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". 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, but how many people pass your message to
others. womm is about 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. Although most WOMM still happens offline, online WOMM
is growing fast. online information includes blogs, online forums, videos and podcasts to
create consumer-generated media (CGM). online or offline, a successful WOMM campaign
involves true and passionate influencers who are willing spread the message.
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.
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). n-Marsteller).
who are strong influencers?
individuals who feel strongly about your brand, 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.
we have to see, who are all our listners, means who are all the favorable and most
influenced customers are. 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.
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.
