Word-of-Mouth Marketing: A Simple Tried & Tested Guide

You can’t power it, and its results beryllium connected your wide selling strategy and execution. If done right, it could go 1 of your astir almighty selling channels.

Let maine present you to this often overlooked selling transmission that has had a immense interaction connected our business: word-of-mouth marketing.

In this article, you’ll larn the following:

• What word-of-mouth marketing is
• Why word-of-mouth selling is important
• Flywheel rule down word-of-mouth marketing
• Five tried and tested tips for word-of-mouth marketing

So travel on and replicate our success.

The presumption “word of mouth” and “word-of-mouth marketing” are sometimes utilized interchangeably. But they’re not the aforesaid thing, and we request to specify the archetypal to recognize the second.

Word of rima (WoM) is the enactment of telling radical astir a merchandise oregon a brand. For the intent of this article, we’ll lone speech astir affirmative WoM.

Word-of-mouth selling (WoMM) is the process of influencing and encouraging earthy discussions astir a product, service, oregon company. It refers to the incentivization of WoM.

Research from Nielsen shows that 83% of radical spot recommendations from their friends and family. It’s simply the astir trustworthy and authentic selling transmission that you can’t bushed nary substance however large your selling connection is.

The information that 14,000 caller customers successful 2020 told america they were referred to Ahrefs by their friends is the champion impervious of the value of WoMM.

But it’s not conscionable radical you cognize personally who tin person specified an interaction connected your merchandise choices. Authorities and influencers tin play a akin role. For example, a well-known SEO authority, Matthew Woodward, brought america much than 500 caller customers in 2020:

And these numbers are lowballing the WoM impact. That’s due to the fact that each of these are recalled attributions. Many radical don’t retrieve however they recovered retired astir Ahrefs, oregon they conscionable don’t tell us.

WoMM doesn’t go a important portion of your selling premix the infinitesimal you commencement focusing your attraction and resources connected it. It takes time, a batch of time, and flywheels tin explicate why.

WoMM tin beryllium referred to arsenic a self-reinforcing selling channel. In the beginning, you won’t spot immoderate immense effects. But arsenic you spell along, it becomes overmuch easier to get the results. The effects tin adjacent commencement compounding.

You tin fundamentally usage a flywheel arsenic an analogy here. Rand Fishkin popularized the word “marketing flywheel.” You tin spot 1 of the flywheels containing WoM here:

Truly, the main selling operator down Ahrefs’ maturation is the semipermanent compounding effect of WoMM combined with SEO and contented marketing.

And this brings america to the tips.

Everything listed present is what has worked for us. You’ll mostly bash beauteous good if you use these practices to your marketing, but it’s not an exhaustive database of tactics. I’ll notation different noteworthy tips successful the “final thoughts” section.

Tip 1. Have a superb merchandise offering

I’ll interruption it to you close away. You request a large merchandise to incentivize WoM. All the different tips and tactics won’t marque up for it if you don’t.

The Ahrefs merchandise has been astatine the forefront of our selling from the start. We penetrated the SEO tools marketplace arsenic a backlink investigation instrumentality backmost successful 2010. From there, we rapidly built our estimation of being the champion successful the market. A fewer years and galore features later, we’ve go 1 of the 2 astir utilized all-in-one SEO toolsets.

Your merchandise positioning, i.e., however you represent your merchandise to imaginable customers, besides plays a relation here. The cardinal to this is proper marketplace research that should usher some the merchandise roadmap and your positioning.

Last but not least, if you’re successful the SaaS manufacture arsenic we are, it besides helps to connection trials and/or a freemium mentation of your product.

For example, introducing the escaped Ahrefs Webmaster Tools has helped america summation merchandise consciousness and invaluable WoM for our Site Audit tool. We faced immoderate challenges erstwhile galore SEOs didn’t deliberation of Ahrefs arsenic a method SEO solution.

But that’s not the lawsuit anymore:

Tip 2. Manage your marque properly

WoM consists of however radical acquisition your products and however they comprehend your brand. The constituent present is that radical are improbable to urge a bully merchandise if they don’t similar the institution selling it.

I can’t adjacent remotely acceptable a usher to marque absorption here, truthful I conscionable privation this to beryllium a reminder that you should ever deliberation astir the bigger representation and program for the long run.

In fact, research shows that astir companies would execute the top selling effectiveness if they invested astir 60% into brand-building and 40% into sales-boosting campaigns:

Here’s what due branding looks similar successful our hands:

You already cognize it, and galore different marketers cognize it too—the merchandise comes archetypal successful Ahrefs. And we don’t shy distant from emphasizing this successful somewhat unsocial ways.

It’s overmuch easier said than done, but bash your champion to beryllium a likable brand. Invest successful your online estimation management. The amended you are astatine this, the much WoM you’ll get from your people audience. That radical is ever overmuch larger than your lawsuit base.

Tip 3. Focus connected product-led contented marketing

Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing contented to pull and clasp customers. Our contented is the astir important selling plus we person due to the fact that it generates astir 1 cardinal visits each period from integrated hunt alone:

What whitethorn not beryllium truthful evident is that it’s besides the main operator of our WoMM. Let maine amusement you what I mean.

Check retired this tweet, for example:

Us becoming an SEO manufacture authorization and a go-to learning assets is really intertwined with our accelerated concern growth. That’s due to the fact that the contented we nutrient is product-led. Since the Ahrefs toolset tin assistance you lick each sorts of SEO and selling problems, it’s casual and earthy for america to transportation the merchandise successful our content.

Remember the flywheel principle? In our case, the much postulation our contented gets, the much radical are alert of however Ahrefs tin assistance them, and the much they commencement recommending some our merchandise and learning resources. That leads to much mentions, much links, and much traffic.

Then the ellipse starts again.

These are the 4 steps to successfully replicate this tactic:

Step 1. Do keyword research

I’m definite you tin travel up with galore problems your merchandise tin lick oregon assistance with. Some are much communal than others, and keyword probe volition assistance you place those.

For example, the keyword “word of rima marketing” is searched for astir 11K times a period globally:

Since I tin make a invaluable portion of contented with unsocial accusation (our ain acquisition with WoMM) and people transportation Ahrefs astatine the aforesaid time, it’s a large taxable to target.

Recommended reading: How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

Step 2. Focus connected topics with precocious concern potential

Your keyword probe volition uncover tons of contented ideas. You’ll request to prioritize them, truthful present are the criteria to assess:

• High concern imaginable truthful that you tin easy transportation your product
• High postulation imaginable truthful that you’d get a batch of integrated postulation if you ranked well
• Low Keyword Difficulty (KD) people truthful that it’s comparatively casual to rank well

Let’s beryllium real, though. You’ll astir ne'er brushwood topics that conscionable each 3 of these criteria. But retired of those three, we mostly prioritize precocious concern potential. Because if your contented isn’t product-led, your WoM volition apt extremity astatine recommending your content, not your product.

We usage the pursuing standard to classify the keywords, and I urge you usage a akin approach:

Recommended reading: How to Choose the Right Keywords for SEO

Step 3. Double down connected due contented distribution

Creating large contented takes a batch of clip and effort. However, clicking the “Publish” fastener is lone fractional the battle.

You should person a due contented organisation strategy that makes usage of aggregate selling channels to summation traction connected your contented adjacent earlier it manages to fertile successful the SERPs.

Here’s what we mostly bash with our content:

• Share it connected our institution and idiosyncratic societal media accounts
• Include it successful our newsletter
• Repurpose it into stand-alone societal media posts and/or videos
• Promote it with ads

I’d besides item launching an outreach campaign here. We seldom bash it these days. But outreach tin beryllium indispensable to your success, particularly erstwhile you’re not that good known successful the manufacture yet. Getting your contented successful beforehand of media and manufacture authorities tin get you large backlinks and designation if it’s done right.

Step 4. Optimize, rinse, and repeat

Of course, creating superb product-led contented isn’t a panacea to your SEO and WoMM. You’ll request a batch of patience. Also, you should apply the champion SEO practices on your full website and besides travel the remainder of the WoMM tips here.

Tip 4. Create oregon prosecute marque ambassadors

I judge that having marque ambassadors is the champion attack to influencer marketing, which successful crook tin beryllium a large boost to your WoMM.

A marque ambassador is anyone who’s regularly successful the spotlight representing a company. This is often an worker with the powerfulness to power the community. But you tin signifier these semipermanent partnerships with anyone. I’m definite you travel immoderate influencers who’ve been promoting definite products for years.

For example, we person Patrick Stox. He’s 1 of the astir well-known method SEOs. He often speaks astatine SEO events, organizes them, and adjacent moderates a fashionable manufacture subreddit called TechSEO.

In presumption of paid campaigns, the champion sponsorships and honorable recommendations of our merchandise travel from our semipermanent customers:

Now, support successful caput that you won’t get the WoM benefits if you tally one-off oregon short-term campaigns. Get the influencers and marque ambassadors to beforehand your products regularly.

You person the champion accidental by reaching retired to radical who are already your customers. Again, if you person a superb product, they whitethorn already beryllium spreading the connection for escaped anyway.

Tip 5. Build an engaged community

Having a ample societal media pursuing doesn’t connote a important WoM impact. To marque this work, promote members of your assemblage to prosecute with each other, speech astir everything company- and product-related, and mostly marque them consciousness person to you.

Here are a fewer community-building tips that tin amplify your WoMM.

Create a radical for your customers

Ahrefs Insider is our “customers only” Facebook group. At the clip of writing, it has ~16,500 members:

Over the years, we’ve shaped this into an engaged community, with members anxious to stock their knowledge, reply questions, and supply input connected our toolset.

You could marque the statement that the bigger the group, the amended for WoM. Yet we lone fto our customers in. Why? Well, determination are 2 immense benefits that assistance dispersed WoM adjacent better.

First, anyone paying adjacent for our cheapest monthly program indispensable beryllium someway superior astir SEO and acquainted with our product. This ensures that determination are usually good, applicable discussions that members privation to prosecute in.

And second, erstwhile the radical provides worth to its members, it whitethorn make a FOMO effect for those who are not members oregon customers yet.

Keep your assemblage up to day with your merchandise development

Got a caller feature? Is it a caller procreation of your product? Or has thing changed based connected the feedback of your community? Use each organisation transmission disposable to fto them know.

There’s astir ne'er capable exposure, truthful marque definite you usage each your societal media profiles, blog updates, videos, newsletters and, of course, your own group.

In our case, members of Ahrefs Insider cognize astir our merchandise updates arsenic soon arsenic they come out:

Rest assured, this accusation past gets shared connected each the different organisation channels mentioned earlier.

Initiate conversations successful your community

The best-case script for your assemblage and WoM maturation is erstwhile radical prosecute with each different organically. This happens some wrong and extracurricular our FB group. But uncovering communal topics and initiating those conversations amplify WoM further.

For example, we often inquire our members astir their opinions connected definite merchandise features oregon SEO and selling topics. On apical of that, we tally “SEO velocity dating” every month:

Be open, beryllium receptive, and bespeak connected their feedback

Make your customers and fans consciousness similar they’re heard (as they should be), and you’ll get person to them arsenic a company. This tin beryllium done via employees and marque ambassadors, making the interactions consciousness adjacent much personal.

Here’s an illustration of our CMO, Tim Soulo, asking for merchandise feedback successful a fashionable SEO Reddit:

Needless to say, we sometimes get antagonistic messages and feedback. That’s wholly expected and natural. What whitethorn not beryllium truthful communal is erstwhile we accidental that we’ll tally the feedback and suggestions by the team, we truly mean that. I urge you follow a akin approach.

Genuinely engaging with your assemblage is thing that lone has upsides anyway. This tin beryllium adjacent successful the signifier of a video that responds to an FAQ:

Distribute high-quality and utile merchandise

Let’s beryllium real. It’s apt astir of the branded swag you get ends up determination successful a drawer. But what if you produced worldly that radical privation to usage and are adjacent consenting to pay for?

I would driblet a beauteous penny connected immoderate ahrefs merch to beryllium honest. @samsgoh hook it up with a hoodie.

Selling your merchandise tin beryllium considered implicit the top. But creating immoderate scarcity decidedly drives up the request if it’s worthy it. If lone a fewer radical successful a assemblage lawsuit person a chill portion of merchandise, it tin decidedly spark conversations.

I often deterioration our t‑shirts and hoodie to manufacture events. Many SEOs approached me, asking however they could get the swag for themselves. I tin guarantee you that immoderate of them didn’t cognize who I americium oregon that I enactment for Ahrefs.

By the way, determination are aggregate ways to get our merch. One of them is nationalist giveaways.

That being said, telling you astir the different ways won’t adhd to the scarcity and FOMO, truthful let’s permission it here.

Final thoughts

You tin win successful WoMM arsenic we did careless of your business, particularly if you already person a top-notch product.

If we look beyond the tactics mentioned here, you whitethorn besides privation to see assessing and improving your Net Promoter Score (NPS), encouraging customers to permission reviews crossed important platforms, or readying a gift-giving run with nary strings attached.

All of these tactics combined are much than capable to execute occurrence with WoMM.

Got immoderate questions? Ping maine on Twitter.