Research: Driving word of mouth is key reason for social media efforts

Microsoft Advertising just published the results of a survey with 700 major corporation on their use of social media.

What is the most important reason for these companies to invest time, money and resources in social media?

• 27% Word of Mouth
• 26% Brand considerations
• 21% Direct Response
• 18% CRM
• 6% ‘inbound’ or ‘listening’

What does "Word of mouth" mean?
For the purposes of this study, it means three things:

1. Identifying and reaching influencers
2. Generating word-of-mouth, or conversations about brand, products, or deals
3. Rebroadcasting word of mouth to target audience

Leading social media marketers, however, believe that almost two thirds of the ‘word of mouth’ they work so hard to generate doesn’t reach their target audience.

There are also significant challenges to be solved in driving ‘word of mouth’ and managing social communities. Specifically, many social marketers face challenges in

• making sure their communities are target appropriate
• getting new fans and followers
• preventing churn