Conversation Builds Community

How You Can Employ Word of Mouth Tactics to Achieve Your Marketing Goals

With the growth of online communities and citizen journalism, good old-fashioned word of mouth is morphing into a new form and is playing a more important role in PR plans. What is Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM)? How can you harness its power and how can you tell if it is working?

WOMM is more than just initiating an action or event that gets people talking about your product or service. Successful WOMM gives people a reason to talk and then provides a variety of forums and tools that will enable the conversation to evolve. If done well, it serves the needs of both the consumer and the company and it dovetails with other marketing initiatives that are set to satisfy corporate goals and objectives.

Instead of Talking TO Your Audience, Encourage Transparent Conversation

For a WOMM initiative to work well for both the customer and the brand, the communication should be honest, transparent and enable a two-way conversation. By giving your audience the tools needed for this kind of conversation, you are opening a dialog which provides opportunities for you to:

• Learn what your audience likes (and doesn't like) about your product/service


• Hear what they need, but can't find


• Build a community that is filled with customers who keep coming back


• Educate this audience about your services and leave them with the sense that you care

PR and marketing pros have been involved in getting conversations started ever since the profession took hold. Now that social forums abound, it is easier than ever to engage people in dialog as long as you keep it real and relevant. That’s what WOMM is all about. Weave in any one of the strategies below and watch it take hold.

Buzz Marketing – using high profile news and entertainment venues to generate conversation

Viral Marketing – creating entertaining and informative messages that are intended to be forwarded to others

Community Marketing – forming forums designed for people who share an interest in the brand and providing support to these communities with tools, content, and information.

Conversation Creation – conceiving fun and interesting advertising, e-mail messages, entertainment or promotions with the intention of getting people talking

Brand Blogging – establishing transparent blogs in which you openly discuss issues that are of interest to your public with the hope that this will generate ongoing conversation

Referral Programs – giving satisfied customers the tools to easily refer their friends to you

Fill Your Web Site With Tools That Encourage Conversation

Before the Internet took hold, word-of-mouth was a much slower process. A company built a reputation gradually and a customer’s reach was limited. Today, a single customer can have enormous influence. Take advantage of this opportunity by enabling conversation and amplifying its reach. There are many ways to do this. Here are just a few examples:

Encourage conversation by hosting forums and networks on your Web site. Any newsletters or white papers you create will have further reach if there is a link to encourage the reader to “forward it to a friend”.

Give people a reason to talk about your brand. Whether through buzz or viral tactics, get the conversation going and then encourage them to visit your Web site to “learn more” or “join others who share their interests,” etc.

Create communities by connecting people with similar interests. This can be done through Web forums such as user groups and discussion boards.

Work with influential groups that share your ideals. Your support of organizations that mean something to your audience will enhance your reputation and extend your reach. Honest and transparent involvement with these organizations will tell consumers that you care and will encourage individuals within the organization to view you as a valuable resource and partner.

Measuring the Value of WOMM

Whichever initiatives you choose, be sure to integrate them into your measurement program. Keep track of the growth of your e-mail list. Monitor the number of visitors that come to your Web site and understand what they do while they are there by taking note of such things as the pages they visit and how much time they spend. Compare your WOMM activities to company revenue and see if you can observe a pattern developing.

Finally, research and monitor Web forums that are not under your domain, but are hosting discussions on topics of interest to your public. Explore what trends are developing, what subjects are being discussed and track any mentions of your brand. Then, carry the information back and use it to shape upcoming initiatives.

BurrellesLuce monitors over 50 million blogs and more than 50,000 Web forums and cyber sites in addition to all of the traditional media out there.