I had reviewed my own properties………a long, long time ago……… before yelp changed the rules.
But last year, Yelp changed the TOS and due to ethical concerns because of how vague the rules were, I took all my reviews down for hotels I am affiliated with…
This is a world of permission marketing. Â You can no longer shove your brand down people’s throats and expect to stay relevant. Â The old school print media model of marketing is dead, and those people writing shill reviews of their businesses online are ignorant and out of touch.
A biz needs to build it’s brand by creating a product that users identify with, and endorse. Â All forced marketing is considered nowadays is spam.
It is interesting that, as out of control some aspects of social media are, that this is one first times consumers will help direct a brand’s direction instead of the board room or stock room.
This is a pretty significant shift in power. Â It’s interesting. Â That’s all. Â I say “that’s interesting” a lot.
I think I use “interesting” as a way of limiting my commitment to the idea. Â I am very skeptical, and I am very cautious.