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Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Finding the right people to talk up your business is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and it's still effective, especially if you take advantage of the Web.

May 2007

What is word-of-mouth marketing?
"Word of mouth" (WOM) is the oldest form of marketing. WOM is the act of people providing information and making honest recommendations to other people about a brand, product or service. Today this is often performed by what we call "influencers," those who are already successfully using products and services and are naturally inspired to talk positively about it.

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) happens when marketers launch campaigns to influence and accelerate "organic" WOM. Unlike traditional offline and online marketing, WOMM is not about how many people you reach directly, but more about how many people pass your message on to other people. WOMM is, therefore, based on intense user engagement and primarily relies on finding and empowering "influencers," opinion leaders who have extensive knowledge in a specific area, to spread the word about a product or service. WOMM requires an excellent product or service that influencers can use, be excited about, and talk about.

Although most WOMM still happens offline, online WOMM is growing fast. It includes online consumer activities using Internet technologies such as blogs, online forums, videos and podcasts to create consumer-generated media (CGM). Unlike offline conversation, online WOMM conversations don't dissipate after the conversion ends. They exist as long as the site or vehicle stays live, are archived and indexed in search engines, and continue to be accessible to consumers.

Whether online or offline, a successful WOMM campaign involves true and passionate influencers who are willing spread the message. Here is a guided tour to finding your offering's true influencers.

Who are the influencers?
In general, influencers are typically the 10 percent of individuals who are influencing the choices of the remaining 90 percent of the population. They are sitting at the top of the WOMM pyramid and possess usually three main characteristics: larger social networks than the average person, persuasive power and the drive to disseminate product or service information within their expertise.

Influencers are different from the general population in several ways:

• They are four times more likely to be associated with five or more organizations.
• They are four times more likely to be considered "experts" by others on a variety of general topics or issues.
• They are well connected, and have about three times more knowledge than the average person.
• They are twice as likely to recommend a product or service they like; and when they do, they are four times more likely to tell nine or more people about it.
• They are typically well traveled and are activist-oriented.
• They are willing to inform with feedback, ideas and competitive information on a consistent and regular basis.
• They do their research and uncover unethical programs and communications. For example, 72 percent double-checked the information they received with an offline source, and 69 percent with an online source (E-fluencials Study, 2001, Burson-Marsteller).

How to find and target influencers
An important step in finding the right influencers for a WOMM campaign is identifying those individuals who feel strongly about your brand, and giving them the means to participate. The most passionate influencers are often part of the current customer base, and can be located and engaged with the help of your marketing, sales and customer support departments.

Start with "listening." Go online to find out who is talking about your products and services. This can be done by monitoring blogs (Blog Pulse, Technorati), news search alerts, online discussion forums, del.icio.us tag analysis, RSS feed monitoring (PubSub, Technorati) and other methods. Another, more automated way is to use professional online "listening services" from the various CGM analytics vendors, such as Cymfony, Nielson Buzz Metrics, Umbria, BuzzLogic and Intelliseek.

Interview and qualify potential influencers. Finding the right influencers for your WOMM campaign requires insight into their backgrounds, passions, motivations and aspirations.

Choose the right influencer partnerships. The ideal relationship is mutually beneficial-collaboration always beats paid partners.

Louise Rijk is cofounder and Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Advanced Media Productions.