A quick Google search on “types of marketing” will return approximately 7,400,000,000 results in .69 seconds. Even Hubspot talks about 41 different types of marketing that a brand can invest in. That is a lot of different types of marketing to try and choose from. It is often hard to determine which one will work best for your brand.
If your brand is looking to target specific groups or you want the feedback of your customers, word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) might be the best way for you to get yourself out there. For example, Gym Molly, a health and nutrition company, does not use paid marketing to promote their products. Their popularity can be attributed to WOM marketing. How can a brand excel with WOM marketing like this?
What is Word-of-Mouth (WOM) Marketing?
WOM marketing is often called WOM advertising, and it is as simple as it sounds – one person tells another about your brand, and they tell another, and so on. Even with all the paid marketing options in the world, one of the best ways to get lightning speed behind a growing eCommerce business is online with social media and WOM marketing.
Over 80% of customers who are satisfied with a brand will refer it to their friends. Friend recommendations are twice as important as any other marketing source someone may come in contact with. You are more likely to purchase a product or service if you have a first-hand account of how good it is. That is word-of-mouth marketing at work.
How to Implement WOM Marketing Into Your Strategy
WOM marketing isn’t as hard as it seems, but it does take some planning. In the past, manually implementing one of these strategies would be next to impossible. Now, the internet has made it so much easier to implement these strategies. What does it take to run a successful campaign?
User-Generated Content
Did you know that millennials spend about 5.4 hours a day with content that their peers have created? User-generated content is created and shared by consumers about brands and products they use. By using this type of content, you are instilling honesty in your brand, building trust among your consumers (and potential consumers), and providing marketing teams with extra collateral to work with.
How can you get users to generate content that you can use?
- Create a unique hashtag for your brand that users can use when creating content about your product or service.
- Give an incentive for creating user-generated content – offer a gift, give a discount, or another feature to those that promote.
- Create a sense of community among followers and consumers of your brand. Make sure the user-generated content you use is prominently displayed for others to see.
Share Reviews/Testimonials
We already know that over 80% of people prefer word-of-mouth over most other forms of marketing. Reviews and testimonials are perfect examples of word-of-mouth. People trust the words of consumers who have used a brand’s product or service over the brand itself. By implementing the reviews and testimonials you receive and placing them on your page, you get the conversation started and also the positive reinforcement needed.
Here is also a chance for you to shine with those who might be on the fence about purchasing from you. If you get a five-star rating, are you acknowledging the person who gave it by thanking them? If you get less than five stars, are you asking the person leaving the review what could have been done to turn it into a five-star experience? You can’t win the audience every time, but you can show that you care about how your customers feel.
Bring an Influencer Onboard
Influencers are the spokespeople of the current generation. You can find these individuals on Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, and just about any social media platform you can think of. How do you know if you are reaching an influencer? Look at the number of followers. The higher the followers, the more influential they are. If you can get your brand in their hands, leave a good impression with them, they are likely to promote your brand on one of the many platforms they use.
How to bring attention to your brand to an influencer:
- Quote them in your content. If you do this, make sure you are tagging them. They are not likely to see it if you don’t.
- Feature the influencer (or their products and services) in the content you do. Showing them that you have an interest in them may pique their interest in you.
- Give them an incentive – everyone is motivated by the word “free.” Offer them your product or service for free. They may return the favor and blog, vlog, or post about your brand.
Why You Need to Implement a WOM Marketing Strategy
In any relationship, communication is key. So, if you want to build a relationship between your brand and your consumers, you have to get the conversation going. Above and beyond that, you have to engage your audience. By listening to them, you can give them what they want.
WOM is an inexpensive way for your brand to rise to the top – but it takes some work. You have to be extremely hands-on when developing this type of strategy. Consumers who are more emotionally invested and feel a bond with you and your brand are those who feel as though they have been listened to.
Engagement on social media platforms is a major component of WOM marketing. The more the content put online is shared, the more likely you are to get repeat audiences. An example of WOM and retention working together is Gym Molly. Remember the company from earlier? They have an entire WOM marketing campaign – and last month, the company saw a 63% retention on their main site.
Even if you don’t plan on creating a whole campaign out of WOM marketing, it is worthwhile to consider some type of implementation. The best way to grow a customer base and trust among consumers is to be promoted by consumers. So what can you do if you find your marketing on the rocks? Find a new strategy and maybe try talking about it!
