Traditional Advertising v Peer Trust

Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers, pointed out years ago that 78% of consumers trust each other more than they trust advertising. That insight has only grown stronger with time. People don’t tune in to ads. They tune them out. Instead, they turn to their peers on social media, recommendation sites, and review platforms to guide their decisions.

Take Yelp, for example. Founded in 2004, it set out to connect people with great local businesses including dentists to restaurants. Back in 2010, Yelp had 33 million monthly visitors and 12 million reviews. Fast-forward to today, and Yelp reports over 80 million monthly unique visitors and more than 287 million reviews worldwide. That’s an enormous shift in how people discover and trust businesses.

And Yelp isn’t alone. Platforms like Google Reviews, TripAdvisor, and even TikTok have become trusted sources for recommendations. For many, the first step in choosing a restaurant, hair stylist, or mechanic isn’t seeing an ad, it’s checking what friends or strangers are saying online.

So, is traditional advertising dead? Maybe not completely, but it’s on life support. The real power now lies in peer influence and authentic reviews. Who needs ads when you have trusted voices such as friends, influencers, and everyday consumers shaping your choices?

John Bradley Jackson

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http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/people-trust-media.asp