Online Scams: How to Make an Educated Purchase Decision

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In the previous two articles we investigated two common internet scams featuring Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Fake Online Reviews.  Each of these had their own individual tips on how to avoid falling for suspect marketing techniques.

But how can an a savvy consumer reduce the risk of being taken by an Online scammer when making a purchase?

Online Scams: Faking Online Reviews

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

CBC Marketplace recently aired two segments investigating online reviews both on review websites (i.e. TripAdvisor and Yelp!) and company websites (i.e. Amazon, TigerDirect, etc.).  CBC Marketplace found that many of the posted reviews were from either regular average customers, paid marketers or even average customer reviews that have been edited.

The original intentions of online reviews both on review websites and company websites were to allow average people to provide authentic reviews on their experiences in purchasing goods and/or services.  For quite a while this was the case until marketers researched the influence of these reviews and how they impacted consumer purchasing. Marketers quite simply found the more positive a product or service was reviewed positively the higher sales increased. This finding resulted in marketers writing their own reviews on review websites and possibly editing customer reviews on company websites as needed.  Excellent examples of marketer's using these tactics can be found in the aforementioned CBC Marketplace segments.

What are some tips that business owners and consumers use to avoid falling for these fake review tactics? 

CASE STUDY: Why allow others to tag photos in Facebook?

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Social Media provides plenty of opportunities for interactions between not only users but also businesses and their customers.  Suddcorp Solutions attended both the July and October 2014 eSAX events.  Jarrod Goldsmith, the founder of eSAX, uses a number of social media platforms to promote his quarterly networking events.  As well, during these events many attendees take photos of others and the event venue.  

How to Advertise Your Event on Facebook

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Should I Keep That Linkedin Endorsement or Remove It?

Linkedin has two ways to prove your professional worth, written recommendations and endorsements.  These provide excellent opportunities for those who know you recommend you via both written testimonial or endorse you for a certain skill.  We have previously written on the difference between the two and how to obtain them here.

Confused by a Social Media Term? Check the Social Media Glossary!

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One of the reasons Suddcorp Solutions exists is to help businesses and individuals understand social media in an easy to understand fashion. One of the main issues we come across when helping clients start their social media journey is clients end up stuck on industry jargon. Social media terms like "Friend" and "Connection" and  can be a little scary at first but once these are understood many are eager to move forward.  Other new users may need a simple reference to refresh themselves on what exactly a social media term means.  So where can one turn to get an easy to understand social media terminology?

Today Suddcorp Solutions is pleased to announce that we have just released our own Social Media Glossary easily found on our website. 

The Social Media Glossary is meant to provide simple to understand quick definitions of common industry terms. For those who wish to delve deeper into a term, many terms link to articles that do just that.  

The Glossary is also an ongoing working document where new terms can be added and current terms updated. Thus, if you have a question about a certain term and it's not in the glossary, feel free to contact us and we'll be sure to research and your term. 

How to Get Recommendations and Endorsements on Linkedin

Linkedin is a great way to investigate others you may want to partner with, purchase products or services from or to work for.  Whether looking for employment or being a business person, recommendations and endorsements on Linkedin are a powerful way to show credibility in what you are claiming to be and not just trying to sell yourself.

But Recommendations and Endorsements on Linkedin are not the same.  In fact, Recommendations are much more powerful and valuable than Endorsements.  Let's take a closer look at each and how to go about getting them.

Look Professional with a Custom URL for Your E-mail

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In business a professional image is always being sought after.  One of the first things prospective clients are going to see is both your website and your e-mail address. Whether it be through searching online or meeting a representative of your company at a networking event, a prospective client is going to see an e-mail address to contact you.  Which would you rather see as a customer:

Words to Avoid Like the Plague on Linkedin!

Linkedin is a great tool for business professionals and job prospectors to search through and connect with others.  According to Mashable, there were 300 million Linkedin users worldwide as of April 2014. With that many users how does one use Linkedin and rise above the crowd to be found? Make sure your profile avoids using common overused keywords in your Linkedin profile and, for added value, your Résumé.

In December 2013, Linkedin released the most used words within their member's profiles.  Linkedin found that these 10 words showed up the most:

1. Responsible
2. Strategic
3. Creative
4. Effective
5. Patient
6. Expert
7. Organizational
8. Driven
9. Innovative
10. Analytical

Obviously to stand out profiles want to avoid these words as much as possible.  But what happens if you're a "Creatively Organized Strategic Person" or a combination of other words?  There are ways around this.

Your Thesaurus may help.  Thesauruses are great tools for a Linkedin profile writer to avoid the most overused words on Linkedin or even to avoid overusing a single word multiple times in a profile itself. Thesauruses provide writers with an extensive list of similar words (synonyms) that can be used to replace a word that may be overused.

Don't have a Thesaurus?  No problem, if you are reading this article, there is a powerful tool at your fingertips. Google!  Here's the steps on how you can turn Google into a powerful Thesaurus search tool:

1. Visit www.google.com

2. Enter in the word you want something similar to and add the word "synonym" at the end. For example: "Expert Synonym"

3. Scroll through the search results and select a source to examine.  We find good results usually come from Thesaurus.com, CollinsDictionary.com, and Merriam-Webster.com.

4. In the source (i.e. Thesaurus.com) work your way through the recommended words until there is a word that works for your context and insert it.

Besides avoiding Linkedin.com's listed overused words, using a Thesaurus will also help to spiff up your Linkedin profile for the reader who has found your personal page. By using a variety of words to describe your duties as well as accomplishments, it makes your profile more interesting to read.  The average reader, never mind a recruiter, will grow bored with your profile after about the third consecutive use of the same word.  If the person reading your profile is bored, and moved onto the next candidate your chance at connecting for a big job or contract are lost. However, if you read as an intelligent yet exciting person in your field, you are more likely to end up on the either recruiters list or as a possible partner for another business.   So make sure you use a Thesaurus to review your possibilities to make your Linkedin profile shine!

Starting out with Linkedin?  Have a Linkedin profile that needs help? Suddcorp Solutions can help write an engaging profile and show you how to make the most of this professional platform.