Content Ping Series
User Generated Content Series
User-generated content is almost as influential as recommendations from friends and family. It is exponentially more influential than vendor-produced content. As e-commerce becomes dependent on unique content generated by shoppers themselves, the line between amateur and professional content is blurring. This series on UGC takes a look at how reviews are generated and how they fit into content merchandising.
Introduction to User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is pretty self-explanatory: it refers to all content created by a site's users, rather than by marketers, administrators, or other professionals associated with the site. The category encompasses discussions in forums and on social media sites, but I use the term to refer to consumer reviews posted on... read more »
User-Generated Content’s Role in Merchandising: Part 1
Retailers may not have mastered the art of Facebook selling yet, but social commerce is already here in the form of Amazon's Vine Program, assorted functions like wish lists, recommendations, ratings/reviews, and forums, Epinions, and Buzzillions, which all rely on user-generated content. Consider some early definitions of... read more »
Friendize.Me’s Mark Shteiman: Personalizing User Reviews
Mark Shteiman's inspiration for social reviews came from a speeding ticket. The normally law-abiding citizen found himself calling friends to find a lawyer who could help him get his license back. He realized there must be a way to take this type of friendly advice and put it on the Internet. The result? Friendize.Me, which launched... read more »
User-Generated Content’s Role in Merchandising: Part 2
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the ethics of user-generated content in light of its steadily increasing influence in e-commerce. There are plenty of reasons to seek out authentic reviews other than, well, ethical business practices. Though it comes from consumers, not companies, UGC can be integrated into merchandising... read more »
How Social Reviews Will Change the Retail Landscape
Reviews can play an important role in giving consumers the confidence to buy. They can also be incredibly overwhelming. For example, the reviews on Amazon for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix rival the length of the book itself, but without any of the plot intrigue or fancy writing. No one is going to read all those reviews,... read more »
Bing Liu: The Science of Detecting Fake Reviews
The dark art of rigging reviews is widespread across the web and has even ensnared several content26 clients over the years. The temptation to post fake reviews is high for companies that sell products online. The going rate for a fake five-star review seems to be about $5. Think about it--a mere $500 could pay for 100 5-star... read more »
Panos Ipeirotis: Bad Reviews? Don’t Freak Out
Can negative product reviews boost sales? Are paid reviews more reliable than those written by amateurs? Do online shoppers care about grammar? Panos Ipeirotis of New York University has drawn a lot of attention from major e-commerce companies due to his groundbreaking research on these topics and others related to user-generated... read more »
Expedia’s Emily Pearce: User Reviews Rule the Roost
When traveling to a faraway spot, I like to know there's a comfy bed waiting for me (preferably the clean kind that won't provide inspiration for bed bug haikus). Enter Expedia, which offers professional content (hotel descriptions and photos) alongside user-generated content (guest ratings and reviews). When I research products... read more »
