marketing

Word of mouth advertising goes back thousands of years, when ancient civilizations had to communicate to find out what the best path was to travel, where the best watering holes were, and even where they could find the best food.

Today, marketing takes from this ancient technique by advertising their business via word of mouth channels. The value of this technique goes far beyond driving traffic back to your website. It can in fact help increase brand awareness, build credibility and help you develop trust with your customer base.

When one of your customers tell their friends or family members about your business without being prompted, the result can be dramatic. However, if you really want to spread the word about your product or business, you have to target influential people within your niche. You can do this in several ways.

Social media, authoritative bloggers, and even popular YouTubers are ideal targets for your marketing. If you can successfully connect with them and ignite a passion for your business in their own business dealings, you can transcend all online and offline platforms.

A few techniques you can utilize to get your campaign off the ground and receive the notoriety you desire include:

• Be honest about your business (never ‘oversell’ your concept or product to potential thought-leaders)
• Generate excitement for and interest in your business
• Become an influential vocal point in your niche (use social media, blogs, and any other online outlet where your voice can be heard)
• Make your idea shareable (If your customers can’t understand what you offer, your campaign will be dead from the start)

Today, more consumers than ever turn to people-first sites like Yelp and Google Reviews to decide where to eat, shop and even live. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to earn the trust of your customers, and once you have that you can spread the word and generate interest in your company.