Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is the oldest form of marketing in the world, and it’s the most effective. Now with blogs, podcasts, and other “new media” tools, business owners and marketers with even the smallest of budgets can kick WOMM into overdrive. You can get started by understanding a couple of basics of online WOMM, and taking three simple steps.

Trust is where it all begins

If you want to succeed in today’s new-media marketplace, gaining the consumers’ trust is critical. With consumers being exposed to between 3,000 and 10,000 marketing messages per day, trust is essential in order to overcome the clutter and noise of traditional interruption advertising.

Trust is an undeniable prerequisite for persuasion. True persuasion is what makes WOMM work. Let’s face it, if I were one of your best friends and I was not fully persuaded (by my experience with both a company and their product), then would I ever tell you to go buy that product or service? No, of course, I wouldn’t!

I can’t persuade you through my recommendation and rave reviews until I have been persuaded. And, I won’t be persuaded to buy until I trust who is selling the product/service. Some cheesy ad or half-baked sale is not going to do anything to build my trust.

Engage me, communicate to me, and listen to my concerns, and you will build that trust. That’s what even a simple business blog, all on its own, can start doing for you.

Three steps to start taking your word-of-mouth marketing online

There are two simple steps you can take to begin learning how WOMM works and start integrating it into your business.

1. Schedule some time each week to be active in online business networks, online communities, and blogs related to your industry or niche. This will begin to give you a feel for the way blogs, social networks, and other new-media tools work.

2. Whether your company is large or small, local or national, you should have your own business blog. They’re easy and inexpensive to set up. A properly structured business blog will help you grab top search-engine rankings too – an important point because, of the people who use Internet searches to find what they want/need to buy (a growing majority), 85% make that purchase based on that search.

3. Engage, interact, and openly respond to your prospects and customers on your business blog. Give them insight into your business operations. Use it to build rapport and trust with prospects and customers. Think of it as an opportunity to get to know you and your company.

Remember, people always prefer to buy from people they like. If all that you are relying on to get people to buy is traditional interruption marketing, you’re dead in the water and already sinking. But when you step onboard the blog-powered new media, you’ll set sail for a much more profitable future.

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Learn how to unleash the maximum marketing power of business blogs, podcasts, and RSS (in any industry, profession, or niche) with Marketing With Business Blogs™.

John-Paul is a published author and weekly columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin. As a Business Coach and Business Blog Consultant he helps small business owners market, manage, and sell more with self-influence and persuasion. You can reach J.P. directly via [communicationcommando@gmail.com].