Consumer product sites generate word-of-mouth buzz

For large consumer brands, TV still dominates as a mass advertising medium of choice.  

For smaller and newer brands national TV is just too expensive.  Sorry Mom. (Mom works for Fox and I will no doubt have to sit through another Fox pitch after this post.)  Inevitably, new brands and products find a way to grow outside of TV. (Sorry again, Mom.)  

Word-of-mouth has a lot to do with their growth.  Why does Sally tell Sam about a about a new product that she uses?  One reason is that Sally feels like she discovered it.  As the owner of a discovery, it is Sally’s duty as a social human being to share it with the world.  She puts it on her social mantle and brags about it as if she was the inventor.  Hence, the success of cool word-of-mouth companies like BzzAgent.  Discovery is not limited to new brands.  Brands can arm consumers with little known facts, messages from founders or leaders within the company.  Check out the Patagonia Footprint Chronicles site that really pulls back the corporate veil to show the consumer how their products are made.  

 

 

 

 

Online, a web site for a consumer good can be a source of discovery and empowerment.  Whether your brand is new or been around for 100 years, the web site gives you an opportunity to educate the consumer more deeply than a print ad or TV spot.  So, don’t stop with your ingredients, formulas or bland efficacy promises.  The deeper you can go for the consumer, the farther they will go to promote your brand.  

 

 

UPDATE:  My mom's actual response to this Post: