Disclosure on Viral or WOM (word-of-mouth) Marketing Is VITAL

This should come as no shock to bloggers. We are notorious for over-disclosure, almost to the point of redundancy. But, that seems to be what people want. A new survey compiled from WOM marketing data concluded this:

Rather than being put off by the notion of a friend or relative was engaging them with a commercial message, many participants didn’t seem to care. More than three-quarters of respondents called the affiliation a “non-issue.” And, Mr. Carl found, people who knew of an agent’s commercial affiliation were more likely to register positive feelings toward both the agent and the company he or she was working for. —AdAge (emphasis is mine)

I’m really glad to see those numbers, because sometimes I get clients who suggest I promote a product w/o disclosure, and I’m just not going to do it. Now, I’m not going to tell you a product is good, even for money with my disclosure.

I have always appreciated the Paul Harvey school of advertising, that says I’m not promoting it unless I use it and enjoy it.
What blogger would risk their reputation for a check? Not many, I think…

2 Replies to “Disclosure on Viral or WOM (word-of-mouth) Marketing Is VITAL”

  1. Good points. I also believe that viral marketing is key. In fact, I think companies can utilize blogs for WOM marketing. Not in a formal, highly marketed blog, but something like what you have here. Corporations, both b2b and b2c, can implement a blog into their program allowing users to converse with other users and even the corporation itself about their products. Yes, the corporation must be open to negative feedback, but by allowing the customers to talk about their experiences using products this will ultimately gain the interest of other customers.

    Motorola and Nokia both have blogs that are dedicated to their new products (mostly phones), where users can review the phone and rate certain features. This is an awesome way for these two companies to capitalize on WOM marketing.

    Motorola and Nokia are just some of the many examples.

    -Christopher Salazar

  2. I’m particularly impressed with Nokia’s blog. Andy Abramson is behind that effort and it’s really created some great buzz for the N90 and others.

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