In many respects online word of mouth is as effective as any other medium to convey the worthiness of a product or service. This methodology can be illustrated simplistically – someone writes that they had a certain experience with “X”, this comment is then read by other individuals who believe that this person or the place the comment is being made is a trustworthy way of collecting opinions on something that.

It all begins with trust – the audience must trust the source of his or her online information before forming the opinion that will ultimately have them vote for or against the subject. Studies have shown that consumers are much more likely to be influenced by online word of mouth than by radio or TV advertising, with print ad’s falling to a much lower level than that prior to the advent of the internet.

The under 30 crowd has become highly focused on consumer generated media, having not only viewed the content, but have also been influenced by it and in turn influence others by posting their own online commentary in response. This form of social commentary has been found to be most influential on areas about health, transport and consumer electronics, each of which could be considered a major capital outlay.

For online word of mouth sales to be capitalized on, marketing needs to be targeted towards the demographic most likely to be influenced by it, as mentioned above. The explosion of social networking has capitalized on this method of advertising, with many websites and multimillion dollar businesses operating solely by increasingly sophisticated methods of determining the best audience, at the perfect time with the right product.

So how do you get WidgetX known online as a rock solid product? So, having a quality product at a price point that targets the masses is important (why buy WidgetX if it’s 3 times the cost of a comparable other WidgetY?), which coupled with an understanding of exactly who it’s aimed at and why it’s of benefit to that market is key.

Contrary to popular belief, consumers are on the whole smarter than too many marketers give them credit for, which is why some companies may spend fortunes on high cost advertising campaigns, both on and off line, still to see their product fail totally or fail to bring an acceptable return on capital outlay, all because consumers decided that the product in question was unworthy of their purchasing.  Then they proceed to telling others the same. This is why online word of mouth is enormously successful for those who succeed with it, and why it exerts so much influence over just about every market there is.