WOM Research #2.22
- 66% of Fastest-Growing Companies Value Social Media
- 48% of Teens Visit Social Networking Sites Daily
- Online Forum Shilling: Not Worth the Effort
- From the Archives:
Employees, the Key to Generating Positive WOM
 Tell a friend: http://www.womma.org/tell/
1> 66% of Fastest-Growing Companies
Value Social Media
Social media is elbowing its way into corporate America, and it's doing so more quickly than anticipated, according to a recent study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The school's Center for Marketing Research surveyed last year's Inc. 500 to see how the nation's fastest--growing private companies were leveraging social media. A full 66% of surveyed companies say that social media is either "very important" or "somewhat important" to their business/marketing strategy.
Other results:
* 42% say they are familiar with social networking, 38% with message/bulletin boards, 36% with blogging, 31% with online video, 30% with podcasting, and 16% with wikis.
* 33% say their company uses message/bulletin boards, 27% social networking, 24% online video, 19% blogging, 17% wikis, and 11% podcasting.
Learn more (University of Massachusetts)
Learn more (Biz Report)
2> 48% of Teens Visit Social
Networking Sites Daily
More than half (55%) of teens online have created a personal profile on a social networking site, and nearly half (48%) incorporate social networking activities into their daily lives, according to a January 2007 Project Data Memo released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The study finds that the greatest proliferation of online networking activity occurs in older girls, who turn to the sites to reinforce pre-existing friendships. Teenage boys, alternatively, use the networks primarily to "flirt" and make new friends.
Other findings:
* 70% of girls and 54% of boys aged 15 to 17 say they use online social networking sites.
* 91% of teens users say they use the sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently, 82% use the sites to stay in touch with friends they see rarely, 72% use the sites to make plans with friends, and 49% use the sites to make new friends.
* 85% of teens who have created an online profile say the profile they use or update most often is on MySpace.
* Nearly half of teens who use social networks visit the sites either once a day (26%) or several times a day (22%), while 17% visit the sites three to five days per week, 15% visit one to two days per week, and 20% visit every few weeks or less often.
Learn more (Pew Internet)
Learn more (MediaPost)
Learn more (eMarketer)
Learn more (ClickZ)
Learn more (Media Week)
Learn more (Business Week)
3> Online Forum Shilling:
Not Worth the Effort
If consumers are influenced by internet-based opinion forums (and evidence shows that they are), what's to stop companies from anonymously manipulating the bias of those forums by posting fake reviews and opinions? Word of mouth, according to WOMMA Advisory Board member Chrysanthos Dellarocas' article "Strategic Manipulation of Internet Opinion Forums: Implications for Consumers and Firms," which appeared in the October 2006 edition of Management Science. Lying costs a lot more than it's likely to reap, says Dellarocas, thanks to the effects of negative word of mouth on ROI. Rather than increasing or decreasing positive online chatter about a company, false and manipulative postings merely decrease the validity of an online forum -- something consumers are very adept at catching on to. Also, Dellarocas contends that competitive online manipulation between firms inevitably leads to an "arms race" in manipulation that hurts the profits of all companies involved. The best way to increase the value of a forum, Dellarocas concludes, is through the encouragement of higher levels of active consumer involvement.
Learn more
4> From the Archives:
Employees, the Bridge to Generating
Positive WOM
The presence of a relationship between employees and customers can have a significant influence on positive word of mouth communications, according to a January 2001 International Journal of Service Industry Management article, titled "Generating Positive Word of Mouth Communications Through Customer-Employee Relationships." Authors Dwayne D. Gremler, Kevin P. Gwinner, and Stephen W. Brown studied four dimensions of interpersonal bonds (trust, care, rapport, and familiarity) and asserted that as a customer gained trust in a specific employee, positive word of mouth about the organization would likely increase as a consequence.
The researchers found that customers' satisfaction with the service experience alone is not enough to stimulate word of mouth activity, but that the addition of an interpersonal relationship (between the customer and an employee) is often enough to tip the scales, prompting the spread of more positive word of mouth. Overall, the authors concluded that the presence of interpersonal relationships between employees and customers is significantly correlated with word of mouth behavior, and suggested that management would benefit from organizing the service design and support systems in ways that foster these bonds.
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