How to make word-of-mouth marketing work for you
Heard it through the grapevine? That’ll be WOM marketing
Our last blog for start-ups and small businesses
shared six tips to get 2020 off the blocks in style. One tip looked at the enormous power of
word-of-mouth and its influence on people’s buying decisions.
Research claims that well over 60% of consumers
search online for reviews and information before purchasing, and – incredibly –
90% believe brand recommendations from friends.
It’s no wonder marketers have coined an acryonym (WOM) for this, and
there’s no doubt it’s something that you should include in your promotional plans
for the year ahead.
Socially speaking
People have listened to recommendations from
those whose opinion they value since long before the internet was
invented. Yet if we want to chart the
rise of WOM as a marketing tool, it’s safe to say social media had a lot to do
with it.
Whether you’re interested in sport, eco-living, fashion, make-up,
travel, music – whatever your bag, you’ll find a blogger, vlogger or social
media influencer who posts daily pictures and video clips, offering ideas and recommendations, that are eagerly
lapped up by their thousands of followers.
When we spot our favourite blogger joining
forces with a brand, not only is it a seal approval, but we also build trust in
a product of service because of it.
You need friends
These social media influencers are successful because
we see them almost as part of our circle of friends. After all, we have chosen to follow
them. We ‘like’ or comment on their
posts and sometimes they even interact with us.
And because most of our actual friends are doing exactly the same thing,
we’re far more invested these days in friends’ recommendations too.
Top tip: GET SOCIAL! Interact with
your followers by liking and responding to their comments – build a community. Power
this by engaging content that appeals to your target markets. Ultimately, you
need to give them a reason to keep coming back.
Social proof
If you’re thinking of ordering something on
Amazon, you will almost certainly check the reviews left by others who have
already bought it. Many people wouldn’t
think of booking a holiday or even a restaurant without checking TripAdvisor.
How other people experience the service, item or
brand you’re interested in really matters.
Top tip for your business: savvy businesses
understand the power of popular opinion, they deal brilliantly with comments and reviews on
their social media pages. Thank people for their messages and embrace a review strategy! You have to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth here, but the rewards
are great. You can turn a negative
reviewer into a fan – and impress all their friends too – by responding well to
a complaint.
Level-up and embrace user generated content (UGC)
UGC is the gift of free content. Asking people
to rate your business, product or service – sharing their reviews, photographs and
videos for the world to see, is effectively free marketing.
Top tip for your business: there’s many ways to
encourage UGC for you brand. Try out some of these tried and tested methods.
1.
Incentivise customers to
post their content by offering them discount, a free gift or the possibility of
collaborating with you. Encourage them
to use a unique hashtag to identify their posts, and consider embedding these
on your product pages so people can instantly cross-check with user reviews
without leaving your website.
2.
Share testimonials on
your website and promote them via your own social channels. Incorporate them into your marketing by using
quotes or links to the relevant content.
You can also deepen your collaboration with specific customers by inviting
them to become brand ambassadors.
Enabling product ratings on your website is another way to harness
customers’ opinion – or consider using a consumer reviews website like
Trustpilot to canvas customers’ views after a purchase.
3.
Cultivate a social media
influencer: you could gift them some product in exchange for an honest review,
or ask them to take over your Instagram feed for a day. You’ll benefit from a much broader social
reach and will almost certainly gain followers as well as sales.
WOM doesn’t need to be
scary and it can be very rewarding.
Chances are, you’re already doing it to some extent, so take a look at
what you like about the way other brands use it, and see if you can do the
same.
And while you’re
focusing on spreading the word, remember we’re here to help with the everyday
backup services your business needs, like post, parcel delivery, copy and print – plus
business mailbox and company formation services. It’s going to be a good year!
Find out how we can help your business here.