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The WOM Basics To Motivate People

Author's avatar By Danyl Bosomworth 11 Nov, 2010
Essential Essential topic

Smartblog commented this week that being a great WOM (word-of-mouth) marketer requires an understanding of the basics that motivate people to talk about you and share your brand story.

They highlight 3 ways, I've listed them below and added an example to each:

You. "€œThe "€˜You"€™ reason people talk is all about the goods "€” you"€™re doing or selling something and people want to talk about it"€. A great example would be Apple who do little to fuel WOM except launch great products. There"€™s an industry of Apple blogs! It"€™s about creating or doing something remarkable, like iPhone, to start WOM working for you.

Me. Though it applies to a smaller sub-set, "€œthis one"€™s about that feeling of being smart, important or helpful we get when we offer a recommendation or pass something along"€. Connecting people and providing a service, and maybe monetising that. A good example might be key influencers or bloggers in an industry. Akin to a good journalist.

Us. "€œAs humans, we love the feeling of being connected to something bigger than ourselves"€, notes SmartBlog. When we have a feeling of group recognition "€” that we"€™re a part of a cause or mission "€” we"€™re much more likely to tell our friends. This is what Seth Godin references as a "€˜tribe"€™, and where brands can leverage much bigger forces to get recognition, makes sales and also continue to add value to the tribe itself. Blog sites that connect, like Mashable for example, achieve this. The most famous example within the social media space might be My Starbucks Idea.

So before you start worrying about the plethora of tools, content or campaigns, study the basic human emotions involved that generate WOM, learn from the best. All the conversations, buzz, viral sensations, recommendations and referrals boil down to these fundamentals.

Author's avatar

By Danyl Bosomworth

Dan helped to co-found Smart Insights in 2010 and acted as Marketing Director until leaving in November 2014 to focus on his other role as Managing Director of First 10 Digital. His experience spans brand development and digital marketing, with roles both agency and client side for nearly 20 years. Creative, passionate and focussed, his goal is on commercial success whilst increasing brand equity through effective integration and remembering that marketing is about real people. Dan's interests and recent experience span digital strategy, social media, and eCRM. You can learn more about Dan's background here Linked In.

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