Traditional Media Sparks Word of Mouth

With the current media shift towards digital media such as Internet and mobile devices, I thought it would be interesting to discuss what the industry experts had to say.  A new research study fielded among nearly 1,000 digital influencers demonstrates that traditional and online media are both important sources when it comes to sharing news. The study, developed by IM MS&L, MS&L’s influencer marketing practice to determine how to construct effective online influencer campaigns, in conjunction with leading research firm Ipsos Public Affairs, finds that traditional media play a vital role in igniting the process that leads influencers to share information online and via word of mouth. More than eight in 10 influencers say they often go online to find out more after reading something in a magazine or newspaper (84%) or hearing something on TV or the radio (84%.) These traditional media sources help shape public opinion in the complex world of online influence.

“This research supports the need for influencer marketing campaigns to leverage both traditional and online tools to connect with consumers,” said Renee Wilson, deputy MD of MS&L New York and director of the agency’s IM MS&L practice.

The research measured the behavior of digital influencers in three categories: beauty, environmental and personal health, and discovered that each type of influencer has unique methods of spreading word of mouth. Some of the key findings of the research include:

Beauty influencers rely on manufacturers’ Web sites for their POV.

• In a good sign for advertisers, company and product websites are more effective sources for driving word-of-mouth in the beauty category than in either personal health or environmental.
• Online community Web sites rank the highest of 15 sources for sharability among digital beauty influencers, and portals and search engines have the lowest sharability score.
• In the beauty category, consumer opinion may motivate more sharing than in other categories: Blogs, discussion boards and chat rooms are rated above average on the index.

Neglecting non-profit and academic Web sites for green content? Think again.

• Influencers in the environment space spend a great deal of time gathering information from non-profit, association and academic Web sites (42% do so at least once per week).
• Digital influencers in the category of environmental cause embrace traditionally credible and objective sites when it comes to sharability.
• The highest sharability scores go to Web sites of environment-related publications, magazines and TV networks, and non-profit/academic Web sites.
• Banner ads and online community sites have the lowest sharability scores, meaning that environmental influencers share information from these sources much less frequently than they do information from all other sources, relative to how often they gather information from each of these sources.

Nutrition is a hot topic for health influencers.

• Majorities of personal health influencers frequently gather information about nutrition (54%) and nearly half frequently share this content with others.
• The most “sharable” source among digital influencers in this category are national and local government Web sites, even though these sites are not as widely visited and used as other sites that provide health information.
• These government Web sites trigger a great deal of word-of-mouth on the part of the personal health influencers who access them, so the sites may provide the biggest bang for a marketer’s digital communications’ buck.
• While influencers often use portals and search engines to gather health information, these are among the sources with the lowest “sharability” rankings.

Interesting information for you marketers out there. Now if only we can start spreading the word in a way that will get our economy moving again….

Leave a comment