by Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) We trust each other more than the brands that compete for our ever-dwindling attention spans. We also have more choice in terms of the media we consume, selecting what, when and how we view it, and as such are able to avoid brand messaging, unless we choose to specifically engage with our favourite brands via social media platforms.
If you are managing a brand, statistics point to word of mouth and authentic peer-to-peer recommendations as an effective solution, which means you need to trust your brand evangelist community and educate them enough to talk about you. At the very least, you should start building an inner circle.
The power of context
Content has always been king and, as a result, we created so much of it that the king is getting dethroned.
Word of mouth goes beyond the standard content that brands share with evangelists. It even goes as far as removing the brand’s input completely and instead builds more socially accepted context. The social web then accelerates these conversations that are assisting brands in their efforts to expand their reach through communities, as opposed to once-off campaigns.
A recent Trust in Advertising Report released by Nielsen shows that 84% of customers globally trust peer-to-peer brand and product recommendations, an increase of six% since the 2007 edition of the report. It also reveals that consumers in Africa are 85% more likely to take action, following product recommendations.
Don’t be confused
Having a social media strategy in place is not the same as generating positive word of mouth. While conversations and positive recommendations may occur in both instances, conversations taking place on brand-originated social media platforms are relatively protected as they are often moderated. Negative commentary is not generally acknowledged or, in many instances, allowed to appear.
Word of mouth cannot be controlled. It is an organic flow of conversation, in which brands are discussed, compared and commented upon openly and honestly (for the most part), without a marketer in sight.
It is for this simple reason that consumers are more likely to trust and act upon the recommendations of their peers.
The value of engagement
Recently, two complaints about a well-known financial services brand and a seafood restaurant chain caught my eye. In both instances, the brands were perceived to be in the wrong and, while I followed the conversations, I noticed that no one shared a positive view; no one stood up for the brands.
For the influencers who started the conversation, it is not likely that their brand experience would have been salvaged and their negative experiences filtered down to their followers.
I wonder how the conversation would have changed, had there been some positive feedback from a brand advocate to turn the conversation around.
This thought bring up online reputation management, which would have alerted both brands and enabled them to engage with these unhappy customers, possibly altering their experience to a more favourable one and potentially converting these existing customers into advocates.
These advocates would, in future, perhaps speak up for the brands when opinions are sought. They might even voluntarily and spontaneously generate positive word of mouth through their now-improved brand experience.
Influence not reliant upon a huge following
In both these cases mentioned above, the individuals had less than a thousand followers, so many would argue that the reach was not significant.
Potency and reach are not, however, reliant upon the number of followers, but rather upon the trust that they generate within their communities and how their communities carry their message across their own platforms.
In this instance, the influencers were both highly trusted by the communities that they lead and, in addition, were both followed by media outlets that have a likelihood of picking up the mentions and creating stories from them.
Statistics reveal that between 20 and 50% of purchasing decisions are made as a result of spontaneous conversation and personal recommendations. If “half of all advertising is wasted”, then it is highly likely that the other half is driven by peer-to-peer recommendations. Failure to engage and interact with current and potential evangelists could mean you lose out on the potential for extended reach and, as a result, lose out on sales.
Cut through the noise
Word of mouth is easier to measure online than offline. According to Keller Fay, however, it is only estimated to be about 10% of the overall conversation. Brands that have learned to engage and interact with evangelists, brands that embrace the consumer-generated messaging experience, estimate that only 8% of the conversation started is negative.
A good example of community-driven word of mouth can be found in the Critical Mass bike ride, a global night ride which takes place on the last Friday of the month. The popularity of this event globally has spread by word of mouth; there is neither official leadership nor membership; and rides have occurred in more than 325 cities around the world — since it started in San Francisco in 1992.
Here at home it journeys through the streets of Johannesburg 6-10pm, is open to all, and averages around 1100 cyclists. It is word of mouth that has helped to grow this entertaining event within a focused niche community.
Customers and community members are constantly sharing their experiences and attention spans rarely favour the highest bidder. It is their conversations that are cutting through the noise of traditional brand communication. Isn’t it time brands listened and began building trust, instead of buying space in front of eyeballs?
Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) is the founding MD of WordStart (www.wordstart.co.za). Apart from being a kiteboarding and sandboarding adventurer, Mongezi connects companies and brands with measurable word-of-mouth. He contributes the new “The Word” column on word-of-mouth marketing and social media strategy to MarkLives.
— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every three work days. Sign up here!