Peer Power: Word of Mouth in the Digital Era

In April 2017, Carter Wilkinson tweeted “Yo @Wendys how many retweets for a year of free chicken nuggets?” The fast-food giant replied, “18 million.” Wilkinson promptly began soliciting retweets and proclaiming his love for Wendy’s. Although he didn’t meet the target, he smashed the previous world record for retweets. Wendy’s went viral, receiving over $7 Million in earned media value and gaining 149,000 new Twitter followers. All because they responded to a teenager’s tweet.

This kind of influence is not entirely new. Word of mouth is actually the oldest form of communication we have and before the rise of modern advertising, it was the only way to get the proverbial word out about your products and services.

Still, the word of mouth that makes tweets like Wilkinson’s go viral isn’t exactly the word of mouth that existed before the digital era. Thanks to new digital tools like social media, today’s word of mouth travels faster, wider and is more easily accessible than ever before. And now that consumer trust in advertising is reaching all time lows, word of mouth is enjoying even stronger influence as people are increasingly turning to the opinions of their peers to guide their purchasing decisions. In fact, according to Nielsen, a staggering 92% of consumers trust word of mouth and recommendations of family and friends over all other forms of advertising, including paid media.

The lesson for brands here is clear – the digital era has changed the way consumers make product and service decisions. It’s easier than ever before for people to make their voices heard and there are more people than ever willing to listen. It’s increasingly important to ensure that the word of mouth you generate is positive, especially if it’s online where messages can go viral in a heartbeat.

So what’s a brand to do? First and foremost, as communicators we have to carefully consider the content, tone and potential impact of our messaging – far more carefully than was the norm in the days when messages were primarily shared through channels like television, radio or newspaper ads with little opportunity for feedback.

Beyond that initial step, these tips can help.

1. Seek out trustworthy brand advocates

   Consider experts, celebrities and other influencers who fit your brand and encourage them to talk about it. From my experience, the best ambassadors are always people who sincerely believe in your brand and whose values closely align with those of your organisation. As with all things digital, the connection works best when it’s authentic.

2. Leverage reviews

   This may seem obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway. When your product or service gets a good review, share it. Like and share comments on your social media pages, include reviews on your product pages and you can even include them in your traditional messages. Reviews are an opportunity to speak to your customers in a voice that is not your or own. Customers also consider reviews to be a reliable and trustworthy source of information about the products and services you provide. So if you have them, I’d recommend that you put them to good use.

3. Employ strategies to build upon spontaneous conversation

   Wendy’s leveraged Wilkinson’s conversation with their brand – their communications team built hype by securing media mentions on popular shows like Ellen and Today. What’s your strategy around social media conversations? How do you interact with people who talk about your brand? The window of opportunity here is quite narrow. It’s a good idea to have the answers to these questions mapped out in advance so that when those @mentions come in, you and your team are prepared and empowered to jump in and join the conversation!

4. Focus on nurturing long-term, positive experiences with your brand

   This is key. People are more likely to talk about your brand if they’ve had consistent positive experiences with it. That kind of loyalty can only be built over time by meeting your customers’ needs, exceeding their expectations, listening to their concerns and providing timely, and accurate responses. As the power of word of mouth grows, nurturing these kinds of relationships will only become more important.

The digital era has given consumers the opportunity to make their voices heard. If you’ve got a good product or service, why not try to use the new and improved power of word of mouth to strengthen your brand?