Good, Bad and Fake

• The news of a major skincare player falsifying reviews has come to a shock to many. Those in the industry know otherwise. This is commonly practiced. However, the lengths of which those employees were asked to go is what make it fraudulent.

  The accusation that has come up is the requirement to place stellar reviews of products. All of them.  To go another step further, they were asked to create fake profiles to stack great reviews. Big problem.   

  While commonly practiced there is a certain level of morals that come with it. Sure, all brands want their products to be the top seller, and have the best reviews. But lying just won’t do. Typical directive for such are ‘write as if you were a consumer, not expert of product’, and ‘be honest. Only review what you actually use’. I’ve been known to review products for the brands my close colleagues work for. Did I lie in my reviews? Absolutely not. Saying great things about products even when they are subpar are what “influencers” are for.

  How to spot fake reviews. If a product has been online for less than 24 hrs and has a few dozen reviews, it’s 99% their team. Especially when they are all top ratings. When it starts to sound like you’re being trained, and it’s a rebuttal for previous comments.  Chances of that being an employee are high.  “Cut and paste” reviews. Many that sounds the same.  Reviewer only reviews products from 1 or 2 certain brands. On many shopping sites you can click on the reviewers profile and see what all they have reviewed. Great feature if you have similar taste, and concerns as reviewer. Helpful if you thing you found a fake.

  What’s sad about this particular scenario is that it’s a really good line. I’ve use a few of the products and really enjoyed them. There was no need for fake reviews. I get trying to get reviews organically can take a long time. Not all that purchase review. Just how people are. Faking them will never be the answer. This will be interesting on how the ruling affects the way reviews are utilized in the future.
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/10/22/us/sunday-riley-fake-reviews-trnd/index.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/10/22/us/sunday-riley-fake-reviews-trnd/index.html