviews will increase in importance. Companies should ensure they have an appropriate social media marketing plan in place and consult with a professional if necessary. A comprehensive plan includes safeguarding against pitfalls like fake social media reviews, which in turn allow companies to maximize their social media presence.
Pedram Tabibi is an attorney at Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone. Follow Pedram on Twitter @PedramTabibi or email him at ptabibi@meltzerlippe.com
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