Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) can be defined as “giving people a reason to talk about goods and services and facilitating that conversation”. In this context, with this method, people share their experiences about a product with people in their immediate surroundings such as family, friends and relatives. WOMM is one of the most effective marketing methods. Because people trust the people around them more. The strongest aspect of the WOMM is that people verbally share their experiences with each other without any commercial purpose.
In the digital world, this method has been used frequently by brands. According to the findings of a study, 76% of consumers trust the content shared by non-famous people in the digital world rather than the advertising messages of brands. This situation shows the importance of brands to use the "user-generated content" method. User-generated content can be defined as the creation of photos, videos, social media posts or any brand-related content on digital networks by a brand's followers, product users or consumers. It has been observed that this method provides 7 times higher engagement than the brand generated content.
The main reason why user-generated content is effective is the credibility it offers to the target audience. Today, it is seen that consumers who are exposed to intense advertising messages do not trust the brand generated content. At this point, people tend to interact more with the brands with which they have an emotional bond. One of the best ways to build this relationship is to ensure transparency and present a good story. Brands that find a way to involve fans in their marketing strategies create a community that people are excited to be a part of.
Apart from reliability, this method also has advantages such as reaching new users and the potential to become viral. When consumers start to trust the people who create these content, other people in their network see this situation. In this case, it may mean seizing a chance for brands to attract potential customers. In addition, people tend to share their creativity with other users in digital media. Therefore, the viral spread of user-generated content will be higher than ordinary content.
Res. Assist. Aydan ÜNLÜKAYA
References
Clum, M. (2021, 01 19). Top 7 Video Advertising Trends of 2019. 06 07, 2021 tarihinde WordStream: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/03/12/video-advertising-trends adresinden alındı
Kullanıcı Tarafından Oluşturulan İçerik Nedir? (tarih yok). 06 07, 2021 tarihinde marketingtr.net: https://www.marketingtr.net/tr/blog/detay/Kullanici-Tarafindan-Olusturulan-Icerik-Nedir/6/235/0 adresinden alındı
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing (14th Edition). Boston: Pearson Education.
López, M., & Sicilia, M. (2013). How WOM marketing contributes to new product adoption: Testing competitive communication strategies. European Journal of Marketing, 47(7), 1089-1114.
