Whether most people realize it, talking about brands, products and services is extremely common in every day conversation and not just offline. We are having these conversations online as well. And they very well could be about your business. What you may not realize is how powerful these conversations really are!
Whether you like it or not, people are going to talk about your business – and you should want them to. Unlike twenty years ago, we’re not just standing around the water cooler chatting with 3-5 of our colleagues. Now we’re tweeting about your business, Yelping about what we liked and possibly didn’t or sharing information about your business via Facebook.
Welcome to the new age of word of mouth.
According to Google, there are over 2.4 billion conversations involving a brand every day in the U.S. Talk about powerful! As a local business, harnessing the power of word of mouth is an important way to build your business. (ReachLocal | The Power of Word of Mouth for Local Business).
While the majority of brand conversations continue to happen offline, the Internet, particularly search, still plays a vital role in these word of mouth conversations between consumers. The Internet functions as a top information source motivating and informing these conversions.
Think about your last brand conversation with a friend or family member. Did your conversation initiate because of an article you saw or shared online? Was it because of an online video you watched that you couldn’t wait to share? And what about a conversation that a friend initiated with you? Did you search for more about that brand following your conversation?
With all the time we spend online, we are constantly interacting with brands whether we are aware of it or not. As a result, these brands naturally make their way into both our online and offline conversations.
Learn more and see Google’s video on The Power of Word of Mouth by visiting TeamBishop | Internet Marketing Guidance.
This is true. We talk about different brands all day, everyday. Companies and brands should welcome this and encourage it by setting up online discussions on their websites.
I definitely agree. I’d love to see more companies embrace and encourage their customers to talk about them!