<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Helpful reviews are like good movies or a good novel: if you’re hooked right away, you stay and remember. No matter how short, a review tells a story in much the same way as a novel. If you want to persuade, it should start with something dramatic and sensational or the key takeaway, rather than saving the best elements for the end. Narrative elements can change the way reviews influence people, and media literacy can go a long way. Social media influencers and professional reviewers should now also know that they are better off investing in creative writing or storytelling courses than choosing to analyze experiences factually. Further, software developers should learn to distinguish useful reviews from less helpful or relevant ones. With such skills, they can structure platforms in ways that make writing transporting, helpful, persuasive reviews as easy as possible and can develop algorithms that favor real and useful reviews.</p>
</abstract>

Helpful reviews are like good movies or a good novel: if you’re hooked right away, you stay and remember. No matter how short, a review tells a story in much the same way as a novel. If you want to persuade, it should start with something dramatic and sensational or the key takeaway, rather than saving the best elements for the end. Narrative elements can change the way reviews influence people, and media literacy can go a long way. Social media influencers and professional reviewers should now also know that they are better off investing in creative writing or storytelling courses than choosing to analyze experiences factually. Further, software developers should learn to distinguish useful reviews from less helpful or relevant ones. With such skills, they can structure platforms in ways that make writing transporting, helpful, persuasive reviews as easy as possible and can develop algorithms that favor real and useful reviews.

It’s the Story, Stupid: The Consumer Reviews Most Likely to Influence Purchasing Decisions

NIM Marketing Intelligence Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Helpful reviews are like good movies or a good novel: if you’re hooked right away, you stay and remember. No matter how short, a review tells a story in much...

It’s the Story, Stupid: The Consumer Reviews Most Likely to Influence Purchasing Decisions

Published Online: Oct 23, 2020

Page range: 46 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nimmir-2020-0017

Keywords
Consumer Choice, Consumer Research, Online Reviews, Storytelling

© 2020 Tom van Laer, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

It’s the Story, Stupid: The Consumer Reviews Most Likely to Influence Purchasing Decisions

Published Online: Oct 23, 2020

Page range: 46 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nimmir-2020-0017

KeywordsConsumer Choice, Consumer Research, Online Reviews, Storytelling

© 2020 Tom van Laer, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Consumer Choice, Consumer Research, Online Reviews, Storytelling