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Is Social Networking the future of Word-of-Mouth Marketing?
Never before did we have tools that organically helped spread word-of-mouth as well as social networking sites allow us to do today. There is no more organic way for buzz to spread virally than through a social network.
What social networking and professional networking sites do, is replace sales/marketing/advertising with word-of-mouth and replace snake oil salesmen/pyramid scheme peddlers with true customer and product evangelists. Do you agree?
Clarification added August 5, 2007:
Overwhelmed by the great quality of responses. However, let me clarify that my question referred to whether social networking is the future of "Word-of-Mouth Marketing", not marketing per se. The reason being the ease with which word of mouth can propagate through social networks. Keep those answers coming.
I'll also cross-publish this on my personal blog and maybe our corporate blog and will be using some of the responses at two events I'll be speaking at, later this week.
Good Answers (3)
Karl G
CTO/Owner Intelligent Fusion, Enterprise Architect, Business Strategist, PhD
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I don't think it will replace it, although it will definitely augment it. The nice thing about social networks now is that they don't market very much - or at least it's still quite subtle.
I also think snake-oil salesmen will find more subtle and clever ways to use and abuse social networking sites like monitoring the questions so they can answer with their own favorite CRM solution. Much like bloggers, companies will pay popular posters to endorse products without revealing they are paid.
While it could greatly strengthen and reinforce marketing, it could also corrupt the social networks themselves and make recommendations from people more than 1 degree away not really mean anything. This is a particular danger from the huge open networking community who don't care and don't know most people in their networks.
Also, I recently answered a question from someone that seemed like they were driving traffic to their blog. My answer was quite polite, but I disagreed with them and, mysteriously, my answer was flagged as inappropriate and disappear from the list - and several other similar postings disappear as well. I think this type of anti-marketing (where you flag answers that disagree with your post or recommend competitors) is evil and very likely to explode. Particularly when you can anonymously flag questions and easily get multiple accounts.
Mario,
I think the correct word here is "augment" - social networks can "augment" word of mouth. The key, I think, is to realize that social networking is a tool of communication, not the end-all communication itself.
In other words, marketers can use social networking to spread their message, just as they would use any other tool - TV ads, print and, yes, word of mouth. They will use it with varying degrees of success.
If I belong to a social network, I may seek my friends' advice on things that interest me, but I will have little interest in pursuing conversations or accepting recommendations for products/services that don't interest me in the first place. Social networks can augment the effectiveness of word of mouth.
As for snake oil salespeople, don't we all wish that social networking would stop them! But it won't. It can't. I guess that's the price we pay for the ability to carry on robust conversations about the things we DO care about.
Social Networking is just Word-of-Mouth to the 9th degree, it won’t replace it because the personal touch and face-to-face contact is and always will be the most powerful form of persuasion. Using extended networks online lacks the face-to-face relationship, it takes much longer to develop a relationship online with out constant interaction.
I agree with Curtis Broome, on the informal and formal forms of WOM. From what I’m seeing Informal WOM (ie. LinkedIn, MySpace, a blog and the like), may be more powerful with negative actions than with positive recommendations. People seem more prone to pass negative messages, case in point, the video of Vincent Ferrari trying to cancel AOL or the Comcast Technician that fell asleep while on hold with Comcast.
I have yet to get any glowing recommendations about a company that has influenced my buying decision.
I think social networking is a way for a person to reach new people and open the door to build a relationship, going from Informal to Formal WOM.
It will not replace it.
Dan
More Answers (46)
Hi Mario,
I published a note to reach as much users as possible in Holland/Belgium and Central Europe.
How can i do this more effectively without spamming the Aswers area?
Pls read the 2 notes i published. you will understand what i mean.
Thanks,
Isabel
The one thing I would quibble with, Mario, is that social networking replaces "sales/marketing/advertising." Rather, I think it opens up another channel-- and a channel that can be quite powerful, if done right. I see two paths, rather than one replacing another.
peter G
Communications Consultant, Freelance Writer, Columnist, Voice-Over, Radio Producer, Web Consultant, Travel Writer
Partly.
It's not just the sites that call themselves social or professional networking sites that do this.
I believe that blogs, wikis and the like have been doing this too.
Marketing and advertising aren't going to be replaced any tme soon. I think they will learn, adapt, and use these tools. Some will do it well, some will merely try to milk them without really understanding the phenomenon. Eventually, the ones who grok it will survive.
Hope that helps.
peter
peter G also suggests these experts on this topic:
John I
{LION} Expert in Human & Organizational Development {jinman@wetherhaven.com} {MyLink500.com}
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Mario, great question. My quick thought, I wish I had this tool years ago. Yet when I think about starting an online business, I still am afraid that I may not be able to generate the traffic that I need without marketing. I would love to get some more insights on this as I would like to create a business with my son to help fund his college education.
Social networks are just another environment where word-of-mouth can propagate, in the same way it could grow in the old town fairs, by the phone, in the email, or in viral microsites.
To me, the only fact that in social networks the WOM can propagate much faster or easily, does not mean that they are qualitatively different than any other buzz generating channels.
"Social networking" is incumbent upon joining or somehow being a part of a technical mechanism *not* a community. And certainly not of the world "at large". The closer we can approximate real world connections online the more powerful will be our ability for one person to reach any other person. In other words the easier it is to connect the dots - without mediation, membership, being in or out, etc - the more profound the network, social or otherwise.
Currently the problem is barriers which exist at every turn. How we negotiate these barriers and design connections will determine how effective and easily we will be able to communicate with one another.
Robert F
Battalion Applications Trainer at US Army
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I would say that it is a part of what "word-of-mouth" marketing is today. It still does not replace a recommendation from a friend that just called me on the phone, but it does open several new avenues ...
Mario,
I think your question is great, but your assessment is inaccurate. There are two forms of WOM marketing, formal and informal. Formal (which is from a known friend, colleague, family member) WOM marketing is the most influential form. Informal is influential, but it's strength is determined by the behavioral nature of the recipient of the information.
Let's look at Yelp as an example since the business is built upon WOM recommendations. Clearly, Yelp is a success if measured by audience size and growth. Many Yelpers swear by the value it provides them as a local referral service. Yelp is an informal WOM marketing community. For me personally, Yelp is useless. I am not interested in the opinions of others regarding local businesses as I prefer to experience the business myself and form my own opinions. I am also very likely to try out a local business if I hear of positive experiences from my family and friends. Again, I see value in Yelp, but none for me.
Hence, your question should be whether or not social networking is the future of informal WOM marketing. If that is the question, my answer would be maybe, and it depends on whether or not any of these social networks can maintain a long enough product lifecycle to become true influencers on societal behavior.
I hope this helps. :-)
Never say never Mario...
Never have we *not* had the means for organically generating, disseminating, and processing news and pitches to others.
Where I downplay the hype and distinctions: the tech tools at present reinforce selectivity and purposefulness.
Because I can, and increasingly must, target and filter the information I generate and receive, it runs counter to a more truly "organic" spontaneous element.
As an outgrowth, there's more intent-driven participation than, say, a telephone party line, BBS, or HAM radio network. Now, entry demands affinity, not merely equipment.
Now I'm struck by how loudly Patricia A. Turner's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1993) still speaks to the underlying dynamics and associated risks of "social networking" around "word of mouth", albeit through the context of rumor within African-American communities. Strip out today's labels and phrases and you'll find much spot on indeed.
As for "snake oil", who knows what lubricates the motives among the best and worst of us when sharing info we deem worthy with others...
Links:
Unless you can make your social network relevant, not just collect 10,000 friends - the short answer is --no--.
The best marketing comes from people you trust. Just because you share interest in some part of your life, say, baseball -- doesn't mean you necessarily trust the guy at the ballpark when choosing a doctor or laundry detergent. You're only going to try your closest friends from a social network, which you probably met via word of mouth-ish type activity.
I'd also add, that unless services like Technorati are enhanced, and have competition, the impact of brand dissemination will be diluted, unless you find some way to reach groups of people that have frequent or physical interaction in close proximity. You'd have better luck having a guy wear sandwich boards and stand near public transportation.
Sites like this one (LinkedIn) work, I believe our site (takkle.com) can, and Orkut stood a good shot at working, but you won't influence a lot your most recent 3,000 myspace friends unless you're some kind of rock-star in that community... in which case, it's not word of mouth, it's an endorsement situation.
I do not agree.
My company relies almost exclusively on word of mouth marketing and we almost never see any projects directly emerge from our social networking activities. That said, we do get involved in various causes / political issues / technology challenges via our involvement in networks, which tangentally does lead to new business through contacts made and people coming to us because they know us by reputation. Maybe this the buzz you speak about, but more like the buzz of the fan on a processor cooler than that of late 90s Internet companies.
M
The web & social networking are obviously very powerful WOM influences. However, the web also makes it very possible for snake oil salesman & pyramid scheme peddlers to operate even more effectively.
The web has simly turned into an additional channel for marketing and advertising. After all, many marketers and advertisers now use these tools to make their "pitch" via blogs & other mediums.
Mohamed T
Information Coordinator at Ontario Multifaith Council
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Mario,
Wil all respect to your question, and concern for the history of communication, my 2 cent is that nothing in the world replaces, any one.
Social networking (as evolving on the Web) is still a luxury; yet to become popular medium of all info and decison making.
Scams my email, and telemarketing are two examples for you to think about the idea if these are replacing any, or just adding Mayhem, Confusion and Chaos.
With advances in technology, a minority among people are becoming sharper just-in-time to exploit people=catch them unawares, and make hay while the sun shines!!!
Sheilah E
Owner, SME Management:.......... Business Management and Accounting Consultant
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Hi Mario,
I don't think networking sites replace it so much as enhance the marketing. The networking sites are allowing word of mouth to travel farther and faster than ever before.
Sheilah
Mike C
Managing Partner, SPR Consulting
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Hi Mario
Clearly, social networking could become a valuable addition to the marketing mix, by automating and accelerating "word of mouth" endorsements.
However, to achieve that, the site must be established to enable this, in a way that does not transform the site into an advertising forum. I really enjoy Linkedin, but I don't think it enables easy "word of mouth" promotion, and users are busy disguising their promotions as questions.
Mike
Shava N
Working at the intersection of society and technology management for 25 years
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I think social networking is not *a* channel, but a set of channels for word-of-mouth advertising. For one thing, social networking varies in definition. Is linkedIn's Answers section a back-channel for word of mouth? How about gaming guild chat on World of Warcraft? Or throwing a party to give away virtual sample goody bags in Second Life? Or, sending a postcard "snapshot" to someone's email of what you like in Second Life, or posting a tweet on Twitter from SL or your cellphone, or ...
All of these have such radically different strategies, I think really they count as considerably more than one channel.
Perhaps it's because social networking covers a multitude of possibilities, and we don't have a good taxonomy -- and by the time we do, the possibilities will have cross-bred and/or converged.
The whole social networking sites are just a spin-off from the BBs from the golden age. What it does is, it allows people to create their own 'page' in an easy and uniform way, and let them communicate with their 'friends', virtual ones or not. The 'tools' you mention in your first paragraph do allow for organic growth to occur quicker than by more conventional web pages, blogs or even forums. It still means however that you need to be a part of whatever social circle (aka community) you are trying to reach.
The sites in itself do nothing, they are just the 'tool' for people to communicate. It's not replacing sales/marketing/advertising in itself, not at all. So as sure as the sun will shine, you need the members aka the people to help you with the word-of-mouth.
Too many times I see companies messing up though, I've read 'spamming' in one of the above answers which is probably the most frowned upon activity.
Maybe trying to achieve your goal by trolling has a better effect! ;-)
If only it were that simple.
We would all be better off if we think of word-of-mouth as an approach, rather than a media channel. The idea that you can just advertise to a closed group of people and get them to do your work for you is folly. What most marketers miss in this equation is that the central ingredient to creating word-of-mouth is credibility. When I push paid messages to your profile page, there's no credibility in that, is there?
In a Social Network (which I would distinguish from a real social network, such as a group of friends or campus community), the amount of credibility, and thus influence, that exists between members can vary greatly. Done correctly, a grassroots campaign can leverage the trust that exists within a community and then utilize the viral tools you speak of to enable an organic spread of what a brand has to offer.
So one type of marketing replacing another, as you suggest, would require a fundamental shift in thinking, rather than the frantic hopping from one bandwagon to another that we seem to be witnessing at an increasing pace.
I hope that helps. Now I'm going back to Second Life to hang out with my real friends.
Josh
Well it depends very much on how broadly you define social networks. My social network is not facilitated by one tool, but through many, through email, text messages, twitter, blogs, conversations, blog posts, podcast episodes, through linkedin, facebook, yelp, flickr, youtube, message boards, forums etc. All these tools help me connect my social network, but none of these tools are my social network.
So I guess my answer is no, social networks are not the future of WOM marketing, just like email isn't the future of WOM marketing.
It's the online version of word of mouth, but this time it's exponentially more powerful. Word of mouth one person at a time took a while. Now millions will get the "word" in seconds.
Aaron Kahlow
It's swings and roundabouts. Social networking software gives exposure to a lot more people - but it gives proportionately more exposure to people who are skilled at using it. When the dust settles I think you'll find there are just as many snake-oil salespeople out there as ever there were.
I think that's how a lot of social networking tools are being used, even if the word of mouth is about the person not the product. What's LinkedIN if not a word of mouth platform? That's it's #1 feature in my eyes: a reputation engine.
I mentioned you and two other community types in a blog post this morning that mirrors some of your questions, married to what Jason Calacanis wrote about Facebook being a marketing pool.
This seems to be an important bubble-up question. Thanks for raising it, Mario.
Links:
I dont think it can ever take the plaxce of word-of-mouth because people will always socialize face to face. Social networking is an example of a medium that people can use to propogate through.
Mario, I would answer no, but with a question. What is your definition of a social network? Yes, we know MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn etc are social networks. But what about a company who has forums or a live Q&A, web cast, etc. How about an email that asks users for their opinions on what is working what is not? What about a blog or podcast that has comments and discussions?
While I believe social networks in certain areas will absolutely have a big impact on word of mouth, I don't think they will be alone. Technology is allowing users the opportunity to voice their thoughts and opinions and this will be done through multiple mediums with social networks being just one.
For the short term, yes. But we've already seen corporate types flogging and splogging, profiles filled with friends for sale on eBay, and heated exchanges over product sponsorships and seeding. WOM will have greatest efficacy in carefully managed networks.
Social networking can facilitate word-of-mouth better than any other medium if tools such as Facebook and Meetup are used. Reason being, it's easier to trust people who you have more control over inviting into your circle. That way there's more trust involved. Bottom line: There's no true word-of-mouth unless credibility of the main influencers is high, high, high