How can you tell the difference between an ad in disguise and a genuine review?

What are the pros and cons of online user reviews?

How far can we trust them?

How can you tell the difference between an ad in disguise and a genuine review?

 

CAN YOU TRUST ONLINE REVIEWS?

 

Choosing a hotel, restaurant or new product can be a daunting task. There’s so much on offer, and making a mistake can be expensive. This is why many people turn to online user reviews

– opinions and information that’s supposedly written by people who have used a service or bought a product. But can we trust them? About 70% of Americans say they believe online user reviews. According to experts, this is because when we read a review by another consumer, we feel like we’re getting a personal recommendation from a friend. But a recent study shows that about one third of online reviews are fake. Apparently, companies are so desperate for good reviews that they’ve started to “play” the system. But how do they do it? Simple!

One trick is to give glowing reviews of your own product or service. Best-selling crime writer RJ Ellory was recently caught writing 5-star reviews of his own books on Amazon.com. Using a pseudonym, he called one of his books a “modern masterpiece” and said another would “touch

people’s souls”. RJ also wrote scathing reviews of his competitors’ books. Another tactic is to “buy” good reviews. Just recently, the Cove Hotel in Cornwall was caught giving guests

discounts if they wrote “honest but positive” reviews on TripAdvisor. The ploy worked – one guest called The Cove “a dream come true” and another simply wrote, “I didn’t want to leave!”

Some people are even making a living by writing fake reviews. In 2010, American Todd Rutherford launched GettingBookReviews.com (it has since closed down). For $99, Todd would write a positive review of your book on Amazon.com; and for $999, he’d write 50. At one point, Todd was making more than $28,000 per month; and one of his clients (John Locke) became a bestselling author thanks to Todd’s reviews. So, how can you spot a fake review? First, if the reviewer uses lots of highly positive language (such as “fabulous”, “incredible” and “best ever”), it’s probably fake. Secondly, if the review reads like an advertisement (it has perfect wording, forexample), it probably is an ad. And finally, if the review is negative but also speaks highly of a competitor, it might have been written by that competitor.

1. What percentage of Americans say they believe online user reviews?

2. Why do people like user reviews?

3. What proportion of online reviews are fake?

4. Where did crime writer RJ Ellory write his reviews?

5. What did he say about his competitors' books?

6. What did the hotel in Cornwall offer guests for writing positive reviews?

7. How much did Todd Rutherford charge for writing 50 positive reviews?

8. How can you spot a fake review?