Word of Mouth – An Internet Marketer’s Tool

December 18, 2008 · Print This Article

I was on a Twitter conversation with Ken McArthur (JVAlert Live) where we were talking about word of mouth.  The sales of his book, Impact, have really taken off because of what people are saying about it.Flickr.com by Brian Scott

Word of mouth… it makes me think of that old Clairol commercial… and she tells two friends, and she tells two friends, and she tells two friends.  Pretty soon the whole TV screen was filled up with ladies all talking about how wonderful Clairol’s hair product was.  What a great illustration of the power of word of mouth.

The beauty of people spreading the word about you and your products or services is that it doesn’t cost you a cent.  It is viral, and like a virus, can spread faster than any ad campaign you’ve paid money for, or any other advertising for that matter. 

So what can you do in order to become word of mouth worthy in internet marketing? 

Offer great value – excellent content and more than expected. 
Help people who ask for help. 
Help people on forums.
Have quick response time on your help desk. 
Follow through on what you promise. 
Give away valuable free stuff.
Be a positive person.
Go the extra mile. 

Think about the marketers that you gush about to others.  Look at what they’ve done to earn your respect and word of mouthness.  I’m sure they didn’t earn it by simply sitting up on their throne all day.

Just think, if you had only 20 friends who love your blog, and they each told 2 friends, who then told 2 friends, and then again, you’d be up to (um, let’s see, carry the one…) 160 people before you could say word of mouth 5 times fast. 

Or if you’re Ken McArthur and start with 1000 chatty friends, you’d be at 8000 rather quickly.

One of my favorite examples is the 10 man accapella group called Straight No Chaser.  They disbanded in 1998 but were asked to come back to Indiana and do a show April 2006.  Just for grins one of the guys put some clips of the old performances on YouTube. They had 6 million YouTube hits and many rabid fans by that Christmas. YouTube was the vehicle that took SNC viral and straight to a recording contract and now an album that came out this October. 

If you want to go viral in internet marketing, and who doesn’t, you’ve got to get yourself noticed first.  You can help yourself out by using Squidoo, HubPages, YouTube, FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, forums, etc.  Social networking has been coined “The Internet’s word of mouth“.  You can also get interviewed, do podcasts, author free viral ebooks and reports, and use press releases.

It’s nice to hear others say good things about you and your business, and if the comments are from someone other than your mom, you’ve earned them.  Good job!

Now go forth and tell two friends about this blog post…

Thanks.

Related posts:

  1. Profile of a New Internet Marketer – Is This You?
  2. My New Favorite Internet Marketing Tool

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Comments

6 Responses to “Word of Mouth – An Internet Marketer’s Tool”

  1. Elmer Hurlstone on December 19th, 2008 8:35 pm

    Interesting observation, Peggy.

    People, in general, are more likely to listen to and heed a recommendation made by someone whom they trust than the exact same information provided by a stranger or even someone they don’t know as well.

    Case in point: Earlier today a reputable, respected and well liked fellow, John Taylor, made a simple post on Twitter and sent who knows how many to look a product being advertised as a WSO on the Warrior Forum. All John could possibly get from this is knowledge he possibly helped a bunch of tweeters and another marketer.

    Remember Johnny Carson and the toilet paper scare?

    WOM is powerful stuff.

    Elmer Hurlstone

    Elmer Hurlstone´s last blog post..What’s in a Name? An observational rant

  2. admin on December 19th, 2008 8:52 pm

    Thanks, Elmer, for your wise comments.

    I agree that trust is everything. Why just today, when a well liked fellow named John Taylor tweeted about a WSO for a fellow warrior, I rushed right over and bought the thing!

    Who’s Johnny Carson?

    Just kidding. I remember. :)

    Thanks,
    Peggy

  3. Daiv Russell on December 19th, 2008 11:24 pm

    It’s wild to watch TwitScoop and see just how the phenomenon of social acceptance turns ideas into madness.

    A few days ago the Muppets christmas special was on. Since so many people tweeted on Twitter about it, more and MORE people tuned in, tweeting even more about how they were watching the show and it was great.

    See you in TwitSpace,
    - Daiv
    http://Twitter.com/DaivRawks

    Daiv Russell´s last blog post..Sex Sells – Timeless Marketing Motivators

  4. admin on December 20th, 2008 12:10 am

    Hi Daiv,

    You are so right about the Muppets tweets. Social media is changing things…. or at least hastening what we have to say.

    Thanks,
    Peggy

  5. Dennis Yu on January 3rd, 2009 4:47 am

    Peggy,

    Well-spoken– a great view of the Golden Rule, in my opinion. With the economy the way it is, a lot of folks have the scarcity mentality, when now is the time to reach out to help others, because they will then help you. We’ve experienced this in our business and it’s taken a leap of faith to find out it’s true.

    Now I’m going to go check out Impact at your recommendation! I’ve joined Twitter recently myself and am loving it.

    By the way, one of the things we’re doing to give back is to create twitter skins for free for folks. Message me if you’d like one– I notice you have the default blue background. See mine as an example of what you can quickly have.

    Dennis

    Dennis Yu´s last blog post..New Years resolutions that don’t fail– and your way out

  6. admin on January 5th, 2009 10:58 am

    Hi Dennis,
    The Golden Rule rules, doesn’t it? And yes, now is not the time to have the scarcity mentality.

    Getting onboard with a Twitter background is actually on my list for this week. [There, I've committed myself to getting it done.] Appreciate the offer!

    Thanks,
    Peggy