Found Content is the New Word of Mouth

Word of mouth marketing is the oldest advertising strategy out there. Although times may have changed greatly to that of a digital age, one thing is for sure, WOM is still the most common way that people find a brand. 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and WOM marketing influences 99% of B2B purchases. Those numbers are truly staggering. In our digital world, WOM is no longer restricted its literal meaning. It now extends into the online space and is just as important, if not more, on social media. This is the new word of mouth. Instead of telling one or a few people, you can tell thousands if not millions. It will spread through the grape vine quickly.

Organic, unproduced and authentic found content. That is the wave of the future and 2023 advertising trends are leaning toward it. Trusted and proven time and time again to be more trustworthy by consumers and influential for purchasing power of your audience. Found content can help your brand engage, equip and empower your audience. It creates emotional connections with your audience. It can give your customers a reason to talk through product reviews, social media challenges or just a revel over a great UGC clip embedded to your advertisement. It can also empower them to spark conversations and share the love of your brand. Found content is the new word of mouth and there are millions of new pieces uploaded every day. Brands that incorporate this tactic into their campaigns are taking it to the next level. If you haven’t already done so, take your brand to the next level. Contact us today about using found content in your next advertising campaign.

Why Customer Reviews Matter

87% of people read reviews when considering a purchase and 79% trust them as much as they would a personal recommendation (Forbes). As we know here at Locomotive, people trust real people when it comes to advertisements and brand recommendations. It’s part of the reason we truly believe in what our company does. But do customer reviews actually correlate to increase or decreased revenue? Do the reviews actually impact the business coming in? The answer is yes, most definitely! Actually, according to a study conducted on hotel sales impacted by online customer reviews in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, there is a “significant relationship between online consumer reviews and business performance of hotels.” This is not really surprising. We all do it. Let’s say that we want to buy something online. So, what is the first thing that we do? We look at the products online reviews to see what others are saying about it. Then we weigh out our options by searching that same product from their competitors. This helps us get a clear picture of what we’re buying before we buy it when we can’t touch or see it in real life. “66% of consumers consider positive reviews to be an important factor in their purchase decision” (SOCi). It makes sense. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful factors in driving business growth. Online reviews are just the digital version of this and it has even been dubbed eWOM, standing for “electronic word of mouth” now. Furthermore, a Hard University Study found that, “a one-star increase in a restaurant’s Yelp rating led to a 9% increase in revenue.” Seems that the numbers cannot be ignored. Customer reviews do affect a business and do matter. It’s important that this is not be ignored and feedback from your audience must be addressed in order to keep a positive light on your brand.