Needless to say, there’s a lot for the PR pro to worry about out there in cyberspace: From Facebook to Twitter to pesky bloggers—for many organizations the danger lurks that a negative comment or string of comments can turn into a communications crisis.

One particular brand of digital discourse poses a unique challenge for PR: consumer-based review Web sites. Not simply a place for passing comments on broad topics, review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Places and others give the public a forum to directly target businesses’ products and services, for good or ill. And just like the social media heavy hitters, these online outlets are not to be ignored, and must be handled with care.

Consider Yelp, which boasts more than 30 million monthly visitors and 11 million total local reviews in 22 different categories (with restaurants by far the most reviewed). If you’re with a smaller, local B2C, there’s a good chance you’ve turned up on Yelp or will in the future.

But don’t be afraid. Along with the potential bad and the ugly, there’s also good associated with review sites, says Tom Humbarger, a social media and marketing consultant based in Southern California. “PR pros should definitely embrace the leading sites such as Yelp and Google Places,” says Humbarger, who recently oversaw social media and review site strategies for a 43-location casual dining chain.

FIRST, THE GOOD…

One reason not to shy away from these sites, says Humbarger, is pure online eyeballs. After establishing presences on both Yelp and Google Places, the restaurants’ listings were a Web traffic bonanza. “The Yelp listing for our locations were usually in the top five of results returned in a Google search, and we were probably receiving 10 to 15 new reviews per week on Yelp,” Humbarger says.

But getting to the top of the Google list is only half of it, says Bill Evans, senior VP and partner and digital practice lead at Fleishman-Hillard. “Review sites serve as a beachhead for new location-based, mobile applications,” he says. The advantages of being on a Yelp, continues Evans, is to be on the other end of those apps, when potential customers need to quickly find a local restaurant or service. “It’s about customer impulse and point of sale,” he says

The key to a big payoff is positive reviews, which can be leveraged heavily by PR, says Roger Drake, senior VP of marketing and communications at Morton’s Restaurant Group.

One way that Morton’s takes advantage of those is to showcase reviews on their Web site. “We’ll post links to Yelp reviews on our individual sites,” says Drake. Drake adds that not everything in a review is peaches and cream (or New York strip and creamed spinach), as well they should be. “We don’t want to post four unbelievable reviews,” he says. “We want to be transparent with customers.”

At Marriott International, Jay Hamilton senior director of digital media looks at review sites as a customer service opportunity. Though sites such as TripAdvisor are normally monitored by individual Marriott properties, “we want everyone to be happy, and we’ll go to great lengths to make people’s complaints right,” says Hamilton. So comments are quickly passed to customer service reps to handle, and negatives are turned into positives.

Drake says Morton’s also tracks reviews that appear on restaurant reservation site OpenTable.com. “We regularly analyze those pretty carefully for positive or negative trends in our restaurants,” says Drake, who adds that “when people are paying $90 for a meal, expectations are high, and we strive to meet them.”

THE BAD....

Evans says that clients are often worried about appearing on sites such as Yelp. “They’ll ask how we can help shut this down, or how we can stop the bleeding,” he says.

So Evans reassures them with a Yelp statistic: Of those 11 million reviews, 85% of them are three stars or more (out of five).

On the other hand, there’s this statistic from a recent American Express customer service study: When consumers go online, they put greater credence in negative reviews than on positive ones (57% and 48%, respectively).

To counter the negativity, Evans recommends a hands-on policy. “You need to go in and have a conversation with them, and make things right,” he says. “More often than not you create a brand ambassador out of a disgruntled customer. And, other people can see that interaction and feel positive about your brand.”

Morton’s, says Drake, goes through a process when handling bad reviews. “We want to find out the details, reach the guest and talk directly to them,” he says. “We can track through a reservation to verify the experience, and handle it from there.”

Hamilton says Marriott has a slightly different philosophy about responding to bad reviews. “We feel that these sites are sacrosanct areas, places where consumers converse among themselves,” says Hamilton. “So we’re very selective about our responses.”

Whether you respond to all negative reviews or not, Humbarger feels it’s important to have a process set up to handle these sites. That process should include:

• Listen to what is being said about your brand by setting up alerts on Google or by using a free service like Social Mention (www.social mention.com) or any of the paid listening services.

• Register your business, which allows you to reply to comments posted (see sidebar for more tips pertaining to Yelp).

• Make it a policy to respond to every comment within 24-48 hours.

• Be genuine and sincere, and follow up to correct any deficiencies mentioned about your service.

THE UGLY

There really isn’t much ugliness involved in these sites, as long as transparency and natural conversation are part of the formula, says Drake.

But when organizations stray from honesty, the results can be devastating—like last year when cruise line Royal Caribbean was caught rewarding 50 “Royal Caribbean Champions”—people who frequently posted positive commentary about its cruises on Cruise Critic, a popular review site. Members of Cruise Critic were upset and turned off by the situation. So don’t make things ugly by being dishonest.

The challenge with review sites is cultural, says Evans. “People may say something bad—whether you talk to them or not—so why not use the opportunity to try and change their minds,” he says. “Don’t be afraid of the negativity that may come from these sites.” PRN

CONTACT:

Tom Humbarger, [email protected]; Bill Evans, [email protected]; Roger Drake, [email protected]; Jay Hamilton, [email protected].

How to Leverage Yelp for a Communications Advantage

Emerging as the leading consumer review site for many types of businesses both large and small, Yelp makes it easy for communicators to create awareness and offer promotions for their brands, says social media consultant Tom Humbarger. Here are some tips from Humbarger on how to best use Yelp:

• Provide basic business details: Businesses can register and then update this listing, which can include details about specialties and business history.

• Set up special promotions or announcements: Offers or announcements will appear at the top of your individual profile.

• Review alerts: Once you have set up an account, you will receive an e-mail message whenever you receive a new review or message. This is a great feature—you don’t have to keep reviewing your Yelp business page to look for new reviews.

• Message reviewers: Registered businesses can reply directly or publicly to people who have left reviews on their site. Humbarger recommends privately messaging reviewers—the personal contact is appreciated.

• View location dashboard: Businesses receive updates on the number of page views, as well as a dashboard with links to reviews and messages. It even tracks businesses with multiple locations.