Word-of-mouth marketing: Definition, examples & importance

Brands have used many marketing strategies to promote their products and services from past to present. Word-of-mouth marketing strategy has also gained a place in every field, from traditional to digital advertising. The benefits of word-of-mouth marketing, which you can create with many different formats and methods, have a potential that cannot be ignored. 

In this article, we talk about word-of-mouth meaning in business and the importance of using word-of-mouth marketing for your business. We include types of word-of-mouth marketing and 10 successful examples. Finally, you can see how to build your own word-of-mouth marketing strategy step-by-step.

What is the word of mouth marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is a natural promotional strategy based on customer experiences through customer reviews or social media posts. 

As potential customers, we are likelier to buy a product recommended by trusted influencers, friends, or family than through advertising. That’s why word-of-mouth marketing aims to take advantage of this situation to strengthen the brand image and increase awareness.

6 WOM types

There are various word-of-mouth marketing methods that you can use to encourage people to talk about your products or services and get higher engagement. In fact, you can use many marketing strategies to create a word-of-mouth marketing campaign, depending on your goals. Below, we have listed some of the methods that you can use to create a word-of-mouth marketing campaign:

1. Incentivized word-of-mouth marketing

It’s a form of word-of-mouth marketing where you can offer your customers special privileges or referral programs to share your products or services with their friends and families. Offering special discounts and freebies can increase the conversation about your brand and encourage your participants to share.

2. User-generated content (UGC) marketing

User-generated content refers to content created by consumers in real time rather than by brands themselves. This word-of-mouth marketing method, which includes formats such as images, videos, and product reviews, can help you develop a successful strategy. Positive reviews based on user experience can help you increase your sales and brand awareness.

3. Buzz marketing

Buzz or viral marketing campaigns are one of the effective word-of-mouth marketing strategies to promote your products/services and increase brand awareness. This strategy is also a modern and strategic form of word-of-mouth marketing strategy. It aims to grab existing customers' attention and encourage them to talk about the product, service, or brand.

4. Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective word-of-mouth advertising methods. The strategy involves collaborations between niche brands and individuals with significant online followings. You can run a WOM marketing strategy through influencer marketing and ask influencers to share their positive experiences. People are more likely to buy a product or service when word-of-mouth recommendations are made by someone they trust, which acts as social proof.

💡In addition, especially if you have a small business, you can look at influencer marketing statistics to take higher engagement rates.

5. Online community marketing

You can run a  WOM marketing campaign through online communities of people with specific interests. It will allow you to communicate directly with your users and create an active and positive word of mouth. It will also allow you to create an environment to promote your products or services and increase your brand awareness.

6. Affiliate program marketing

Joining affiliate programs is a strategy that can create effective word-of-mouth marketing. Start a word-of-mouth marketing campaign by giving commissions to relevant people or organizations to promote your brand. The partnerships you participate in will also allow you to create a conversation among the potential customers of the organizations or individuals you partner with. In this way, you can positively impact consumers and increase engagement.

Importance of using word-of-mouth marketing for your business

If you want to increase the success of your business, you can run a word-of-mouth marketing campaign. A word-of-mouth marketing strategy is a method you can use for many purposes and will benefit you in many ways. Below, you can learn why running a word-of-mouth marketing campaign for your business is essential:

✨ Increases brand awareness: It allows your customers to reach a wider audience with your brand through various programs and platforms. Thus, it increases your brand awareness by creating a natural conversation and sharing environment.

✨ Allows to get loyal customers: People are likelier to buy a product their network, real users, or their network recommends. Therefore, word-of-mouth marketing methods will expand your loyal customer potential.

✨ Bring high engagement: This strategy, which gets people talking and sharing about your products or services, will naturally increase your engagement.

✨ Allows cost-effective: Word-of-mouth marketing's primary purpose is to get people talking about your products and services, so it requires less cost than other digital marketing methods.

10 Successful word-of-mouth marketing examples

You have learned the importance of word-of-mouth marketing for businesses. Now, you can look at the word-of-mouth marketing strategies of big brands. Below, we have listed 10 examples of word-of-mouth marketing. You can see how brands implement these campaigns and get inspired by these strategies to develop one of your own.

1. Dropbox

WOM marketing example of Dropbox (Source: InviteReferrals)

Unlike other brands, Dropbox has built its marketing strategy directly on word-of-mouth marketing instead of using WOM marketing as an addition to its marketing strategies. It has offered special offers and opportunities to its users through referral programs. Thus, it has created a natural conversation environment among its users. While increasing brand awareness, it has also managed to increase its sales by prioritizing user experiences.

2. Airbnb

WOM marketing example of Airbnb (Source: Medium)

Airbnb has demonstrated one of the successful examples of marketing by effectively using user experiences. It has divided its customers into two separate segments: hosts and guests. It has created an environment where both hosts and guests can share their experiences. Thus, other people can direct their preferences by considering these comments. Customer comments are one of the most natural and effective ways of word-of-mouth marketing.

3. Apple

WOM marketing example of Airbnb (Source: Apple)

The Apple brand includes the most successful examples of word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. Apple ensures people talk about its products with each new product launch. The brand manages to keep its target audience alive by prioritizing the feelings of curiosity and mystery.

In addition, using UGC marketing, it began the Shot on iPhone campaign. It asked its users to share the photos they took with their phones. The brand encouraged them to increase interaction by displaying the images users shared on billboards, TV commercials, or digital media. 

4. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

WOM marketing example (Source: twilio sengrid)

We all know the ALS ice bucket challenge, an example of a successful word-of-mouth marketing campaign that created quite a stir. The campaign aimed to bring awareness to ALS, and it did. Many celebrities who participated in the campaign encouraged others to join in. The simple act of pouring an ice bucket became a chain reaction and created quite a stir.

5. Uber

WOM marketing example of Uber (Source: beans ghost)

Uber is one brand that successfully implements word-of-mouth marketing through referral programs. The brand offered its users referral codes to share with their surroundings. Thus, users were provided free or discounted offers when they registered with their referral codes. This created a natural interaction between users and enabled the service provided by the brand to reach a broad audience.

6. Tesla

WOM marketing example of Tesla (Source: Referral Rock)

Unlike many brands, Tesla adopts a marketing strategy that is far from traditional marketing methods. It has promoted its products by conducting a word-of-mouth advertising campaign among its customers through referral programs. In addition, Elon Musk, the owner of the Tesla brand, has effectively used his X social media platform for product promotions.

7. Redbull

WOM marketing example of Redbull (Source: Sprintz Zeal)

As we all know, Red Bull continues its campaigns by giving much space to extreme sports. This attracts customers' attention and creates a natural conversation circulation among them. In addition, these campaigns aim to reach a broader target audience by using social media competently.

8. Nike

WOM marketing example of Nike (Source: Booking Celebrity Talent)

Nike is a brand that has successfully integrated word-of-mouth marketing campaigns into sports teams and celebrity partnerships. Nike has aimed to promote its products by collaborating with athletes such as Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, LeBron James, and Cristiano Ronaldo. In addition, it has aimed to create a natural conversation among its customers by actively using social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

9. Spotify

WOM marketing example of Spotify (Source: Spotify)

Spotify’s Wrapped campaign, which we all know and maybe even use, created a successful word-of-mouth marketing strategy. The brand aims to offer personal experiences to its users every year. 

It provides its users with a personalized summary of the songs or artists they listened to the most throughout the year. Thus, it encouraged its users to both talk about it among themselves and share it on their social media accounts with the #spotifywrapped hashtag.

10. McDonalds

McDonald’s “The Happy Meal Song” campaign is an example of a social media word-of-mouth campaign featuring a catchy song and dance. The company encouraged its customers to create their own videos with the music to create a conversational environment and viral content on social media. The campaign had a positive impact and increased brand loyalty.

How to build your own word-of-mouth marketing strategy (step-by-step)

Word-of-mouth marketing strategy, which has been used in many different strategies from past to present, is one of the oldest and most effective marketing methods. It allows you to effectively promote your products and services by creating a natural conversation circulation among your target audience. Now, it's time to learn how to create your own word-of-mouth marketing campaign. Follow the steps below:

5 Steps to build your WOM marketing strategy

Step 1: Understand your customers

No matter your marketing strategy, the first step to create is always understanding your customers. Understanding your target audience's expectations, behaviors, and preferences is essential to developing an effective marketing strategy. Developing a word-of-mouth marketing strategy in line with your customer’s expectations will increase the likelihood of your products or services being talked about and your brand engagement.

Step 2: Choose the proper WOM marketing strategy

Choosing a word-of-mouth marketing method helps you effectively target customers and increase engagement. So you can create brand awareness and increase sales. For example, you can conduct a social media campaign and use referral programs or benefit influencer marketing memes.

Step 3: Search for marketing tools

After choosing the appropriate word-of-mouth marketing strategy, you should search for a marketing tool to increase the interaction rate. Determining the proper marketing tool aligned with your company's goals will help you implement a more effective strategy. In this direction, you can use the best marketing tools to better promote your products and services.

Step 4: ⁠Create content that will get people talking

Once you have determined the word-of-mouth marketing methods that you will use for your brand, you need to create content that will get people talking. Your campaign should include a message that will grab your customers' attention and potentially go viral. Remember, your goal is to get people talking about your products and services. Therefore, you must ensure that the content you create fits this structure.

Step 5: Analyze your results and share positive feedback

Analyzing campaign results allows you to evaluate the effectiveness and success of your campaign. It allows you to see what you did right and wrong in your campaign process. In addition, sharing positive feedback will enable you to highlight your customers' positive experiences to other customers. Thus, you can run your marketing efforts more efficiently and achieve more positive results.

💡 Also, you can benefit from word-of-mouth marketing statistics to adapt to your business.

Final words

The most successful marketing strategy is one that has achieved its goal. Businesses may want to achieve one or more goals through a marketing campaign. This is where developing a word-of-mouth marketing strategy is essential. WOM marketing can benefit your business in many ways and make it easier to achieve your goals.

In this article, we talked about the definition of word-of-mouth marketing and the types of word-of-mouth marketing. We included the benefits of word-of-mouth marketing and 10 successful examples. Finally, you saw how to build your own word-of-mouth marketing strategy in 5 steps.

Now, benefit from the advantages of word-of-mouth marketing by creating one yourself with what you have learned!