Word of Mouth Still Reigns – Benefits of Online Recommendations

November is the month that many people use to express their gratitude for all of life’s blessings. It’s the time of year that our social media platforms become overwhelmed with postings about what each of us is grateful for. How can your business utilize this opportunity to express gratitude in a professional way?

One of the long time staples of traditional marketing is word of mouth (WOM). WOM was the highest quality marketing because it wasn’t based on budget or fancy advertising; it was simply a satisfied client or customer sharing your information with their circle. This type of relationship building was the goal every great marketing department strived for.

However, today marketing is fascinated with a completely different area of growth and that is social media marketing. Social media created a way for businesses to reach and interact with their audience without needing to leave their desks.

How can we still get the benefit from WOM marketing while using social media? And how can we contribute and show our gratitude this month?

The answer is … online referrals and recommendations!

The Internet is a big place and there is a lot of information out there. For large companies, there is more than enough information out there for potential customers to make a decision. However, for smaller businesses or start-ups, the slate is still mostly blank. Sure, a small business can have a website out there and that’s great but it’s still that company and their owners doing all of the talking. Customers want to see what their peers think. They want to hear about the experiences of others. This helps narrow down a decision and motivate buyers to contact lesser-known businesses. So, adding a referral or recommendation online for some of the businesses or vendors you know and interact with is a great way to show gratitude and spread the word about a fabulous company! Here are some places you can go to add your two cents … an online random act of kindness.

Google

If you search up a company on Google, most of the time a box will show up on the right side of the search engine with details on the business. This usually includes general information such as location, contact information and the option to leave a review. Simply hit the ‘Write a review’ button to leave some awesome feedback.

LinkedIn

This site is the best choice for busy professionals and for many service providers. LinkedIn not only has an area to write a testimonial for an individual or company, users can also choose to endorse someone based on their skill set. An added perk may be that those you leave reviews for may return the favor!

Yelp

Yelp.com exists as a review website. Simply search for the company’s name to bring up their profile. Once you find it you can post a rating and a review. Yelp is bigger in some areas of the country than others but is still a viable place to leave a web impression.

Amazon

If you know any authors or online storefronts, it may be possible to leave a review on Amazon as well. Granted this won’t work for every company you want to brag about, but the review section of this website is pretty stellar and should be utilized, if possible.

If figuring out those websites seems like too much work, simply write up a testimonial and email it to them. That way they can use it on their website and in their marketing materials to help drum up new business.

This is just one of the ways to #BeAwesome this November. Keep an eye out for more of our #KeystoKindness later this month.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

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Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "#BeAwesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube,Pinterest, Instagram  and the tools to manage them. 

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars.