Will Yelp succeed in Australia? That’s the million dollar question. Yes they are late to market. But Yelp has global scale and the credibility of being around for an aeon in terms of “social sites” – established in 2004. Knowing what Australian’s are like, we do care about telling our friends/acquaintances/anyone about great customer experiences as much as punishing the the businesses that treat us badly.
I personally used Yelp in NYC when I visited earlier in the year, and found it invaluable because it turned up the best listings as part of a local Google search. The reviews pointed me to the kind of places I was interested in seeing. My gut feeling is that Yelp will succeed here if the social community gets on board and starts writing. It’s all about the quality of the reviews and the local knowledge.
[<a href="//storify.com/tiphereth/yelp-review-site-launches-in-australia" target="_blank">View the story "Yelp - local review site launches in Australia" on Storify</a>]<br /> <h1>Yelp – local review site launches in Australia</h1> <h2>Yelp is a review site launched in the United States in 2004, and on November 30 2011 launched its Australian site with Sydney and Melbourne. I attended the launch with Jeremy Stoppelman, Co founder and CEO of Yelp, and here’s an account and mini analysis using the twitterstream.</h2> <p>Storified by <a href=”http://storify.com/tiphereth”>Tiphereth Gloria</a>· Wed, Nov 30 2011 16:50:33</p> <div>#yelpau Yelp is officially launched in Sydney & Melb.Tiphereth Gloria</div> <div>"That’s not a 5-star review; THAT’S a 5-star review." – Crocodile Dundee in Yelp Goes Down Under http://bit.ly/siQ9Fn #yelpauYelp</div> <div>The team at @yellowpages_au welcomes http://www.Yelp.com.au to Australia today! http://yllwp.gs/ukmRYn #YelpAU #YellowPagesYellow Pages</div> <div>At the launch of #yelpau about to hear founder Jeremy speak http://pic.twitter.com/Ck5RujZhTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>Talking dead tree businesses and the opportunity for digital with @jeremys #yelpau http://vsb.li/qllAZ9Gavin Heaton</div> <div>User reviews weren’t the plan but took off organically and became key #YelpAUCraig Wilson</div> <div>#yelpau writing reviews was the focus. Getting friends to do it and then doing your own. Started in San Fran and spread to other US citiesTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>The challenge was to get local listing and this is where Sensis comes in. #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>#yelpau Sensis came on board to launch in Aust for the core local data. Rest of infrastructure is Yelp and based on genuine word of mouth.Tiphereth Gloria</div> <div>Needs depth in the local markets. #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>When it comes to communities – there’s "no way to cheat" #yelpauGavin Heaton</div> <div>#yelpau it’s going to grow organically Hosting and contributing. Meetup based, looking to create influencers or power users Yelp Elite SquadTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>A lot of the features are small business focused. So its great for those who are listed as well as those reading and writing the reviews. </div> <div>How do you control AstroTurfing? Fake and malicious is filtered thru an algorithm #yelpauTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>If you are a business owner, you can claim your free business analytics data and connect with reviewers #yelpauGavin Heaton</div> <div>#yelpau authenticated businesses get free tools & analytics. Businesses can reply to reviews and message privately if neccTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>A lot of times, the answers don’t exist, so you need community not search #yelpauGavin Heaton</div> <div>#yelpau advice to small business to offer a great experienceGordon Whitehead</div> <div>Small businesses don’t have to be web savvy to benefit from #yelpau – it’s web listings and referrals by defaultGavin Heaton</div> <div>#yelpau Harvard Business Review found when rating went up a star, business revenue went up 5-9%Tiphereth Gloria</div> <div>HBS study finds positive Yelp.com reviews lead to increased business | Harvard MagazineA new study by Harvard Business School assistant professor Michael Luca finds that a positive evaluation on the popular review site Yelp….</div> <div>Hello local businesses? Will you hop onto Yelp? #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>Features of the site are up there with the best practice social sites including rewarding the best reviewers</div> <div>Yelp Elite Group. The one to aim for reviewers. #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>#yelpau game mechanics are there like other sites eg FoursquareTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>Monocle is an AR feature on the Yelp app. #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>#yelpau can get vanity URL for users. Sign up with your real name connect your social networks – can use nicknamesTiphereth Gloria</div> <div>Mobile is changing Yelp strategy. Light weight contribution is getting more important. #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>Reactions from the Twittersphere were mixed</div> <div>Yelp launches in Australia today….what more channels! just as well I have deft fingers.#yelpAU http://ow.ly/7J4WlBrendon O’Sullivan</div> <div>Yelp has launched in Australia. This is a big deal. http://www.yelp.com.au/ #YelpAUAndy Howard</div> <div>A #yelpau search for Pizzas in Neutral Bay gives me results in Pyrmont, Newtown & Bondi Beach on 1st page. This is not good.Paul Wallbank</div> <div>Unsure how I feel about #yelpau coming to Aust as a #Sensis business unit. I’ve seen too many mistakes (print + online) to trust Sensis.Ellen Moore</div> <div>@paulwallbank Honestly, I don’t think I’d use Yelp. Have enough geographic spread in my Twitter people to find out stuff about >> #yelpauMatthew Hatton</div> <div>HBS study finds positive http://Yelp.com reviews lead to 5-9% increase in business revenue http://bit.ly/ttlKk7 #yelpauChris Naylor</div> <div>@bernietb @paulwallbank it’s rep in the US seems positive, I guess it depends on if it can translate in the Aust market. #yelpauEllen Moore</div> <div>Prepare to Yelp http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/prepare-to-yelp-customer-reviews-are-coming-20111129-1o504.html Nice, this is invaluable when travelling in the states. Will need a lot users to work. #yelp #yelpauMichael Davis</div> <div>The great thing about Yelp versus Foursquare is that you can follow reviewers without becoming friends. I like that! #yelpauhelencrozier</div> <div>Yelp Australia launches today, will consumer reviews be as popular here as in the US? #yelpau http://ow.ly/7J6a8 http://www.yelp.com.au/Acxiom Australia</div> <div>So, what does everyone think of the launch of reviews site Yelp in Australia? The #yelpau feed isn’t looking too positive.charispalmer</div> <div>Good news, Yelp’s here. Individually I think you’re crackpots but collectively you are a genius hivemind rivaling The Formics. #yelpaubenmckelvey</div> <div>Just writing up my first review on #yelpaujeroxie</div> <div>So ‘Yelp’ is launching in Australia? After all this time, and with a growing sense of "review fatigue" they should have branded it ‘Yawn’.Derek Jenkins</div> <div>We managed to get the #yelpau hashtag to trend in the right places!</div> <div>#yelpau & ‘check-in’ are now trending in #Melbourne http://trendsmap.com/au/melbourneTrendsmap Melbourne</div> <div>#yelpau is now trending in #Sydney http://trendsmap.com/au/sydneyTrendsmap Sydney</div> <div>Will Yelp succeed in Australia? That’s the million dollar question. Yes they are late to market. But Yelp has global scale and the credibility of being around for an aeon in terms of “social sites” - established in 2004. Knowing what Australian’s are like, we do care about telling our friends/acquaintances/anyone about great customer experiences as much as punishing the the businesses that treat us badly. <div><br></div> <div>I personally used Yelp in NYC when I visited earlier in the year, and found it invaluable because it turned up the best listings as part of a local Google search. The reviews pointed me to the kind of places I was interested in seeing. My gut feeling is that Yelp will succeed here if the social community gets on board and starts writing. It’s all about the quality of the reviews and the local knowledge. </div> <div><br></div> <div>To finish, I’ll quote Yelp CEO @JeremyS:</div> <div><br></div> <div><b>Great customer service is the new marketing. Social customers then do the marketing for the business.</b></div> <div><b><br></b></div> <div>This is what the micro businesses who have no idea about web marketing really need. And Yelp helps fulfil that need.</div> </div> <div>#yelpau great customer service is the new marketing. Social customers then do the marketing for the businessTiphereth Gloria</div>
