Be Heard Among the Herd

Digitally propagated word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing initiatives can reach your target audience in ways traditional means can’t. WOM can also be a far more trusted means of amplifying your messages and driving results in vertical lifestyle markets and niche communities.

Viral seeds, chat room seeding, key blog commentary, message boards, forum contributions, and even SMS (Short Message Service) are just a few of the ways products and services are promoted or demoted on an ongoing basis.

Be Results Oriented

Enter online social spaces liberally and vocally but with a plan of action and an eye to nascent communication protocols—think long-term behavioral loyalty over short-term sale.

WOM works best with easily explained products and value propositions founded upon messaging that establishes future loyalty with new customers and encourages natural WOM among current customers.

A WOM campaign can:

1. Generate Buzz: Advance your brand and accelerate distribution of your message via properly tagged media assets forwarded virally.
2. Enable Proaction: Promote, mitigate, or preempt the effect of breaking news, and/or seed news of your own by engaging in online social dialogs.
3. Enhance Augmentation: Support your existing promotions, draw web traffic and gather consumer input.

Not for Everyone

Interactive engagements with your online target audience within their social networks is smart business. But WOM marketing strategies can negate value if improperly deployed. Push an agenda and social networks tend to roar right back (or bite) if they sense they’re being sold.

Finally, it’s always important to consider the current quality of your brand’s deliverable when developing a WOM strategy. Ultimately, as a marketer, you can’t control what customers say about you online.

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