Young Entrepreneur: Word-of-mouth is certainly the best form of marketing available. In a recent study by the authority site emarketer.com, it was shown that fully 53% of online traffic comes from word-of-mouth – recommendations and referrals made by others.

The growth of the Internet has certainly enhanced the potential for positive results from word-of-mouth referrals. News used to take a lot longer to spread when the telephone was the most effective means of communication. News can now travel at lightning speeds through the many forms of e-mail, instant messaging, SMS text messaging and the Web 2.0 children – Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, etc.

Nowadays, in Internet marketing terms, it is relatively easy to prompt people for a recommendation. “Tell a friend” scripts are easy to promote and these messages stand a great chance of reaching their proposed recipients, due to the fact that they are coming from a trusted friend or acquaintance. Recognizable e-mail addresses normally sail past those pesky spam filters.

There are many ways to generate valuable online publicity through the use of press release services. You should have a clear strategy, defined and regular, and strive to incorporate different tactics. A series of written press releases should aim to show your product or service as relevant and “hot”. Create a buzz around your product. Inject some controversy and color and always aim to establish yourself as a credible expert in your niche.

One of the beauties of the Internet as we know it today is its ability to provide viral exposure. Whilst aiming to brand yourself as the credible expert, consider giving something of value away for free. Make sure that you research this well, however, so that your intended audience feels that you truly are giving away something of value and that this is not just your opinion!

Find out what value and what kind of information your target audience is looking for. Are they looking for inspiration, or simply a lighthearted message of some kind? Use the many Internet distribution channels to provide something of perceived value at little or no cost. Never employ the hard sell – but do make sure that you include subtle links so that interested people can find you.

Why word of mouth is still the best form of marketing [Young Entrepreneur]

• 1 Comments

  

Comments

Interesting, but I'm not too surprised actually. As mentioned, I think one of the best ways to get exposure through this sort of thing is putting up a video on YouTube, Veoh, AdWido, and other video sites. It only takes a few seconds to copy and paste the URL for a video, and if people really like it, they might even blog and embed your video.

 Posted by: S at July 27, 2009 6:56 PM

 Add your own comments

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

What next?

 Digg it

 Save This Page

 Subscribe to GetEntrepreneurial.com

 Leave a comment

Next Article: Learn to be Humorous – Public Speaking Jokes »

Previous Article: Learn to be Humorous - Joke Format »

Steven Teo is a GE Network Expert. View Steven Teo's profile or read more articles from Steven Teo. Learn more about the GE Experts Network.

Have an expert opinion on issues entrepreneurs and small business owners face everyday? Join the GetEntrepreneurial.com Experts Network and share your expertise with the community!

The new GE Experts Network is inviting seasoned entrepreneurs and small business owners to come on board and contribute small business advice to our community of aspiring entrepreneurs. If you have an effective way of generating sales or you know how to use social networking to connect with your customers, join us in providing wider entrepreneurial content that would benefit small business owners worldwide.

Click Here to Learn More >>

Related Articles

 Ooh Local Activities » If you can find and do great, local stuff at home, why not do great local stuff that’s run by local people...

 Necktie Reuse » New Startups: Narwhal Company is the inspirational idea of an everyday person that was looking to move away from the 9-5 lifestyle...

 Dog’s Collar Comes with Tweets » "Puppy Tweets" dog’s collar allows dog owners to follow their dog on twitter. This plastic tag (introduced by Mattel), comes equipped with...

 Friend of Trends » Trend Friend is an online (and smartphone accessible) gift idea database that allows users to quickly find the trendiest gifts based on...

Need more brand new promising business ideas and innovations around the world you wish you'd thought of? Visit CoolBusinessIdeas.com now!

Ever wanted to be the CEO of your very own Starbucks or Amazon.com? Fire your boss and be your own boss? Now you can, with BIZNESS! - the free biweekly business newsletter about new business ideas, opportunities and innovations from around the world. More than just new business trends, BIZNESS! helps the aspiring entrepreneur (you!) with small business advice, business tips, and entrepreneur resources and opportunities.

   Subscribe for free now!    

---