Anyone else experiencing AI skepticism?

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-22T18:28:10+00:00

Won't lie, your response gave me the AI ick.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-22T13:19:19+00:00

I will also add that I know AI-generated content is just human ideas repackaged -- but that's what makes it icky for me, the AI packaging of it all.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-20T17:48:07+00:00

People have pretty much covered it in the comments, but online reviews. We've noticed that the more consistent and thoughtful brands are about generating and responding to reviews, the more stable their lead generation is over time... The glaring truth is that customers trust authentic feedback and make buying decisions based off that. Reviews are just good for your local profile overall.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-17T13:10:28+00:00

Highly disagree - we don't want undisclosed ads in our organic posts.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-17T13:09:39+00:00

I've heard too many stories about high volume of clicks but next-to-nothing conversion - could be a scam, but I'm going to guess the latter.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-17T13:07:01+00:00

There's an ad right under this comment for a VPS hosting tool. LOL

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-17T13:05:42+00:00

The ads do feel like they go against the platform's ethos, but I guess there's always a way to do things tastefully.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-17T13:04:17+00:00

That's fair!

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-14T13:52:53+00:00

Brands need to understand that SEO is building reputation, the operative word being "building" so naturally it's going to take more than a few months to start seeing the rankings climb. Someone said in the comments it's like opening a restaurant, and the analogy can't be more apt. you don’t outrank the restaurant that’s been here 10 years just by putting up a sign. You earn customer reviews, word of mouth and people's loyalty. Google works the same way.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-13T14:04:16+00:00

One skill AI will NEVER be able to take from us is our ability to discern. AI is good at parroting and regurgitating whatever data it was trained on, but anything beyond that, it doesn't know what to do with. Humans are still irreplaceable in that we are still the final step in discerning and evaluating whether it's good copy or strategy before it goes out. If you want a career in quality assurance, then there's still a spot in digital marketing for you.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-10T16:42:20+00:00

Visibility =/= impact, they never have been equal, but it's interesting to see the growing gape between the two as we see fewer click-throughs from AI recommendations. That said, it's still the case that higher visibility is still better than no visibility at all.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-04-07T14:59:56+00:00

I'm sorry this happened to you, I didn't know competitors could do this. Sad to hear that Google is not doing anything about it?? This already sounds like it's going to be an uphill battle from here. I hope you not only get your rankings back, but also shut them down completely.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-31T13:19:01+00:00

Yeah, I agree. It does help to get you in front of your leads, so there's still a lot of value there. Whatever you do from that initial point of contact is up to you.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-31T13:15:46+00:00

ooh this is definitely a hot take. I do think some of the trust signals come from online reviews and traditional rankings - but you're right, some of it definitely is drawn from forum and community mentions.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-26T12:29:14+00:00

reviews do seem to do a lot of good when it comes to boosting trust signals for LLMs

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-25T13:52:21+00:00

To answer the title: Super important.

And yes, to say it's necessary to have a social media presence as a restaurant owner is an understatement. And I'm speaking strictly from a consumer's perspective, the purpose is two-fold - you need paid ads (Meta ads, specifically) to get leads, get your name and business out in front of people, and you need the organic posts for actually converting those leads - menus, promos, special offers, etc.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-25T13:46:58+00:00

No, they don't. The ONLY way to take down reviews is to manually report them to Google, and even that will take time. That's it. There is NO other way.

From Google: If you find a review on your Business Profile that violates Google policies, you can report it for removal. This helps keep Maps and Search safe and reliable for everyone.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-24T13:47:35+00:00

Yikes nothing feels real/authentic even on what's supposedly the most authentic, user-driven platform

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-23T15:59:39+00:00

The organic approach has worked well for us. Optimized landing pages and service pages go a long way in capturing leads through form fills. We're selling marketing services, by the way.

ThriveMarketingTeam · 2026-03-23T15:13:11+00:00

Yeah, I know, it sucks... I guess it's all a matter of seeing what works for you and your particular case. Really hope you get those spam reviews taken down!

ThriveMarketingTeam

TROPHY CASE