Word of mouth marketing is a very old marketing method. In the real world, word of mouth is like gold. Businesses actively campaign to generate word of mouth recommendations from their customers because other customers will flock toward them. Marketing studies have shown that word of mouth recommendations are the most trusted form of advertisement, leading to increased sales after successful word of mouth campaigns.

When it comes to the net, the effect of word of mouth is just as powerful. Studies over the last couple of years have consistently shown that word of mouth recommendations drive a majority of user decisions. While only just over a quarter of users trust PPC advertisements, three quarters of users trust the recommendations of other users.

There are many methods that take advantage of the power of word of mouth. Viral campaigns rest on the principle that users will participate if told about it by a friend. The driving force between viral campaigns is novelty. The driving force behind other forms of word of mouth is trust.

Word of mouth can be generated simply by doing good business. If your site’s users find your communication helpful, your customer service excellent or the content of your site useful, they’re likely to tell their friends. However, much like the search engine optimisation for your site, you will probably want to give it a little push. You can do this in big ways, through a concerted campaign or in small ways:

• Objects of interest: Objects implanted into your main pages, such as a useful tool or a funny video, can prove very attractive to users. If they are particularly funny or useful, you may find your site the subject of a spontaneous viral campaign

• News: Doing things like publishing an interview with a person of interest can attract users and boost traffic in the short term

• Reviews: Having a review posted somewhere on the net is the ultimate form of word of mouth recommendation, as it travels far further than a user’s immediate circle. You can foster these kinds of reviews by rewarding users who post them

• Being different: Sometimes the only thing required to generate word of mouth is to be different from your competition. This can be as simple as offering an easy-to-use search box that turns up reliable results or something that requires more work like answering customer comments individually. If your competition isn’t doing it and you are, your users will react

• Positive feedback: Sometimes, all it takes to generate good word of mouth is to provide positive feedback to users who like you. If you have an open comments system on your site, taking the care to reply to any comment is a worthwhile investment. Rewarding users can convince them to talk even more about you

You can incorporate many marketing techniques into your SEO plan to give your site the best chance of success. Talk to our experts at SEO Consult about the different tactics you can try to gain the attention of the search engines and your users.

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