How Word of Mouth Advertising translates into online social media
March 12, 2009
Everyone knows that word of mouth endorsements are generally the most effective and most desired form of advertising. They are free, generally self propagating and are also the most effective long term form of advertising in any medium. This is due to the generally accepted idea that people listen to, and trust, their friends.
Here are two excellent books that you can get on the subject:
Word of Mouth Advertising Online & Off by Lynn Thorne
Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz
How can this translate to online marketing?
The short answer is that Social Networking sites and forums (to a lesser degree today) are the internet equivalent of word of mouth advertising. People blogging/commenting about how awesome your products are will drive more business ready traffic into your website than a well designed banner or paid ad campaign.
The real trick in online advertising is to get the buzz started about you, your products, and your services. You have to be honest, in touch with your customers, and able to present information in an intrinsically compelling way. If you can do these three things, you will find an army of unpaid individuals who are willing to go out and spread the word on your behalf.
If you fail in one of these three key areas, then the masses will either abandon your business or will (worst case) rise up and speak out against you with negative word of mouth advertising through online media sources.
