“Word of mouth” has always been the most effective form of marketing being people always trust their friends opinion over advertising and now
- We’ve reached a point, where 14% of people trust ads but 78% people trust consumer recommendations (Neilsen Global trust advertising survey)
- McKinsey & Co. estimate that 2/3 of the economy is now influenced by personal recommendations
People still talk to each other face-to-face but internet has allowed information to be shared across globe with speed of light and now internet is the largest mass-communication medium. There are reasons why people are talking about you:
- Because they were asked to provide their opinion
- Because either they love you or hate you
- Because their community or network talking about you
It means conversations already happening about you over internet, so question arises what to do. Here are some options:
- Ignore and risk your brand
- Engage influencers
The option is very clear, so better engage them. Here are Six C’s of social media:
- Communication (blogs,podcasts, video & photo sharing)
- Conversation (word of mouth: puts the “social” in your social media)
- Community-Building (tweets, facebook…)
- Customizations (unique messages for different audiences)
- Collaboration and Contribution (users become part of process in shaping brand image)
So, managing your social media with specific actions using word of mouth marketing can produce way better results then traditional advertising like:
- Taking surveys
- Distributing or downloading offers
- Content publishing
- Asking for recommendations
Bottom line is people are talking about your brand right now and if you monitor what people are talking over internet and treat them same way as your treat their opinions or recommendations in same way as you treat your friends then guess what, “The people don’t like you will start to love you and the people that love you will become your brand ambassadors or advocates”.
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