High Profile Yelper Caught in the Act

High Profile Yelper Caught in the ActYelp proves yet again how easy it is to go online, with an anonymous shield and viciously attack someone else.  However, if you actually attempt to use your real name (even though it’s abbreviated) and you’re a high profile Yale Dean, it may backfire.  The Yale Dean, June Chu, was caught using Yelp to viciously attack others in a way a normal person would never do.  That’s because going online to attack others is like going to a casino using chips, it doesn’t feel real.  Casinos use chips on purpose, it helps you spend more since it doesn’t feel like real money. Yelp creates a fantasy world in a similar way.  The protection of a computer (buffer) and anonymity (except she didn’t really do the anonymous thing correctly) allow people to use Yelp to harm others in a way they’d never say if they were face to face with someone.  Yelp allows you to say things you would never say to someones face out of fear you’d receive some sort of consequence for your actions.  So, one side gets to trash someone else without repercussion (which motivates many….just look at Twitter for all the proof you need).  Well, I mean no repercussion in most every situation, except a rare few.  If you’re high profile person like a Yale Dean, it can backfire and remind everyone that attacking others unfairly isn’t normal or acceptable behavior.  Using Yelp’s own numbers, 1% of Yelpers actually review.  That means your brand is being molded by less than 1% of Yelpers.  Who do you think is mostly motivated to Yelp?  Obviously someone who gets enjoyment from criticizing others is going to make up a good portion of that small of a group.  In the world of psychology, it’s called Toxic Disinhibition, studied extensively with the CB radio (which allowed for anonymity over the radio).  Normal and happy people just return to a business as their vote of confidence.  That is why you must learn to brand your business better than Yelp does.  It’s so very important to ensure you brand your business online in a way that is better than how Yelp brands you.  If you let Yelp run your online brand, you’re likely in trouble unless you’re in the trendiest of areas that has a high volume of positive Yelpers (very rare, mostly California).  Most Yelpers are not bad at all, many are some really great people, but the math is terrible.  1 bad review needs at least 3 great reviews just to offset it (breakeven).  That’s really terrible math and an uphill battle for most businesses on Yelp.  So, the way to win is to stop playing nice with Yelp and learn how to use your own brand to attract customers, stop using Yelp to attract you customers!  Once you learn how to do this, you’ll realize how powerless Yelp is as they are nothing more than bathroom stall graffiti!  Get a free online branding consultation here. 

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