Online Reviews Mastery: Turning Reviews Into a Fan Forum

[Garrett Sussman]

Online Reviews Mastery: Turning Reviews Into a Fan Forum

(A Sports Podcast Case Study)





​

This blog post was a slight departure from the previous posts. Partly a personal passion, this week I interviewed the host of a local Philly Basketball podcast. Why interview this guy? Well, they've stumbled upon a fascinating strategy for useful, funny, and contagious online reviews. In fact, the reviews of the podcast feel more like forum thread posts than reviews.

Online Reviews Mastery: Turning Reviews Into a Fan Forum

So what can a business learn from the reviews earned by the Rights To Ricky Sanchez podcast?

Reviews here are really the forum for an ongoing conversation between the hosts and their audience, so naturally the inside jokes and listener stories are part of the content of that conversation, as are the Sixers themselves and the topics covered in the podcast.

The point is: The conversation is bigger and broader than a series of “grades” given to the podcast.

This simple insight could spark ideas for any business:
Could restaurant reviews be a forum for a conversation about food or service, something both restaurant owners and patrons care about?

Could doctor reviews be a forum for a conversations about healthcare, something both providers and patients care about?

By reading reviews on-air, the hosts are not only rewarding reviewers for participating, they’re bringing it all full-circle: emphasizing the conversation over the one-way broadcast, stoking a sense of community and shared interest that drives participation.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this post? Did you enjoy this humorous case study?

Are any other companies you can think of that are eliciting unique reviews like this?

 

[Linda Buquet]

By reading reviews on-air, the hosts are not only rewarding reviewers for participating, they’re bringing it all full-circle: emphasizing the conversation over the one-way broadcast, stoking a sense of community and shared interest that drives participation.

I quoted that part because I love that concept!

It's part of the idea behind a new "Video Review Amplification" solution I've been working on.
(Mostly in my head - my hands still are not fully cooperating.)

Thanks for always sharing refreshing new review ideas with us Garrett!

 

[Garrett Sussman]

Thank you for the comment Linda! This is a departure from some of our other blog posts, but it reminded me of your thread of funny online reviews.

To your point about video review amplification, I could see that being a great interactive way to help get more customers involved in reviews! I'd be interested to see what sort of conversion your idea has. I would imagine that creating a video might be intimidating for the more introverted internet inhabitant, but a fun creative to-do for those that love social videos. If I had to guess, I'd think younger folks might be more likely to participate in video creation, but I could be very wrong!

 

[Linda Buquet]

To your point about video review amplification, I could see that being a great interactive way to help get more customers involved in reviews! I'd be interested to see what sort of conversion your idea has. I would imagine that creating a video might be intimidating for the more introverted internet inhabitant, but a fun creative to-do for those that love social videos. If I had to guess, I'd think younger folks might be more likely to participate in video creation, but I could be very wrong!

No intimidation. No being on camera. No talking. EASY. Yet super engaging.

The final product is something that a secretary could do in 1/2 hour.
No tech experience required.

 

[Garrett Sussman]

Love it! Anything that breaks down participation barriers sounds smart to me