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How is Social Media Shaping Review Sites?

Social Media is an evolutionary

development that has transformed the

way that individuals, organizations,

and review sites are able to

communicate. Popular travel review

sites such as TripAdvisor, CruiseCritic,

and OntheSnow are defining the use

of social media for review sites. As

opposed to previous years when

review sites were found primarily

through search engines or word of

mouth, individuals are now able to

connect with these review sites in a

convenient and viral way.

For example, these sites have created

custom applications, integrated

multimedia content, and use traditional

marketing methods, such as contests

and sweepstakes, to generate

motivating, engaging content that is

distributed through social media

platforms and their own websites. By

synchronizing the messaging across

each social media platform,

promotion, and their individual

websites, they are able to solidify

their prominence amongst other review

sites. Even more important was the

way they encouraged and enabled

travelers to share their voice from

small interpersonal recommendations

to online forums reaching hundreds of

thousands of other travelers

worldwide.

Social media represents a turning

point in how individuals and

organizations communicate with their

influence groups and customers. Given

this information, it is clearly why

deploying an effective social media

strategy is an integral part of any

review site’s modern marketing efforts,

whether that be for travel sites,

product reviews, or entertainment

review sites. As the medium and

technology continues to progress, more

and more online review destinations

will leverage the medium in new ways

to give them the edge in gaining

reviews and becoming a trusted

information source.

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SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE FOR 2010

contents: how review sites are changing 1

common uses and benefits 2

case studies 3

mistakes and next steps 4

Why not… Rethink your Audience?

While golfers may be Forelinksters’ primary market, targeting golf courses

themselves could result in increase site traffic, guest blog posts, ad dollars,

and more reviews.

social media solutions guide for review sites r 2010

In ways, review sites are their own

breed of social media. Their

audiences create user-generated

content as they write excerpts, assign

rankings, and share photos and videos

of their experiences with foreign

destinations, local restaurants, their

favorite band, or a less-than-

satisfactory product.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr,

and other popular sites for publishing

online have become ubiquitous in the

news media, if not in everyone’s actual

day to day lives. Recently, review

sites have successfully made it onto the

bandwagon by adopting these tools in

order to increase web traffic,

encourage reviews, and boost

revenue.

TripAdvisor enjoyed blog mentions

and increased chatter after creating

Facebook and mobile applications for

on-the-go, tech savvy travelers.

Other review sites considered social

media hybrids or using social media

effectively include OntheSnow,

CruiseCritic, Yelp, UrbanSpoon,

TravBuddy, Epicurious, and more.

The most common types of social

media used for review sites includes:

Social Network Pages on

Facebook

Media Sharing sites such as

YouTube or Flickr

Microblog Profiles on Twitter

Industry blogs

Custom applications

Key Benefits of Social

Media & Review Sites

As the industry continues to progress

more and more, review sites have seen

the impact it can have on their

websites. The following is a list of

possible benefits that can result by the

use of an effective social media

strategy:

Provides a cost-effective way

to boost site traffic

Has a viral effect –

passionate reviewers will

spread the word through their

social media accounts

Engages reviewers in a new

way

Review site checklist Five things your social media team should be doing 1. Develop a Facebook Page

Create a Facebook page, and be sure to continuously add new content and respond to posts. 2. Join the Conversation on Twitter Actively involve yourself in a Twitter account, & show participation by following, re-tweeting, and mention others. 3. Communicate With Your Audience Create a blog where citizens can find more information on your industry such as tips and trends, destination spotlights, or other interesting and relevant news. 4. Don’t Forget MultiMedia Use sites such as Flickr and YouTube to promote your message by uploading photos and videos for the public to access and encouraging others to do the same. 5. Remember it’s a Conversation Talk to your readers like you would talk to real people. Bring in your own personality, and use content that is open-ended and inviting.

Don’t Forget…

Using these tools incorrectly, such as

faking posts or spamming, can damage

your site’s reputation, and that damage

isn’t easy to undo. As review sites

reach into the social media tool bag,

they must be aware of the impact of

their actions and understand how these

tools work.

Most Commonly Uses

Types of Social Media

for Review Sites

Review Sites Using

Social Media

The presence of review sites in the

social media realm or incorporating

social media features into their sites is

becoming increasingly high across all

review site categories – travel,

consumer goods, entertainment, food,

etc. In fact, many sites consider social

media a must. In a 2009 interview,

Christine Peterson, CMO of

TripAdvisor, strongly emphasized the

importance of social media for the

company and the success of Facebook

apps in building brand awareness and

increasing reviews.

By evaluating review sites’

participation in social media, we can

clearly establish a positive relationship

between level of involvement and

political success. Listed below are a

few examples of review sites how

have effectively implemented the use

of social media strategies to improve

their current position among their

audience.

Case Study: TripAdvisor,

Facebook Applications

TripAdvisor’s most notable forays into social media involve the custom creation of Facebook applications. The site’s “Cities I’ve Visited” lets users create interactive maps showcasing where they have traveled to share on their profile. It has been widely adopted on Facebook with 4,973,605 monthly active users. When TripAdvisor decided to delve into restaurant reviews, the idea had a little trouble catching on. After the success of their first Facebook application, they created another. The Local Picks application allows users to view restaurants in their area, rate them, view the top rated, and share with friends all without leaving Facebook. Before the app,

there were only 100,000 restaurants on TripAdvisor and these received a paltry number of reviews. Within four months of launching the Facebook app, Tripadvisor got more reviews than the previous 4 years! Today they have 410,000 restaurants worldwide with over 1, 500, 000 reviews.

Case Study: OntheSnow,

Viewer’s choice & points

OntheSnow is the number 1 visited snow sports website with over 46,000 members. The site uses Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr to share the latest ski information and promote special site content, such as “Visitor Choice Awards.” The awards let users vote on categories like “Favorite Overall Resort,” “Favorite Downhill Terrain,” “Favorite Family Friendly,” or “Favorite Terrain Park.” The awards results provided a great informational resource for travelers, gave users a reason to revisit the site, and create a public relations opportunity while serving as a user-generated review source in itself. OntheSnow also uses a points system to encourage members to post reviews, photos, and blog posts. After members accumulate several thousand points, they are eligible for a gift card towards REI.com. By registering and completing a user profile, members start off with 500 points. They then receive 100 points for reviews and blog posts and 5

points for photos and photo captions. Gift certificates are awarded at five thousand, nine thousand, and fifteen thousand points with $25, $50, and $100 gift cards respectively. Through its efforts, OntheSnow is used by more skiers and snowboarders to research and plan their ski trips than any other source. The site reaches 2,250,000 unique skiers and snowboarders each month and has advertising partners such as American Express, Chevy, Clif Bar, and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

Case Study: Cruise Critic,

Engaging content

Cruise Critic is a cruise review site that

reaches more cruise vacationers than

any other print or online publication. It

also claims more visitors than all of its

competitor’s sites combined.

Cruise Critic posts at least once each

day to their Facebook and rarely

receives less than 20 comments per

post. How are they getting their

audience involved? By promoting

engaging content such as polls and

questions. When Cruise Critic links to

an article or review on their website,

they often include a follow up question

that piques interest, but requires

clicking on the link and reading

through the article to fully understand.

Cruise Critic carries the consistent and

engaging posts strategy to their

website where content is frequently

updated and users are encouraged to

take a quiz, participate in a poll, or

add their photos to a user gallery.

With over 51,000 reviews and a

million unique visitors each month,

Cruise Critic’s content keeps users

engaged and coming back.

Mistakes Review Sites

are Making with Social

Media

Given the viral nature of social

media, it evitable that some

individuals or entities may find that

the incorrect use of it has actually

damaged their reputations. One of

the most widely known examples of

this is with allegations that Yelp hid

user-generated content that

reflected negatively on certain

brands for money.

What started out as persistent rumors

for Yelp have now turned into lawsuits

and anti-Yelp groups and websites.

The allegations claim Yelp manipulates

its reviews in exchange for advertising

dollars. While Yelp has aggressively

denied the claims, the questions about

the site’s integrity remain, and a

review site without authenticity isn’t of

much benefit at all. This is the second

time Yelp has landed in hot water

over transparency issues. Not long

after the site’s creation, the public

questioned the use of paid reviews.

At that time, Yelp said the paid

reviews came from marketing

assistants who were helping to get the

ball rolling with reviews.

To combat its most recent reputation

problems, Yelp has changed its review

posting policy. Reviews flagged by

Yelp as overly-complimentary or

especially malicious, and therefore

likely fake reviews posted by a

company’s owner or competition, are

now available for anyone to view in a

special section of the Yelp site.

So what does this all mean? While it’s

clear that review sites are constantly

looking for new ways to generate

reviews and provide increased value

to their audience, there are pitfalls

that these sites need to be aware of.

Using these tools incorrectly, such as

ignoring rules about transparency,

honestly, and trust, can do more

damage to a site’s reputation and

media attention than taking the extra

time to understand your audience’s

expectations and remaining patient as

social media contributes to your long-

term growth plan. As review sites

reach into the social media tool bag,

they must be aware of the impact of

their actions and understand exactly

how these tools work.

To help review sites understand the

potential pitfalls of social media, we

have identified common guidelines

that review sites can use to thwart

negative feedback from their

community:

Be upfront about any

advertisers or sponsored

content.

Don’t use manipulation or

bribery to gain reviews or

advertising.

Be transparent about your

mission, motives, and methods.

Don’t add your personal

opinion as the site’s owner as

it may sway reviews.

Provide consistent, valuable

content and interact with your

audience.

How Should YOU Use

Social Media?

Social Media is an excellent tool to

positively promote your review site to

your desired audience, by allowing

them to become actively involved.

We have created a list of tools that

we recommend you consider engaging

in, which will increase your site’s

popularity and reviews.

Create a Facebook page –

be sure to continuously add

engaging content and respond

to posts.

Actively involve yourself in a

Twitter account, & show

participation by following

others.

Create a blog where your

audience can find industry-

related tips and trends while

communicating their opinion on

current topics.

Use sites such as Flickr and

YouTube to promote your site,

by uploading photos and

videos for your audience to

access and link to their own

accounts.

Social Media Solutions | www.socialmediasolutionsllc.com | Orlando, FL | p. 407.256.9233 | f. 407.539.6191

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