Chart of the Day: Understanding word of mouth in the digital age
Word of mouth has always been a powerful method of marketing. Yet, marketers often struggle to make the most of this avenue. As with other areas of marketing, word of mouth, too, is becoming increasingly digital.
According to AdWeek, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from other consumers, through reviews, influencers etc., over ads or content coming directly from the brand. Modern-day consumers, especially millennials, make choices based on what their friends or role models endorse. As ad-blocking becomes more and more frequent, brands that spend big budgets on advertising, are finding it hard to reach out to their audiences.
BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey (2017) reaffirms the importance of digital word of mouth through its findings. More people are looking for reviews online and use them to decide if a local business is good or not. 93% of consumers read reviews to decide if a business is good or not.
Consumers are also changing their information consumption habits online. People have become less likely to visit the business’ websites after reading positive reviews, instead, they are searching for more reviews to reaffirm the authenticity of the digital word of mouth.
In the era of fake news and post-truth, trust has become a critical aspect of consuming information online. Thus, it is vital for businesses to capitalize on the changing behaviours online and establish the authenticity of their online content.
- Source: BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey 2017
- Sample: 1,031 US-based consumers
- Recommended resource: Customer Onboarding Guide