Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Tried and tested
Word-of-mouth marketing has been around for centuries. Before marketing really existed it was common practice to choose a business or service provider based on information from other people. For millennia, verbal communication (talking) has been the main method of discussion in communities across the globe.But while the power of word-of-mouth marketing remains unchanged, the means in which we take advantage of it has. The internet and social media has radically changed how we use word-of-mouth messaging as a means of marketing, resulting in Digital Word-of-Mouth Marketing (or Electronic Word-of-Mouth Marketing).
When it comes to making buying decisions, people trust information from their family and friends more than any other form of information. They turn to their community for recommendations before purchasing any kind of good or service. Consumers will default to the opinions of their friends, family, colleagues and social peers far more than they'll listen to even the best marketing pitch.
With the amount of content (digital or otherwise) besieging consumers on a daily basis, how can they be expected to distinguish the good from the bad or the false from the true? It's no wonder people like to default to word-of-mouth.
Now instead of picking up the phone to call a colleague or going to get coffee with a trusted friend, consumers are turning to the internet (particularly social networks) as a source for trusted opinions, reviews and advice more frequently than ever before.
What makes electronic word of mouth marketing so powerful?
People like to share
Our need to share explains the success of consumer review sites, discussion forums and social media sites such as Twitter. There are several psychological explanations for this sharing behavior from the need to connect and belong, the need to help others and the need to be perceived as someone with the right connections and knowledge. One person reaches several others and each of them can share the message with their network of friends and so on. This explains the viral potential of eWOM.
People seek advice online
Whenever we plan to make a purchase we first want to get informed about the subject online. Online reviews are used as important information sources, shape consumer attitudes towards a product and influence sales.People trust other people
We trust the opinion of a real person more than we trust advertising, news by the traditional media or information on a corporate website. This is called 'social proof'. Electronic Word of Mouth has a large effect on consumer buying decisions. And of course people can be positively influenced or negatively by this.Engagement: Likes, shares, comments, followers
To harness the power of digital word-of-mouth, you need to create social media and online content such as photos, videos, stories, etc that appeal enough for people to engage with your content. They do this by liking, sharing or commenting, and following you on social media.
Engagement is all about building connections.These people are engaging with you and are more likely to buy your product or service.
For example, a guesthouse on the beach in Sri Lanka posts a picture of a beautiful sunrise, or a beach wedding on their Facebook page. Someone seeing the post on a friend's timeline admires the photo, clicks 'like' and then shares it on their own timeline - perhaps tagging a friend that is getting married soon. This friend becomes excited about the prospect of visiting the guesthouse and follows them on social media. Perhaps they leave a comment, asking the best time of year to visit. If the guesthouse replies to the comment with useful information, the friend considers making a booking at the guesthouse. This is engagement.
Traditional word-of-mouth is when information gets shared from one person to another.The beauty of digital word-of-mouth is that information shared by one person can very quickly be shared and seen by many.
Summary
- Word-of -mouth is an age-old method of sharing information and has evolved in the digital age using the internet and social media.
- People are more likely to trust advice from friends or family than from strangers or marketing ads.
- Engagement with people through your social media via likes, shares, follows, comments, etc is important to attract customers.