How to Deal With Fake Negative Reviews

HOW TO DEAL WITH FAKE NEGATIVE REVIEWS You work hard to build up your business and gain positive customer reviews-so it's frustrating when someone attempts to damage this by leaving a fake negative review. Thankfully, there are a few ways to handle bogus reviews and maintain your reputation with consumers. This is your step-by-step guide on how to do it. THE PROBLEM WITH FAKE REVIEWS A fake negative review can cause significant damage to your brand and reputation. Potential customers are becoming more and more likely to trust an online review, whether it's positive or negative. Consumer studies found that: ***** ***** 85% 79% 94% of consumers trust of consumers read said that an online online reviews as a fake review in the last review convinced much as a personal year, but 84% can't them to avoid recommendation' always spot them! a business? A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO MANAGING FAKE NEGATIVE REVIEWS Having a solid strategy for managing fake negative reviews is an essential part of maintaining a healthy online presence. STEP 1 IDENTIFY THE FAKE REVIEW Before you report or respond to a negative review, the first step is to be certain that it's a fake. Read the review carefully and look at the reviewer's history, watching for these things: Vicious review tone General or non-specific criticisms A genuine review, even a negative one, will usually use more moderate language. !*#% Authentic reviews usually provide specific information about their experience of a business. Wonderful & amazing! Highly inflated positive reviews on the profile of one of your competitors This could be a tell-tale sign Multiple positive reviews over a very brief span of time This is a sure sign of a *** ** ***** that the reviewer is connected to the competitor. bogus reviewer looking to create promotional buzz. STEP 2 REPORT THE FAKE REVIEW Once you've identified a review as fake, the next step is to report it. This is the essential step in dealing with the problem and getting the review removed. Here's how to do it on some of the most popular websites. GOOGLE a уear ago ***** Somewhat disappointed. My husband is deployed and although I have a pick up I chode to pay the extra delivery fee as I would not be able to get the beds put together. On delivery day they simply put the furniture in the room.stil in boxes amd that was it. I asked about set up because I have no odea how to put this stuf together amd they said all they do is deliver it wouldve been nice of the salesman mentioned that I would've picked it up myself with a few of my husbands soldiers in Rear D. To further be disappointed i purchased a Iiving room set at Morrisons right down the street a few days later. They had the same bedroom sets I just purchased for $500 less and offered free set up and delivery and they also offered to pay the taxes on my purchase as a service for Miltary families. Wish i would've waited instead of impulse buy at Masseys. The only reason I gave 3 stars os because I do like the fumiture tsel. Place your cursor over the review. You will see a flag icon appear. I Helpful? Response from the owner a year ago Hi there. Sory to hear that you had a bad experience with your furniture delivery, but we're a marketing company, sot 2 Click the flag icon. DI think you've got the wrong business. Our business is called Whitespark, not Massey's Google Report a policy violation The violation page will Google takos abese of ts services vary seriously. In the fiolds bolow, please provide us with infomation about the conment that you bolieve is in violation of our Toms of Sevice Wellinvestigate and take acion as receary Wel follow up wih you only wereqare mow inforation orif e tave addtioral infuration to shae open. Enter your e-mail O t you tave located one or more eviews that you beleve warant removal trom Google's services based on applicatle laws, please folow the instructions deteld on ts page to subrit a egal rest address and select the violation type. pent contarn hetek viient orinappropriatin centem O This pest contaira advertising or spam O This post contans conficte of et sat PRO TIP If the fake review has not been removed using the flagging method, get in touch with a Google support associate.* = Google My Business Dority Insurance & Firancial Dority Insurance & Financial Servi. 1 Go to your Google My Business Cvie, Calonis -112 Dashboard and inta click on reviews. Inaigh WEW INGTS Insights Reews for your business cati NANACE REVEWS 2 Select 'Support' and add a screenshot of the offending review, along with any other evidence you have gathered." BONUS TIP Tweet the Small Business Support G Team via Twitter if you have still not received a response.* YELP yelps BUSINESS OWNERS Logget inmag om gn O My Buinee ine Ownesuide Busin Over Aeot EmNtor Ohange Pao Digital Scientists Ve Pubic Pag Complere Your Buess Page 00000 EgC. 128 Zona R Locate the review in the 1 Reviews for Digital Scientists Sen by: Tre| Rang Comnent Reviews section of your business account.5 The Dinty Beentr m matina aeinna Theyhm ver her andmuch me stortatethany athar agan un wwab rur ant sh wark dene ty the m m Loe he as. Thasgyt rea my megeom ntometdeg nd your baimay meke te p ent Fend te Memege A Co Ueoaieoto Ter o enien ycorino a, you ie by Very disappointed to say the least We had a birthday party held on a rooftop. The only positives were the decor and the magician they had walking around and that is all Our party started at 8 pm by 12:30 am they served the first hot entree and then at 1.30 am the second hot entree Report review * 4 friends * 1review Please refer to our Content Guidelines and Tems of Service and let us came out. By 3.30 am they decided to serve tealcoffee and desserts. Not to mention that after about 10:30pmit was almost impossible to find a waiter and ask for anything. Our guests left disappointed and we left trully embarassed in front of them. know why you think the content you've reported may violate these quidelines. + Share review 9 Compliment Why do you want to report this review? • Send message v Select an option. It contains false information It was posted by someone affiliated with the business It was posted by a competitor or ex-employee It contains threats, lewdness or hate speech It doesn't describe a personal consumer experience It violates Yelp's privacy standards It contains promotional material It's for the wrong business Flag review Was this review.? Usetul 5 e Funny * Cool Click 'Report Review'5 3 Select violation type.5 BONUS TIP You can see the status of your report by hovering your cursor over the flag icon.5 FACEBOOK Help Us Understand What's Happening reviewed July 6, 2017 What's wrong with this? Save place I ordered veggie pizza. Flour caked all over spitting out flour from my mouth. I thoughti Turn on notifications for this post will not order any food from them again. It's rude, vulgar or uses bad language It's sexually explicit Embed It's harassment or hate speech O Like O Comm Report post It's threatening, violent or suicidal • More options Something else Start the conversation... Press Enter to post. Back Contin 1 Go to the review and Click 'Report post'.5 3 Follow the on-screen click the icon in the instructions.5 top right.5 TRIPADVISOR tripadvisor teves, tompen re Manage your TripAdvisor page v a Your Business t your custamern are ng about vau Whee ae y ing Erhance your latg plaad photo and deo and booking infs: tack performanOL, nd more Searh Widgets for your Website TripAdvisor lInsights Think ofhe rew secon ofte ste as part daly tera parn b p hostalty martng esource A foeh of parade paredel Ue er dounioadable badges and uidgets oe and create photo sideshows Review Express Get your Tripldvisor Facebook App f ergemere revewa eview Eipress akes we re wienni iecert vators to Engage you fasy adng Trpdvor taveler eyede ao page Book your best trip, every trip TripAdvisor Green Leaders Hotela O Flighta o Vacation Rentala Restauranta Dur Green Laader program recognia hotets mmidtyyyy mmiddiyyy Find hotets Eandar bu Laan how te patute a Click Your Business in the upper 2 Select 'Manage Your Reviews' in the right-hand corner of the homepage. Management Center section.5 Respond to a review Track your review performance Show guests you're paying attention and taking foodback seriously by responding to reviews - both positive and negative Click 'See our guidelines and submit See cur video or guide on how to respond See your review performance and trends your comment' under the Concerned See our guidelines and post a reply about a review? heading. Leam more Concerned about a review? Encourage new reviews Let us know it you think a review doesn't 4 This will produce an online form where you can flag the review. comply with our guidelines, is suspicious, or is posted to the wmee Ioc alin See our guidelines and submit your Remind visitors to write a review and share their opinions with other travelers by using Review Exprees and other easy-touse tools BONUS TIP Provide evidence that shows how the review violates guidelines. TripAdvisor will not take the take time to fact check the claims in the original review, so it's important to have strong evidence to support your removal request. YELLOW PAGES Reviews Click on the 'Report review' Window fitting link next to the review." ***** 22/04/2015 by An awful installation, dirty workmen that left the whole house in a mess. They showed disrespect to me and my home. Do not use this company is my only advice as there a lot of good companies. * Report this review BONUS TIP bad job ***** 13/02/2015 by You can also contact wish i had never used this company kids came to fit doors and left in a shambles never again customer service through the online form if your Report this review * Add comment: 22/04/2015 by request is urgent." Know the feeling just had them fit a window for me. ANGIE'S LIST Click 'Contact Us. Indanapolis | Boston : Allanta | Cincinnati | Los Angeles | Dallas | Pasburgh | Minne ENGAGE ABOUT What is the subject? r Free Business Center The Company cal Businesses Answers Careers E Angie's Blog Investor Relations What is your question? Press SEND MESSAGE Contact Us FAQ | Angie's List Call Center O Copyright 1995-2018, Angie's List All Rights Resanved | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy Select 'Send a Message' and provide details about the fraudulent review. STEP 3 RESPOND TO THE FAKE REVIEW Now, it's time to reply. Your response to the review can help restore your reputation with consumers, as they're more likely to look to your reply than the review itself when forming an opinion of your business. Here's what to do and what not to do. MAINTAIN A PROFESSIONAL IMAGE The first thing to remember is to show professionalism and restraint in the tone and nature of your response. V DO V DO V DO X DON'T **** ? !*#%x Make it clear that the Include an offer for Politely draw Respond with reviewer cannot be the reviewer to question to their negativity.? confirmed as a user contact the review. company directly for a resolution. of the product.9 EXAMPLE RESPONSE: "We take these matters very seriously. Unfortunately, we have no record or recollection of your experience with us. If you've done business with us, we would like to investigate this issue further. Please contact [name] at [email) so that we can resolve this issue." SHARE THE PROBLEM WITH YOUR FOLLOWERS Sometimes it's better to be transparent and get things Dear: Whoever spammed my listing this morning with fake out in the open. It shows reviews. You probably should have gone with more believable that you're honest and it usernames. #StopCrapOnTheMap might even generate some 10:02 PM - Jan 16, 2018 positive publicity.10 O 30 2 See other tweets BURY THE BAD NEWS ***** A great way to minimize any potential damage is to bury the fake review under a bunch of great ones. Make sure your customers know that you ***** love getting reviews and try to get at least 10 positive ones right away. STEP 4 MONITOR YOUR REVIEWS Lastly, every business should take steps to monitor their review activity. This will make sure you're ready to jump into action if a problem arises. SET UP ALERTS, WHERE POSSIBLE Some websites allow you to set up alerts that will keep you informed of your review activity. GOOGLE Alerts Visit http://www.google.com/alerts." My alrta Meonthe eb Type in your keywords at the top of the page. Your first alert should be your Aert sgstors business name, 1 Alerts Monitor the web for interesting new content Click 'Show options' and choose how often you want Asit-happens to get alerts. We recommend How often At most onoe a day you choose 'As-it-happens' so you can jump straight onto potential problems. 11 At most onoe a week Sources Language English Region How many Only the best results 4 Go through the other settings Deliver to and set them as you desire." CREATE ALERT Hide options. Alerts Click the 'Create Alert' button.1 Monitor the web for interesting new content Repeat the process for your Almostonce aday other keywords. Don't forget to Sources News, Blogs, Web, Vides, Books, Dis : create alerts for: Language English V Your email address(es) Region Any Regian V Your domain name(s) How many Alleut v The names of your products and services CREATE ALERT v Your business address and/or phone number v Your social media handles1 YELLOW PAGES YELP yelps for Business Owners a Ba Acsount utrg Saport Acoount Bettings Language & Notifications Sna netation artees a fend menere vrenoreeves ny besines e ere e re Lar Nton Send me a eney eral ih omaton tethow y tin ngan Yaia a teno me enas ep Ye prus ona services for Duness owners Alowa Yep advering speciailet to erd eral aSend me anen vrensoreare pchasesaDelor gt cenicate Block al i Nonor sond me any Yaip amal (her than cetain agai, raactional oradminiatrative emai Go to the Reviews tab in your Go to the Language & Notifications page business account and turn on of your business account and check or email notifications." uncheck the boxes to select which notifications you'd like to receive. USE HASHTAGS TO SEARCH FOR YOUR BUSINESS #kathych So much can be learned about the public perception of your company by using hashtags. It's also a great way to keep an eye on any fake reviews that might be out there. # #kathycheeseshop 200 post # #kathychanshop 1,647 post There's no need to let a fake negative review damage the reputation you've worked so hard to build up. Following these simple steps will make sure you know how to identify, respond to and monitor them. SOURCES 'Bright Local. (2017) Local Consumer Review Survey. brightlocal.com 2Review Trackers. (2018) Google Is Dominating the Review Market. reviewtrackers.com Real Simple. (2018) How to Spot Fake Online Product Reviews. realsimple.com Low, J. (2017) How to Remove Fake Google Reviews. whitespark.ca SRoque, N. (2018) How to Flag Fake or Negative Online Reviews on Google, Facebook, and Yelp. repcheckup.com "Murphy, C. (2014) How to Report Fraud on TripAdvisor. revinate.com "Yell. (2018) Help for business owners. yell.com *Torrillo, J. (2018) How to Report Fake Google Reviews. reputationmanagement.com *Reputation Stacker. (2018) Fake Online Reviews - How To Deal With Fake Customers Reviews In 4 Simple Steps. reputationstacker.com 10Hawkins, J. (2018) How to Deal with Fake Negative Reviews on Google. moz.com 11Google My Business Help (2018). Manage your notifications. support.google.com 12Yelp. (2018) How do I change the notifications I receive for my business? yelp-support.com This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License - www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 HEADWAY CAPITAL. CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES