Table of Contents
Introduction
Word of mouth marketing is one of the most coveted forms of marketing in the business world. Why? Because, as studies have shown, people trust other people more than they trust the companies that release the material. If you can get people talking about your brand or product, you’re much more likely to see results than if you solely rely on marketing mediums such as social platforms, television, or traditional media.
In fact, some experts are now saying that word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to use your social platforms. So how can you do this creatively and stand out from the crowd? Read on to hear what some of our business gurus had to say on the matter.
Influence the Influencers
Influencers have become one of the most powerful tools that organizations can use to get the word out about the product or service that you’re offering. They already have a captive audience and this method has become popular because the influencers can be selected by their current audience so a business can market to the target audience they want.
“Influencers don’t have to be celebrities or people with millions of followers,” says Marcus Hutsen, Business Development Manager of Patriot Coolers. “If you’re trying to influence your local area, look for influencers that are local and have a great impact on your community”.
“If you can get influencers talking about your product by posting videos or photos of themselves using it, you’re more likely to make an impact and see the post be shared or interacted with than if you were to post something about it yourself,” says Daniel Osman, Head of Sales for Balance Homes. “People trust their peers and these influencers more than they trust us even if they can see it’s a sponsored post.”
User Generated Content
User generated content, sometimes called UGC, is a way of encouraging your clients to post about your brand and product and therefore creating word-of-mouth advertisements. Typically there is some incentive or reward for this whether it’s a discount, entry into a giveaway, or the draw of earning views by being ‘trendy’.
“If you can get your consumers to post about your product online, you’re generating content and reaching people you otherwise wouldn’t in a way that resonates more personally with them,” says Zach Goldstein, CEO of Public Rec. “It’s a known fact that people trust their friends and peers more than a brand when it comes to promotions, so this really is the golden ticket in the marketing world.”
“User generated content is one of the highest value materials of the marketing world,” says Eric Gist, CEO of Awesome OS. “People like to share their opinions and their ideas – especially if there’s some sort of reward in it for them. Think of it as having thousands of free interns sharing info about your product to people you’d never reach.”
Make Your Customers Feel Valued
More and more customers are valuing the service they receive and the interactions they have with brands. With so many brands operating through the internet, customer service looks a lot different than it did many years ago. It’s important that brands use appropriate methods to communicate how much they value their consumers even if they’re not meeting them face-to-face.
“Respond publicly to your reviews,” says Shaun Price, Head of Customer Acquisition for MitoQ. “It seems like such a miniscule thing, but it communicates to your clients – current and future – that you are intentional about your relationship with them and are responsive to their praises or complaints. This is especially true in young businesses who are looking to build their reputation. Avoid auto-response systems since these can make people feel less valued and like their comments don’t matter enough for someone to personally respond.”
“The millennial and gen z generations are showing us more and more that they do appreciate interaction,” says Anne-Marie Faiola, CEO and Founder of Bramble Berry. There’s a misconception that because they buy things online more frequently than other generations, they don’t care about customer service or interactions. In reality, they’re drawn to brands that make them feel valuable and important. They want to be communicated with intentionally to know that they are seen and heard.”
Make it Trendy
If you want to see your word-of-mouth marketing take off, you have to keep up with the trends on social media. Social media trends are more difficult to navigate than you might think, but they’re a phenomenal way to reach your audience if you’re able to master this art.
“Trends are a great way to fuel your brand’s online presence and hopefully make it onto the pages of people you wouldn’t have otherwise impacted,” says Phillip Montalvo, Director of Marketing for Azuna Fresh. “Most of the trends we see today seem to revolve around a song, dance, or hashtag due to the rising popularity of things like Instagram and Facebook Reels and TikTok.”
“Some trends may leave us scratching our heads but if it gets us in front of our audience and allows us to make a positive impact, that’s a win,” says Derin Oyekan, Co-founder of Reel Paper. “Trends are a great way to humanize your company and help people feel like they can connect with you while creating word-of-mouth marketing by encouraging people to share or interact with the post so that others will see it.”
Crowdsource
Crowdsourcing goes hand in hand with the earlier idea of making the customer feel valued. What better way to make people feel important than to ask them to help you make decisions. People love to give their opinions and crowdsourcing can help you improve your research as well.
“Crowdsourcing allows a brand to receive direct feedback from their customers to use for future decisions,” says William Schumacher, Founder and CEO of Uprising Food. “By creating polls, idea challenges, and other interactive posts where people are not only giving you ideas but sharing them with their followers, you’re gaining new perspectives while also spreading the word about your brand.”
“Word of mouth marketing tends to be forgotten now that we’re in the digital age, but crowdsourcing is a great way to jump into this technique,” says Ashwin Sokke, Co-founder of WOW Skin Science. “Crowdsourcing is a great way to gain word-of-mouth and gather data all at once.”
Conclusion
Word of mouth marketing is a valuable method of sharing information about a project. You can implement many different methods to come up with creative word of mouth marketing strategies that will propel your company onto the social media platforms and into the ears of people that you wouldn’t otherwise reach.
