Just look at word of mouth now!
For eons, marketers like myself have preached that word of mouth is the most powerful way to drive interest in brands, motivate sales and create loyalty. But creating programs with strong impact that don’t break the bank has always been a stumbling block.
Then along comes social media, whose ultimate appeal is that it isn’t just another medium on which to advertise or otherwise promote. It’s really about blurring the lines between personal-social interaction and what for marketers essentially becomes commercial interaction when a product, service or cause gets involved.
News feed posts to tens, hundreds or even thousands of friends — versus the passive approach of generic marketing messages – is unmatched for attaining word of mouth’s credibility, confidence and loyalty. So, while Facebook and other channels are usually described as “social” media tools for personal contact, for marketers they could more accurately be defined as “word of mouth” tools for commerce.
Facebook says it has data showing the cause and effect between sharing on Facebook and revenue generation on e-commerce sites. When someone posts about a purchase, the value of purchases by their friends on that same e-commerce site increase over the norm.
According to Facebook, 18 of the top 25 e-commerce sites are using Facebook features such as Facebook Connect or the “Like” button. In one example, adding a “Like” button on an e-commerce site resulted in a doubling of revenue generated by Facebook referrals within two weeks.
Think back just a few years to the “toe in the water” days when most of us far understated what we thought would be the impact of social media. A web site with billions of members, many of who actively influence purchase decisions of their friends? You gotta ask – what next?