What is Word of Mouth - A Writer's Viewpoint

Buzz Canuck Readers Sidebar: IF YOU OR SOMEBODY YOU KNOW HAS A BLOG WRITING INCLINATION FOR WHAT'S NEW, INTERESTING OR UNDISCOVERED, particularly in the areas of: Entertainment, Fashion,  Food & Drink, Shopping, Tech & Gadgets and Trends/Pop Culture, let us know.

I recently asked a number of potential trend savvy writers for The Influencers (most with no connection to the marketing world) what they thought word of mouth meant, here is a sampling of their responses (unedited):

- information being passed between individuals, done so on their own behalf.

 - the most basic - and successful - form of advertising.

 - the ideal implementation of Word of Mouth is the opposite of the Broken Telephone: There are links in the chain AND the connection is clear.

 - Being genuine and creating context for myth to flourish and be created. WOM isn't so much marketing as they tout it, but genuine involvement in what is appreciated and desired by groups of people. Marketing can try to hijack it, but really it's just encouraging marketers to innovate and answer the questions posited by the masses, not the other way around anymore.

 - The only word.. from thinker to thinker, consumer to consumer, the best way to get an audience, a buyer, a reader, and a devotee for life.

 - Important, exciting, and vital.

 - The way to go.

 - the generation of ideas through a network of people.

 - the most reliable way that great ideas/notions spread.

 - Under-valued but very effective.

 - how you find out everything you REALLY need to know

 - One of the oldest media of communication, yet depending on its source and its context, can be a sign of concrete popular opinion formation.

 - the absolute best channel for publicity.

 - Information about something(film, music, books ect.) that is getting around by people telling others about it, instead of through marketing or promotion.

 - What creates public opinion, and therefore decides who the trendsetters really are.

 - Crucial to spotting trends and inspiring interest in matters lost in mainstream media, no matter how relevant. We are all 'storytellers' at heart.

 - the most effective marketing tool for really influencing a person's behaviour. For all the television appearances and radio spots I did to promote my book, I feel that the buzz we generated was what sold most of my books. It was also the most exciting aspect of the whole process.

 - a very powerful tool

 - Word of mouth is how success is generated.

 - significant and significantly changing due to our increasingly limitless communication capabilities.

 - Incredibly important to media in general, but much more subtle a tool than many people seem to realize. When I may tell someone about my experiences with a particular film, they may not immediately cross traffic to rent it (or to avoid it). But this is not a failure, because influential words and ideas have a way of implanting themselves and resurfacing at later times. There are aftershocks to every expression of thought that are exceedingly valuable and should not be discounted. An excellent example is the process whereby the cult persona of previously-discarded films becomes established.

 - how the world turns. Word of Mouth has the ability to draw attention to anything, including a newspaper/magazine. Whether the gossip is good or bad, it doesn't matter as long as there is gossip in the first place, attention is drawn. Looking at Howard Stern for instance... when the man was not aloud to say whatever he wanted, people talked negatively and his ratings were booming. Now that he has verbal freedom, I can't remember the last time I heard his name because the people stopped talking.

 - Excitement. It's the flicker of electricity you see pass over someone's face when they love what they're talking about. Completely instinctual.

 - The best way to market yourself.

 - the most effective mode of communication as it allows personal recommendations to transpire and be shared from small to large circles!

 - THE best form of advertising and influence.

- The most influential form of advertising available.

- Word of Mouth is: the best way to spread information, although also the least predictable and reliable.

 - Word of mouth can be the single most influential tool for any idea, movement, organization etc.

-  A grassroots way of spreading ideas, trends and opinions.

 - the best way to get the idea out of your head, and into some other form of transport, be it media (as in flyers, radio spots, etc.) or the flapping lips of the public at large, hence: word of mouth.

 - Everything.

 - Unreliable at best, but sometimes it can be worth paying attention to. Depends who you hear it from as well.

 -...essential to creating buzz, excitement, and results. I believe we live in a complex, dynamic social context. Word of mouth evolves out of this and feeds back into it. Trends cannot be conceived and imposed on people, and that is why word of mouth, which indicates a burgeoning base of interest, can lead to those trends becoming part of wider social context.

 -...essential to creating buzz, excitement, and results. I believe we live in a complex, dynamic social context. Word of mouth evolves out of this and feeds back into it. Trends cannot be conceived and imposed on people, and that is why word of mouth, which indicates a burgeoning interest, can lead to those trends becoming part of a wider social context.

 - A very, very important thing.

- True diffusion. The most effective way to relay an experience. If you can hear something first hand, from the source, my experience has shown it's the best way to learn.

- Memetic - spreading ideas like a virus that infects the social body

- Much more powerful than people often give it credit for. And, more specifically, a way of communicating information that often tends to exaggerate or distort but causes a large amount of excitement.

- whatever you want it to be

- Where it's at. My whole mantra is : It's not what you know, but WHO you know.

- Today, it means any form of communication that goes from one person to the next -- verbally, via email, personal website, text messaging, podcasting and, of course, any type of grass-roots marketing like posters and graffiti.

- without question the most powerful way to market and promote anything, be it a good, service, idea, person, place, thing, animal, vegetable, mineral...

- Word of mouth forms a basis for communication and dialogue. Even in the former Soviet union where state attempts to control the public acess to information failed because word of mouth became an unofficial medium.Word of mouth can and does often become a social vehicle that provides people with a chance to dialogue on anything from social issues to what is a great place to eat.

- Word of Mouth is more powerful than any other kind of communication in the dissemination of ideas, trends, business, and change.

- what happens when people listen to people who talk a lot.

- It can be both a dangerous grenade and the only essential truth. It can spark revolutions and publicize otherwise unknown works of genius. I think it is one of the best 'first steps' of learning something new: hear about it through word of mouth and then explore it yourself. It tells you everytihng about the society around you. This is how people get onto music that is not on the radio or MuchMusic. In my opinion, this is how people discover, learn to hate, or learn to love most everything...though few might admit it.

- Word of Mouth is crucial to any product, marketing, or advertising. If you can achieve positive word of mouth it will do more then any amount of money spent on marketing and advertising could do.

- the operating principle behind the dissemination of any idea (precursor to any other form of information sharing), and the exercise of mental fertility. there is nothing more essential to a community than peer-appraisal and subjective ear-marking.

-... probably the most effective means of transmitting a message to others.

- my most trusted method of gaining information and giving me ideas about how to spend my time. Also a great way to start a discussion.

- Absolutely essential. In a world filled with bombarding and obtrusive marketing schemes at every corner, word of mouth becomes the pinnacle of truth. When someone of influence speaks of a show, band, clothing company, social event or new brand of chicken nugget, people listen. Not because they are naïve but because other sources of communication such as television, radio and in some cases (dare I say) even the Internet have all become a platform for marketing madness. To stand out, people have to talk... Here is an instance where the trickle down theory is highly valued.