We all remain very excited to get a review whether on our Website, Facebook page, Social Media profile from our friends, colleagues, our users, our subscribers, our employees, our team members, etc.
In Google, this review option is available in Google My Business. The review count is visible in Google search results and helps in ranking the website if it is a good review or a star rating is good.
The review system is a kind of analysis of what someone thinks about your project, your product, or your services; and it gives you an opportunity to improve your services, your products, or your system.
And now it also does another analysis of whether someone likes you or not. In many cases, you will see that your friends or colleagues do not review your blogs, like posts or videos, or follow pages because they are yours.
You invite them to follow or like the page, but the request remains the same.
Some requests are lying there for a few months, some for many years, and some forever, even if you are doing a good job, no matter how much different content you are publishing, it does not matter. If you are behind the page, profile, or project, then it will not be liked.
This is human nature actually, otherwise social media would not have developed technologies like follow-for-follow, shoutout, and like for like.
You will experience many times that someone likes your page when they also need a follower in return. not otherwise.
And many times, as soon as you like their page or start following them, after a few days your page is ignored or unfollowed because their purpose is solved.
Without wasting much time on the pros & cons of the above-mentioned techniques, I would rather like to bring the fact in the limelight that "The Review System" can prove to be fatal for you at times.
Think for yourself how you will feel when someone reports your page or your business simply because the views of you and the person in front of you do not match or you have a conflict. Your ratings or the rankings may be downgraded for no reason.
In many companies where employees are removed (whatever may be the reason, it is not necessarily the fault of the employee, nowadays even those who give good suggestions fall short), these things are common.
But they have a valid reason for not liking employees, systems, management.
You will find many people around you who will be jealous of you, they do not like your progress. They will also know that you are right on the right path, but still, they will pull you downwards.
From such viewers, friends, followers, your business page, profile, website, the blog is always at risk because they are waiting for you to make a mistake.
Even if you do not, their job is to criticize you because they cannot achieve your level. But it also has its benefits, keep reading the whole article to know, maybe our thoughts match somewhere.
If I talk a little more about this topic, you will remember that a few days ago, what happened between Tik-Tok and YouTube Influencers in India.
The dispute between the 2 influencers increased so much that the company (app) lost all its online reputation overnight. The rating of the app fell on the play store so quickly that Google had to interfere in between.
Google had to delete 1M reviews to improve Tik-Tok's ratings. Even people started demanding to ban this app.
In the same way, now you can guess how much the company lost due to the fault of an influencer.
How did its reputation come to vanish in one night! That was Tik-Tok, a very popular app, listed on the Google play store, so Google also helped it, but what about you?
You must have guessed after this controversy how your page, profile, business listing, or website, which you have kept for your marketing, can be finished with Public Reviews in one night.
Content or review, at the time of putting it, both of them did not think whose loss it would be. Didn't they check for the content by any means before publishing?
If we publish a video on Youtube it may get rejected based on a lot of parameters, is there no such provision in Tik-Tok?
Okay, let's say that no check will be placed on this app, but bad elements are everywhere, they are also on Facebook. You also get to see something that is objectionable. Is Facebook to blame for this?
For many years objectionable content has been published on Facebook but has it ever happened that people have downgraded Facebook through the Review System? I don't remember. It can happen to any business.
A single bad element can spoil your reputation for years even if it has left your organization. If you have any objections to any video/ article/ blog content you should report that video/ article/ blog only.
These platforms are for the public to connect with each other or for entertainment purposes (No doubt they are a potential source of income and fame as well these days).
Sometimes developers have no control over these elements spoiling the business reputation; sometimes these controversies are created for the promotion of the show if you remember "Koffee with Karan Controversy" & "MTV Roadies Neha Dhupia Controversy".
Those scenes, those parts could be removed as those were not telecast live. In both of the cases "comments and reviews" played their part so well and after that meme business "great strategy".
Every business has got a different strategy. Sometimes you create controversy to engage the audience and it kicks you back so badly that instead of engagement of your audience, you lose your followers and your reputation as well.
There are very few influencers/ Youtubers/ content writers/ digital marketers who publish great content & remember good content is always respected.
So what my opinion is, if someone shares bad content on a platform it does not mean that we should blame the platform.
Everyone will have their own opinion about this article too. Maybe some people target me thinking that I supported Tik-Tok or Tik-Tokers.
But it is not so, my aim is only to bring out the fact that in the coming times, only the reviews will decide whether our business will work or not?
Will our online reputation only, determine in the future how our company's services, products, and working atmosphere are?
Because a frustrated employee can also review and definitely it is going to hit you hard.
To some extent, it is good as you get an estimate of the products, services, environment, and policies of a company. Let's see it from another perspective.
you purchase a branded mobile phone and you are facing some technical difficulties, is it fair to blame the company for its complete range or a complete lot of specific models?
I think replacement or technical support is a better option. You can report one post or video related to that product but it does not mean that you will damage the whole reputation of the brand only because you get a defective piece.
You may not be satisfied with one product or the policies of the company and in some cases owner of the business for any reason. So it's better to avoid them.
Don't get involved in too many useless discussions on their company profile pages or social media pages as it leads to better engagement.
Positive or negative is the secondary thing. But inadvertently you are giving them unnecessary attention which is going to benefit them after all.
Let's go a little deeper now. Have you ever heard of the trending topics on the internet? Say for example we take up the category "Cricket".
When you will explore social media for this category you will find topics that are trending like "Dhoni's Retirement", "Kohli Vs Babbar" etc.
Actually, this is a social media strategy to create hype & people engage themselves in these topics & start abusing each other, sometimes in countries, some mention their favorite players, some people give replacement options, and much more.
Also, you will find these pages sometimes only to generate hype to publish some controversial content.
There are so many examples and all the cricket fans are well aware of them. Even you can't imagine a single comment from "Yograj Singh on Dhoni" brings millions of reactions, thousands of comments & a lot more with it. So, we call it a strategy. But now let's find out its ill effects.
Sometimes your one comment can make a difference. Your personal opinion can damage your brand reputation.
As you might have noticed what happened in one of the above-mentioned controversies i.e. "Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul Controversy" in "Koffee with Karan"? Now, what should be your reaction & what it was? Whom will you criticize?
Cricket or The Cricketers or the show? You already decided & what your reaction did is in front of you. The social media engagement in that controversy created so much hype that people started using those tactics in other areas too.
TikTok videos are a perfect example of this. You start supporting one, & you never know that when your discussions have created a war zone on the topic.
But, my point is, is it fair to target these platforms for someone's nonsense?
Is it fair enough to destroy one's business in such a way, where many people are employed or many people get their bread?
You have the right to ask questions.
You have the right to raise your voice. Do it, I don't resist. There are so many News Channels & Media platforms that are spreading rumors and hate.
But shall we target the whole media channels or platforms?
Are they all the same?
The answer is no.
You can ignore watching those channels, you think, are not good for our society & they will close their business when they will incur losses.
The more we involve ourselves in controversies more engagement or business they get.
If you will analyze, you will find who got benefitted from one of the above said controversies "YouTubers Vs Tik-Tokers controversy" a few questions arise.
Who gets more followers?
Who gets more engaging content?
Who gets publicity?
Who came into the limelight?
Who generated the business? Who lost?
What was the strategy? & a lot more to analyze.
What I noticed and analyzed have written in this blog & who lost its reputation is also in front of us. Whose ratings are affected, whose business suffered all we know.
That's why I call it a "DRS- Deadly Review System".
I know, the terms and examples I have used, I seem to be a great fan of cricket, and it's true.
Wrap It Up
As I share my Google form with my community members I am always worried about how would those people react to my page whom follower requests I have denied only because I don't want to be a part of their shit they are spreading the whole day as I find it useless or not the topics of my concern. Therefore, this question suddenly struck my mind
"Does the Review system the only factor behind a business's success?" Comment Below.