MEDIA MYTHS & REALITIES

Steering Word-of-Mouth Online
By Charlene Li, Co-Author, Groundswell
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People are talking online, and the people who are listening to them are not all family, friends and co-workers. But the impact of this word-of-mouth is no less powerful.

In fact, Forrester Research recently put out data that indicates that when it comes to, say, product reviews, you might trust unknown sources more because your friends may not have credibility with you on a particular subject. For instance, if you’ve followed someone’s music profile on a social networking site, you’re more likely to take his or her recommendation for a new CD to heart.

The strength of this advice isn’t based on the relationship you have with the person, but on the fact that this person is like you or has similar taste to yours. But just like offline relationships, these online connections are based on trust.

That’s why I’m skeptical when people say, “I’m going to drive word-of-mouth.” You can’t. For better or worse, people will share information about your brand in authentic, organic conversations only if they want to. And paid word-of-mouth—such as contests or other promotions—doesn’t carry the same the weight.

Yet, even if you can’t drive word-of-mouth, you can steer it.

People who voluntarily share information about their experiences with products and services get some “psychic income” out of knowing they’ve helped someone. So, if you recognize that positive conversations about your brand are already happening, it’s a matter of encouraging the people who are saying good things about you and getting them to say it in the right place. This can mean making a ratings and reviews section available on your own Web site or asking a consumer who has shared positive feedback with you to post his or her opinions on a consumer review Web site, such as Epinions.com.

If online conversations about your brand aren’t already happening, then you have to get people to want to talk. That starts with quality—nothing else. If a company offers a quality product that delivers something consumers need, someone will talk about it. And if a product is enhanced or improved in some way, a company can give that information to people who are predisposed to share it.

Even if a company isn’t directly pursuing word-of-mouth, it’s important to prepare for it. At the heart of the survey results is the fact that consumers are relying more and more on each other for credible information on products and services.

The bottom line, then, is that if you don’t plan into your communication program how people will potentially share information online, you’ve missed out.