22/01/2015
How word-of-mouth marketing shapes your brand!
If you ask any business what the two main factors are when it comes to success, they will no doubt say marketing and sales. Putting your brand out into the open can often be incredibly competitive, as well as costly, but the generation of sales can potentially outweigh the initial cost.
Simple social media marketing can't work alone in expanding the reach of your brand. Today's data-driven markets rely upon looking at social engagement and reach. However, you need your consumers to be emotionally triggered through the offline world by using word-of-mouth.
Of course, the online and offline worlds are closely interlinked when it comes to word-of-mouth marketing (WOM). For example, a PR stunt may cause social debate, a charity event may increase donations and awareness whilst a piece of content may cause shock.
WOM marketing expert, Geno Church, explained that there are three types of motivations that spark conversation about brands and organizations:
Functional: People engage in functional conversations about brands to get information needed to make decisions and to better interpret the world around them.
Social: People engage in social conversations about brands to impress others, to express uniqueness, and to increase their reputation.
Emotional: Brands that invoke strong emotional feelings are more likely to be talked about. Make sure your brand is evoking a strong emotional trigger. It hits home the most.
Detailed research by Church found that brands are talked about via two means of conversation:
Online: The more public platform (also, voyeuristic) where people feel they have to show how brilliant, unique, and special they are. This is called a "discontinuous conversation" because you can actually decide when to respond, and you have the time to determine how you want to respond (depending on how good you want to look.) This is about making a social connection. Not an emotional one.
Offline: The more personal space, where you have more instantaneous, face-to-face conversations. This is called "continuous conversation" because it is naturally more emotional, more spontaneous, authentic, and real.
Use WOM marketing to get considerable success for your business.
Read more at http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/38034.asp .99
If you ask any business what the two main factors are when it comes to success, they will no doubt say marketing and sales. Putting your brand out into the open can often be incredibly competitive, as well as costly, but the generation of sales can potentially outweigh the initial cost.
