August 15, 2019

6 Ways to Leverage a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy

WOMM strategy refers to word-of-mouth marketing, the process of creating online talks about your company in a way that it would attract other people and draw their attention to your brand. It is usually based on user-generated content done and posted by your customers.

Recent studies proved that word-of-mouth strategy is 5 times more effective than a regular paid marketing. It also correlates with consumers’ preference to trust other customers’ opinion more than advertising of the company. Furthermore, word-of-mouth marketing can be used with limited, low or no budget at all. But unlike other strategies WOMM requires more than regular social media content posting and waiting for an answer. You need to make a community where you will keep in touch with your clients. Follow these 6 steps and you will know how to successfully apply this tactic.

1. Create a catchy and recognizable hashtag

It seems to be weird and simple to create a hashtag trying to develop in word-of-mouth marketing. But making a hashtag popular is quite difficult. You have to be both creative and laconic. Here are several insides for you to create an ideal hashtag.

First of all, it should be simple and understandable. The more letters and symbols you have, the more complex and unsharable the hashtag is. Try to be outstanding with the simplicity. Secondly, use capital letters. Each new word in a hashtag should be capitalized. It helps to stay clear with your ideas and distinguish the words. Thirdly, the hashtag has to be unique. Check all the social networks and see whether the hashtag was already used by someone else. Moreover, try to use branded words. It is done to create an association of a hashtag with you company. Finally, make up a competition. Fleshmobs, giveaways and other activities online will make your hashtag live and actually used by the customers.

2. Let others be jealous of your clients

Whether it is a giveaway or a competition, you should always give you customers a special remarkable experience so they could share their emotions with other potential clients. It will help to bust the talking about your brand and encourage others to join.

Therefore, post-purchase emails are also crucial for a company. You can use emails as a way to know more about your client asking their opinion about their purchasing decisions in general. If you have problems to encourage customers to write reviews, try offering future discounts and you will get both new content and a new purchase made.

3. Do video content

If your video content is worth seeing, up to 85% of the watchers will likely share it with their friends, studies show. Even a branded entertainment can be loved and shared. It is all about winning a customer’s attention and giving objective reasons why to use your product and not the competitors. Be original with your videos and people will connect with your style and brand’s image. You do not need a lot of video specialists but you definitely need creativity for the pleasant catchy content.

4. Reward active and involved customers

Do you remember #12DaysofLOVE? A contest Dr. Pepper had with a main prize of a $1,000 gift card to spend on flights? However, it got hundreds of participants and was extremely successful in drawing clients’ attention to a brand. To reach the similar results try to follow these rules.

Firstly, be legal. Make the rules of a competition not only clear but make them match the country’s law. Make sure you are not crossing the line. Secondly, be specific. Decide on criteria and requirements beforehand so there will be no misunderstanding afterwards. Thirdly, offer prizes which are worth fighting for. Try to understand what your customers will sincerely want: recognition, experiences, physical prize.

5. Give the support your customers need

It can be said that sometimes WOMM tactic usually connects with a customer much better than an email or even a real life conversation. You should be more real online but you should not let the online discussions eat you up alive. Be loyal to your company mission and corporative culture.

The Shopper Report from Collect Reviews proved that 44% of the customers would not believe the quality of the product if they can see no negative reviews. Check and follow the keywords online to participate in conversations with customers and be ready to answer to the community. Sometimes getting to know a client and understanding their needs is what a customer wants.

6. Have causes and beliefs

People like companies which have strong position, causes and beliefs. Therefore, tell them about it and clearly demonstrate it. For example, if your company supports environmental protection, make sure your production is not using eco-friendly technologies and materials.

Shoe brand TOMS had a famous campaign of giving one pair of shoes to charity for each pair bought. Being involved in socially active actions gives impressive results in the boost of income of the company. That is why, it is important to invest in social initiatives.

Focus on the content you make and your efforts will be valued. All of the advice above will help your company to move towards building a strong relationship with your clients. A WOMM tactic will definitely earn you a good client base so follow the tips and you will be surprised by results.

 

Alice works on the Renewals and Account Management team at Collect Reviews. She is always happy to grab a spot of coffee and chat about current art events, fashion or mountain hiking.