Referral marketing, better known as word-of-mouth marketing, has been around for as long as humans have existed. It’s a powerful tool that allows businesses to reach new audiences, build brand awareness, and increase sales through the power of personal recommendations. It involves encouraging satisfied customers to share their experiences with others in order to generate new leads and drive sales.

In today’s world, word-of-mouth marketing has taken on a whole new meaning with social media allowing people to share their experiences with just one click. While it can help you grow exponentially, it’s also one of the most challenging forms of advertising to master and it requires careful planning and execution.

In this blog post, we will explore the art and science behind creating viral word-of-mouth campaigns

The Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing can be highly effective because people trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other source.  According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations over traditional advertising methods such as TV commercials or print ads.  This makes sense when you consider that people are more likely to believe someone they know who has firsthand experience with a product than some flashy commercial. This means that if you can create a compelling word-of-mouth campaign, you can generate buzz about your product or service without spending a fortune on ads.

The Science Behind Viral Campaigns

The science behind viral campaigns is complex but can be broken down into three key components – emotional resonance, observability, and practical value.

  1. Emotional resonance: emotional content is more likely to go viral than rational content. People are more likely to share something if it evokes an emotion, whether it’s joy, sadness, anger, or surprise.
  2. Observability: how easy it is for others to see someone engaging with your brand or product, i.e. the power of social proof. When someone sees that many people are talking about your brand, they are more likely to join in the conversation. This can create a snowball effect where more and more people start talking about your brand, leading to exponential growth.
  3. Practical value: whether your product or service provides real value to customers.

What makes content go viral?

To create a successful word-of-mouth campaign, you need to understand your customers, your target audience and what motivates people to share information with each other. On top of that, there is no way to know for sure anything will go viral so creating viral content requires creativity and innovation. According to Jonah Berger, there are six key factors that influence the spread of ideas:

  1. Social currency – does sharing this make me look good? does it improve other people’s opinion of me?
  2. Triggers – we tend to talk about what’s on our mind. Linking ideas to triggers (conscious and unconscious) makes them easier to recall.
  3. Emotions – how does it make me feel and do I want to share that feeling with others?
  4. Public – is it visible and easy to adopt or model?
  5. Practical value – does sharing provide useful information?
  6. Stories – if it is contained in a compelling or entertaining story, it’s easier to remember and to share

How to maximize the impact of your word-of-mouth-campaign

Bearing these factors in mind, follow these five steps to maximize the impact of your post, ad, video or offer:

  1. Look at your existing customers and audience. What motivates them? What problem have you helped them solve? Where are they and where are they active socially and on social media?
  2. Look at your new (target) audience. Do they share the same pain and motivation as your customers? Where can you find them? Which of your existing customers are active in those places, on those sites?
  3. Craft your messaging to speak directly to those concerns. You need to think outside the box and come up with ideas that are unique and memorable. Using storytelling can make your message both memorable and emotionally engaging.
  4. Include clear calls-to-action CTAs) that encourage sharing and spreading the word.
  5. Create a vehicle for your message. This needs to be suitable for and congruent with the medium you’re using e.g. images for Pinterest and Snapchat; videos for YouTube; reels and stories for Instagram and TikTok; reels, stories and posts for Facebook; posts and articles for LinkedIn.
  6. Finally, choose a good time to publish or launch i.e. when your audience are most likely to see and respond.

Build a community of brand ambassadors

One way to amplify your word-of-mouth marketing efforts is by building a community of brand ambassadors. These are loyal customers who love your brand and want to share it with others. They help to amplify your message and increase visibility within their own networks.

You can identify these individuals through social listening tools and reach out to them directly. To strengthen your brand ambassador network provide them with incentives like recognition, perks and opportunities e.g. exclusive discounts, early access to new products, or even free merchandise.

Building a successful community around your brand requires effort and commitment. You need to consistently deliver high-quality products or services, engage with your customers online, and provide opportunities for them to connect with each other. By doing these things, you can foster a sense of loyalty among your customer base and encourage them to spread the word about your business.

Examples of successful viral word-of-mouth campaigns

There are many examples of successful word-of-mouth campaigns that have gone viral:

  1. Coca-Cola’s 2011 “Share a Coke” campaign. They replaced their logo on bottles and cans with popular first names, encouraging customers to buy personalized drinks for themselves and their friends. This simple idea generated millions of shares on social media and helped boost sales worldwide.
  2. “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign from Old Spice, featured a series of humorous ads with actor Isaiah Mustafa. The campaign was wildly successful, generating tens of millions of views on YouTube and driving sales up by 55%.
  3. Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” series on YouTube show founder Tom Dickson blending unusual items like iPhones and golf balls to demonstrate the power of his company’s blenders. The campaign went viral because it was unexpected, entertaining, and provided practical value by showcasing the product’s capabilities.
  4. Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign challenged conventional beauty standards and sparked a global conversation about self-esteem and body positivity.
  5. Airbnb’s “Night At” campaign which allowed users to spend the night at unique locations such as the Louvre Museum in Paris.
  6. Coca-Cola created an interactive vending machine in Singapore that dispensed free drinks when people hugged each other. This simple gesture generated a lot of buzz online and helped position Coke as a brand that promotes happiness and positivity.

Measuring the impact of your word-of-mouth marketing campaign

Measuring the impact of a word-of-mouth campaign can be tricky since it relies heavily on organic growth and personal recommendations but it is essential to understand your return on investment (ROI):

  • track coupon redemptions or offer codes used at checkout
  • use links or codes that allow you to track where referrals come from.
  • monitor social media mentions and engagement metrics to get a sense of how well your campaign is performing.
  • survey customers to see where they heard about your business.
  • use surveys or focus groups to gather insights from your target audience.
  • monitor sentiment analysis to gauge how people perceive your brand and identify areas for improvement.

Ultimately, the best way to gauge the effectiveness of a word-of-mouth campaign is through increased sales and lead generation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool that can drive significant growth for your business. A viral word-of-mouth campaign is a mixture of art and science. With careful planning, creative thinking, and a deep understanding of your target audience, you can leverage emotional connection and social proof to encourage people to share your content and offers.

Creating and supporting a community of brand ambassadors can massively extend the reach of your marketing campaigns. Whether you’re launching a new product or trying to build awareness for your existing offerings, word-of-mouth marketing should be at the center of your strategy.