One thing that’s consistent in today’s ever-changing marketing landscape: Consumers rely on trusted family and friends to help them make purchase decisions. In fact, word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing drives $6 trillion in annual consumer spending and accounts for an estimated 13 percent of consumer sales, according to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers trust the opinions of their social networks (including friends, family, and influencers) to help them make the right decision about a product or service. If people are more likely to trust and buy from a brand recommended by a friend, then marketers need to make sure the people that surround key targets are recommending their products to their social networks.

Here are three ways to get people talking about your brand in 2018:

1. Include Mom in the conversation.

Well, not just Mom, but family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues and other everyday influencers.

Word-of-mouth influencer impact isn’t limited to specific industries or demographics. The vast majority of consumers seek recommendations when making a purchase of any kind, but the impact everyday influencers have on the promotion of brands and products often goes overlooked. It’s time to shift focus from celebrities to the friends, co-workers, and family members that help people make daily purchase decisions.

Consumers have a deeper connection with authentic influencers, those who possess a similar social status and understand their needs. Including everyday influencers in your targeting efforts and brand promotion allows them to help you do the heavy lifting when it comes to ensuring key targets follow through with the purchase.

2. Layer on the social data

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association reports that, there are approximately 2.4 billion brand-related conversations in the U.S. every day. Marketers need to know who is talking about their brands and how they are connected to key targets.

How can you do this? Use social graphing data that illustrates shared connections and monitors how today’s word-of-mouth messages are most commonly spread. The more data available to analyze, the more precise and intentional you can be with your marketing dollars. Combined, the value of demographic, behavioral, past purchase, geo, IP and social data is much, much greater than the individual elements.

3. Build brand advocacy

According to the Wharton School of Business, customers you acquire from WOM have a 16-25 percent higher lifetime value than those you acquire from other sources. They also have a higher likelihood of becoming brand advocates.

Today’s technologies make it easier than ever to build brand advocacy. Sprout Social reports that about 70 percent of hashtags on Instagram are branded—and that’s just Instagram. Social media offers a tremendous opportunity to connect with consumers and encourage them to share their positive brand experiences.

When it comes to social media marketing, too many companies focus on quantity over quality. Many marketers focus their efforts on collecting followers and likes and forget to actually connect with their audience across social media. So, on top of offering a great product that satisfies customers, go a step further to share relevant content that turns them into loyalists. 

Source: Adweek