NB: This is a guest article by Gilles Granger, founder of travel review website Vinivi.
Professionally-written travel reviews are a turn-off for consumers, whose "everyman" instincts lead them to identify more strongly with the amateur approach.
This has arguably been played out recently following the downsizing of the Simonseeks operation, reflecting not just the cost-based challenge to the business model, but also a psychological one.
Similarity is more important than expertise. It is a recognised part of behavioural psychology that individuals are typically subject to the similarity-attraction proposition whereby a sense of "identification" within a group strengthens rapport and therefore trust – so professionals trust professionals and consumers trust consumers.
The average person is more influenced by the opinions of everyday individuals because so-called "same boat"-thinking brings an appealing sense of level playing field and enables them to match the experiences with their own situations and preferences.
This is particularly relevant to a relatively high risk purchase such as travel. Writing about travel for a living generally leads to a more "seasoned" way of appreciating and evaluating than the average traveler which puts distance between the consumer and reviewer.
Groups and similarity are the key drivers of the social media age, and travel companies will do well to focus their energies on generating and managing content provided by their most typical guests.
Here are some points to consider:
1. The nature of the social media age
A business model relying on professional reviewing flies in the face of the driving principle of the peer-to-peer marketing age – which is that online forums are replacing our traditional reliance on the "wisdom of the specialist" by the "knowledge of the many".
2. Travel is an experience-based product
Whilst I accept that in other sectors - medicine, for example - an expert review might be deemed more helpful, the increased subjectivity of a peer review for travel is more valuable.
3. Buyer experience affects the richness of content
A professionally-produced opinion often lends itself to be more restrained, often rather bland when it comes to reviews. So-called "novices", on the other hand, are more likely to express themselves more freely, whether positively or negatively, adding to the credibility of the content.
4. Style of web reviews
Electronic word of mouth is naturally very personable, and at its most relevant when the communication is informal. User reviews have the benefit of a degree of "artlessness" which makes them convincing. The odd typo or grammatical error generates a sense of reality, credibility and genuineness.
5. Curious travellers
Consumers like to evaluate theor options based on a range of opinions, so the limitations presented by the paid-for model means that there is simply not a large volume of opinions to be useful.
6. Professionals are paid to write reviews
It is not rocket science to recognise that a purchased opinion may be subject to influences which don’t affect the unpaid reviewer. Supplier-hosted or paid opinion can ultimately detract from the review's credibility.
NB: This is a guest article by Gilles Granger, founder of travel review website Vinivi.