Protecting your brand against fake user-generated content

Ed Hill at Bazaarvoice shares his three golden rules for brands looking to protect themselves from fake and malicious reviews

As consumers as well as professionals, we’ve known for some time that ratings, reviews and broader user-generated content (UGC) have been fundamental to the shopper journey. They affect everything from search to sales to optimising the business case for all “traffic driving” investments by maximising the conversion to sales of the associated traffic. 

Human beings rely on each other’s insights more than the sales aimed content of brands and retailers when researching products. However, inauthentic or fake UGC impacts consumer trust in a big way.  

Lately, we’ve seen more brands attempt to combat the issue, with the likes of Amazon taking legal action to ensure the trustworthiness of its user-generated content, and Trustpilot removing 3.3 million fake reviews from its platform.

But preserving that trust is also about maintaining regulatory compliance. For example, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act recently introduced new laws banning fake reviews, just one part of UGC, with brands potentially being held accountable. 

So, how can brands uphold their reputation, protect the sanctity of user-generated content, and the role it plays in commerce? Let’s look at three golden rules brands can put in place.  

Be transparent about how you collect content

UGC doesn’t happen organically, and you’ll need a strategy to get more shoppers to provide content for the products they buy. Review request emails, sampling campaigns or asking for feedback through social media are great ways to encourage customers to leave their opinions. When you send an email or request a review, don’t forget to ask them to submit visual user-generated-content, like a photo or video showing how the product meets their needs or fits in with their daily routine.

But requesting only positive UGC is a no-no. Consumers should always feel empowered to provide their honesty as authenticity is vital for customer trust.

If consumers are offered a free product, promotional material, or a chance to win something of value in exchange for content, then the review should explicitly indicate this with a disclaimer. Online shoppers expect this level of transparency, and disclosing incentivised content helps build trust between consumers and your company.  

Don’t screen out negative content 

While some might think that negative content is an absolute disaster for their brand to have, it is a necessity for the program to thrive. Consumers are used to seeing a mix of positive and negative content and have come to expect both when buying a product. They can learn just as much (if not more) about your products from negative content and displaying the negatives shows there is nothing to hide, which lends an air of credibility to your brand.  

Negative content is also an opportunity to engage with consumers and identify potential product improvements. It’s authentic and serves as a golden opportunity to build relationships with existing customers who took the time to offer feedback. Potential customers will also realise that their feedback matters and that you’re actively listening.  

Have a zero-tolerance policy against fake content  

Bazaarvoice’s recent authenticity study found that fake reviews are something that weighs heavily on people’s minds, with 63% of the 8,000 global shoppers surveyed citing it as a major concern that brands need to fix.  

Our biggest and best piece of advice to protect your brand is to ensure you have a process in place to detect fake content and stop it from being posted on your site. However, consumers would prefer if the content on brand websites could be verified by a third party over the brand itself.  The same study found that over two-thirds (66%) of shoppers said they’d like to see a “trust signal” (a lock, checkmark or symbol) that shows each piece of content has been verified and protected.  

As our research shows, consumers want to make sure the content they’re consuming online is authentic and a trust mark from a neutral third party is a symbol of a company’s dedication to authentic consumer feedback on its products. Hiring a ratings and reviews provider and moderator that uses textual moderation, and data-driven and anti-fraud processes to verify the trustworthiness of content is a huge help for this task. 

User-generated content (UGC) is vital in commerce today. However, a reputation for fake content will hurt both your brand’s reputation and its bottom line. Brands and retailers must continuously and proactively work to combat fake content by ensuring they have the right processes to protect themselves and their shoppers.

Ed Hill is Senior Vice President EMEA at Bazaarvoice

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Gwengoat