For instance, you could send automated welcome emails when someone first subscribes to your list.
It also leaves you open to negative word-of-mouth and in-person reviews, which you want to avoid at all costs!
And the great news is, you can get going for free by offering high-quality products, excellent customer service, and a top-notch consumer experience.
Impressive, right?
Influencer marketing is huge right now. If you don’t know what an influencer is, they’re individuals with large numbers of followers within their niche.
That’s 179,000 free pieces of content related to their products circulating the web – powerful, right?
You could even start live streaming regularly. This provides you and your customers the perfect opportunity to communicate in real-time!
In 2011, they coined the phrase “Netflix & Chill” and used it in all their social media marketing. The term is now fully embedded on all Netflix’s social media sites.
What’s Word-of-Mouth Marketing? (WOM)
Fast forward to today, and info is available en masse and never more than a few clicks away.
Start by optimising your website and customer experience and following up with existing customers to keep them engaged.
The Benefits of Word-of-Mouth-Marketing
Stick to tried and proven content marketing strategies to start growing your blog.
Organic Word-of-Mouth – This is closest to the original meaning of the term. Organic word-of-mouth marketing occurs when your customers are happy with your service and become your advocates. They recommend you to friends and family because of the memorable experience with your products and customer service. This type of WOM is free and snowballs by itself – all you have to do is focus on providing an excellent customer experience, and the rest is history!
The campaign attracted 179,000 images of customers uniting over their underwear range.
When your neighbour’s word was the best indication of the quality you might get from a brand.
The same goes for thank-you emails when a customer makes a purchase.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing – How Does it Work?
As well as that, it’s also worth remembering that social media shouldn’t be a one-way street. Be active on your chosen platforms and comment on relevant content.
In terms of styling your blog posts, there are no hard and fast rules. However, guides, listicles, and reviews are all popular formats worth experimenting with.
With this data to hand, you’ll know with certainty that you’re writing about a topic of genuine interest to your audience.
User-Generated Content
Interestingly, as many as 83% of clients are happy to provide companies with a referral if they receive a positive experience.
These pay influencers a commission if they sell a product through their affiliate link.
As such, if an influencer recommends your product, their audience is likely to be receptive to it.
If you’re unsure where to start, never fear. We’re breaking down everything you need to know here in this article.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Unleashing its Power in 2021 (Tips and Tricks)
First, we’ll take a look at a few approaches to amplified WOM:
Create a Buzz on Social Media
This means picking loyal brand ambassadors to represent your products.
Another great way to encourage WOM is to create engaging, shareable, viral content for social media – and video is a great place to start.
Now that we’ve explored a few examples of amplified WOM, let’s turn our attention to organic approaches.
This is all the more important if you lack the writing chops to produce high-quality content nor have the time to dedicate to content marketing.
Amplified Word-of-Mouth – This type builds upon organic word-of-mouth marketing by employing strategies that prompt new or existing audiences to promote your business. An example of Amplified Word-of-Mouth Marketing might be a business hosting an Instagram campaign that encourages users to post photos of themselves with the product.
Like most online marketing forms, WOM functions best when you lay out a specific roadmap.
To capitalise on this, you need to make high-quality customer service and the consumer experience your top priorities.
Influencer Marketing
If you’re not sure how to establish an ‘active’ social media presence, here are some ideas to get the ball rolling:
That said, there are plenty of things you can do to take a proactive approach to WOM.
This means going over and above to ensure shoppers have a positive interaction with your brand.
The fashion brand promoted its underwear by encouraging its customers on Instagram to post a photo of themselves wearing the product with the hashtag.
As you go about creating your marketing plan, here are a few strategies you could employ.
So, why not scroll through your followers to see whether any influencers are already customers of your product? This is a great starting point!
That’s why it’s worth regularly auditing your website’s performance and speed.
Interestingly, as many as 92% of users that watch an engaging video on their mobile device will share it with others.
While this isn’t literal ‘word of mouth,’ the word about your brand is getting around, and that’s what matters!
Referral Marketing
For the uninitiated, there are two types of WOM:
It shouldn’t take long to find a contact method online. You could even set up an online help centre where customers can access self-help resources and answers to more straightforward queries.
If you’ve already made customer service and the consumer experience a priority, there’s a good chance you’re doing these things.
Often, this describes a direct referral between friends and family members.
How?
That’s why providing shoppers with a first-rate customer experience is crucial for WOM.
When you create a sense of community with your brand at its pinnacle, your customers are more likely to refer you to others.
This is key to establishing a memorable brand, which, of course, is essential for WOM.
How to Unleash the Full Potential of Organic WOM
The key to influencer marketing success is creating an authentic marketing strategy.
Despite that, the power of word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) hasn’t diminished.
Not only that, but it’s great for encouraging your audience to discuss your content in the comments and engage with one another.
Build Strong Client and Customer Relationships
On top of that, 85% of small businesses get discovered as a result of WOM recommendations.
Social proof, product recommendations, and referrals passed around the internet not only inspire new purchases but are great for your website’s SEO too.
You could even consider creating an amplified WOM campaign by encouraging followers to create user-generated content on social media.
Dropbox is a prime example of referral marketing. Subscribers who refer a friend who then subscribes receive 1GB extra storage per referral.
Here’s another quick customer service fix: Double-check it’s easy for customers to contact you with their questions or concerns.
Social Media
However, optimising your business aspects will have the added side-effect of getting you more WOM recommendations. Let’s take a look:
User-generated content is when customers publish online content that supports your content marketing efforts.
If you’re not already, start sending personalised emails to create a warmer relationship with customers.
Your website’s usability has a considerable bearing on the visitor’s experience. A website that’s slow to load, full of broken links, isn’t mobile-friendly, etc., will turn customers away and frustrate your audience.
Beyond using email marketing funnels to send promotions and newsletters, harness the power of email to make customers feel seen and appreciated.
- Take a stance on current social and environmental issues.
- Converse with your customers via DMs and comments
- Answer questions your followers ask you.
- Share highlights from your community
Referral marketing is all about one individual sharing their positive opinions about your product with others.
Email Marketing
Alternatively, you can attract the attention of a wide range of influencers by setting up affiliate programs.
Word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the most influential and long-lasting marketing strategies to have in your sales arsenal.
All you need to do is use reliable webinar software and provide significant value!
Word-of-mouth marketing is arguably the most traditional form of advertising, stemming from a time where the vast streams of information we have today weren’t accessible.
This means making sure you’re consistent with your use of colours, fonts, and language.
Then, train up your staff. This goes a long way to ensuring every interaction customers have with your company is polite, efficient, fast, and cheerful.
Usability
It’s also essential to ensure your website (its text, images, and audio) is fully accessible to everyone who uses it. Your website needs to be WCAG compliant.
Customers are more likely to spread the word about businesses they deem credible, and blogging allows you to show consumers you know what you’re talking about!
Humans are social creatures, and we trust others’ opinions and recommendations.
All that to say, if you haven’t already, it’s time to introduce word-of-mouth marketing to your business plan.
It could be the nudge they need to make that all-important purchase.
Start Blogging
In that case, both the referee and the new customer might receive a discount on their next transaction.
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You’ll also want to ensure popular sections of your website can be found in just a few clicks, no matter where customers start their journey on your site.
Starting a blog can be a daunting idea. Still, it’s one of the most affordable and effective ways of boosting your SEO and establishing yourself as an authority in your niche.
Let us know in the comments below your favourite word-of-mouth marketing strategies!
Usually, these followers trust their opinions and look to them as role models and entertainers.
The moral of the story? Start publishing shareable videos on your socials.
Webinars
Besides publishing social media content and launching campaigns, ensuring your branding is uniform across all your social media platforms is crucial for successful WOM.
If this is an area where your business could improve, why not study customer service best practices?
Launching an affiliate marketing program is excellent for incentivising WOMM.
Are You Ready to Unleash the Full Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing?
For example, suppose a loyal customer recommends your product to a friend, and the friend goes ahead and makes a successful purchase.
You could amp things up a level by emailing subscribers on their birthdays and their subscription anniversary. This is a surefire way of making shoppers feel valued!
Offering customers free online classes is a fantastic way to boost your brand and provide a first-rate consumer experience.
On top of that, you could also consider incentivising customers to refer your business by offering all parties something of value.
This means researching relevant keywords and phrases that will attract organic searches.
As these stats highlight, social proof like customer referrals and personal recommendations work wonders for putting customers at ease.
Depending on your brand, you could create something funny. Or, perhaps get more vulnerable with your customers by sharing a relatable story.
We hope you found this article informative and that it’s inspired you to get started with word-of-mouth marketing.
