What is the best possible advertising? Most business owners agree the answer is word of mouth. And that makes sense when you think about it. The people closest to us are the ones we trust, and that’s where word-of-mouth marketing generally comes from.
But each of your customers only knows so many people. Chances are, their relationship doesn’t revolve around whatever you do for a living. So, how do you enhance your word-of-mouth marketing? The answer, unsurprisingly, is social media.
How Do You Make Sure You Come Up?
The age-old problem for business owners is that bad news travels fast and far while good news is a homebody. If you bring your car for an oil change and the mechanic does it, then returns it to you, you go on your way and probably don’t give it a second thought.
On the other hand, if the mechanic steals your car, fills it with rotten eggs and fish, and crashes it into a telephone poll, you can bet that’s a story you’ll be sharing!
People tend to focus on the negative. And while you can say that’s pessimistic or cynical, it comes from a survival mechanism. You remember the bad, so you know how to take care of yourself and share it to protect your group.
What About A Great Experience?
It’s not that people aren’t willing to share good experiences. It’s just that they’re less likely to come up. Bad experiences sometimes have a sense of urgency, while good ones arise more often in context-specific situations.
So, if someone is looking for a good dentist, you’re more likely to tell them to go and see yours. But if their mouth hasn’t come up in conversation, you feel like you will come off like a weirdo if you randomly start singing your dentist’s praises.
On the other hand, a great experience, especially an unusual one, is more likely to come up. If that same dentist also recommended your new favorite restaurant, that dentist is more likely to come up in conversation because food comes up more often than dental hygiene.
Similarly, if that dentist gave you an electric toothbrush, that’s unusual enough that you might bring it up unprompted.
Social Media Is Word of Mouth Marketing
Social Media is the biggest megaphone available for word-of-mouth marketing. Unlike words that literally have to come out of your mouth, social media doesn’t need to be seen or heard at the exact moment it’s posted.
Any friend of yours can go to your likes and interests on Facebook and see everything you proclaim to care about. Best of all, they can look for businesses serving the needs they need met in the moment and see what people have to say.
We’re likelier to trust someone with good Google reviews or an A+ Better Business Bureau Rating. So when looking for that dentist, that’s often the first thing we check.
But if your friend gave the dentist a good review or five-star rating, that’s even better! And it might lead you to ask your friend directly about the experience.
Social Media Is Social
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Social media is social. For businesses, that means it’s not just for advertising. You should use it to form and nurture relationships with your customers.
For individuals, the social is more straightforward. Contrary to a few angry ranters seeming beliefs, the purpose of social media is sharing info and events with friends.
Some people document nearly every aspect of their lives on social media. The advent of the smartphone has only turbocharged that. As comedian Jim Gaffigan said, “I have more pictures of my kids than my Dad looked at me.
If you’re someone who does everything online, you might take a pic while you’re in the waiting room at the mechanic or dentist. But even if you’re not, there’s a decent chance that if your experience is good, you might hit the like button.
Here’s a Gimme – Ask
So, let’s say you’re that mechanic or that dentist. You’re not the one who crashed the car or gave an electric toothbrush. You’re a small business owner who’s good at your job and strives to provide your customers with a good experience. How do you get your customers to talk about you?
The answer is simple. Ask.
You’d be surprised how many people are willing to share a good experience. Most people like to help. We understand that we live in a community, and if we know we can make a difference to someone who gave us a positive experience with something as simple as a like, we’ll probably do it!
Make Word Mouth Marketing Easy
The biggest obstacle to getting someone to like or share your page is the rest of their lives. So, the easier you make it for them, the better.
Send reminders! Give incentives!
I send a link if someone tells me they’d love to leave me a five-star review. It takes out the objections and minimizes the distractions.
Need to turbocharge your reach? Add an incentive. A local bakery, the Dessert Bar, recently offered a free dessert to anyone who shared and commented on a post.
That’s a low-cost giveaway with the potential for significant results!
