• Create a Yelp account (if you don't already have one)
  • Activate your account and log into the site
  • Navigate to the Washington DC homepage
  • Click on the "About Me" tab at the top of the homepage, click "Update Your Profile" and complete your profile as much as possible
  • Add a few friends if you don't already have some - you can start with your classmates (search by name)


  • Search for Salon Balayage - notice the overall star rating and scan through the reviews
  • Search for Ozuki Salon - notice the overall star rating and scan through the reviews
  • Between the two salons, which one would you be more apt to patronize and why?
  • From the perspective of a potential entrepreneur, business owner, marketing, or PR professional, what can we take away from the differences between these two business listings on Yelp?  What types of reviews are desirable or undesirable?  Is there are particular type of yelper that a business should desire to review them?


  • Do a Member Search for Dan D - select the first result to open his profile - scan over it briefly
  • Do a Member Search for Patrick H - select the second result to open his profile - scan over it briefly
  • Which of these two yelpers would you be more apt to read/trust the reviews of and why?
  • What assumptions can we make about these two yelpers in terms of their engagement with the site, and with their grasp of the utility of Yelp?  Does one user have more influence than the other from a reader's perspective?  Why?


  • Click on the "Browse All Events" link on the yelp.com/dc homepage and scroll down to select the event Debate Watching at The Big Hunt - scan the event page briefly
  • Go back to the events page and click "Jump to Date" and select October 5th, then select daylight - scan the event page briefly
  • In comparing these two event listings, what is the most striking difference between them?  Are there any conclusions we can draw about the daylight event?  Why do you think that these two listings show such different levels of interest?  As a promoter, PR agent, or marketing professional, what conclusions can you draw about generating event buzz in a social networking environment?


  • Return to the Washington DC homepage and click on "See More" under the "Hot on Yelp" section - these are the highest ranked businesses as determined by recent bookmarks
  • Scan the page - what utility does this section have for yelpers?  Businesses have extremely limited access to users - they can only directly private message (PM) a yelper that has already submitted a review for their business.  Even so, how can businesses make use of the information offered from this listing?


  • Returning to the comparison between Salon Balayage and Ozuki Salon above, and given what you have learned from the above, as a CEO, CMO, PR director, or a third party counsel:
  • What improvement advice would you offer to the business that you feel holds a stronger position on Yelp? 
  • What improvement advice would you offer to the business that you feel holds a weaker position on Yelp?






  • Search for a business listing that you have recently patronized - a restaurant, a hair stylist, a grocery store, etc.
  • Scan the reviews, then write your own
  • Share the review by clicking the "Send to a Friend" link once the review has been posted
  • Be sure to read other classmates' reviews, then provide feedback via the vote buttons (Useful, Funny, Cool) and compliments
  • Which reviews receive a greater volume of feedback?  Can we extrapolate on why that is?  Consider from a business owner's perspective - if you have one message that you are permitted to send to a yelper that has written a review for your business, what type of messaging would you employ in order to open a dialogue with your customer?


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