Word-of-mouth literally occurs all around us. According to the Keller Fay Group, a projected 3.5 billion brand-related conversations occur every day. These conversations influence everything from the brands we buy, the restaurants we try, the books we read, and the movies we see. In fact, 90% of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends over all other forms of advertising and marketing.

While the importance of social influence in marketing is clear, the fleeting and random nature of word of mouth has historically made it difficult for these communications to scale beyond an individuals personal network of relationships.  Consequently, over the last half century, the one-to-many, mass marketing model has largely replaced word of mouth as the most prevalent source of information and advice in shaping purchasing decisions. However, with tens of millions of consumers now participating in online social networks, the potential now exists for word of mouth to scale in ways not previously possible.  According to a Forrester Research report by Josh Bernoff, “three in four US online adults now use social tools to connect with each other.” And because we trust our friends and neighbors more than we do advertising, the ability of social networks to amplify word of mouth far beyond its historically limited audience could have a profound impact on traditional media.

We are all part of many social groups (e.g. friends, co-workers, neighbors, schools, religious, family etc) and within these groups there are both influencers and connectors who facilitate the exchange of information. Today, 93% of these exchanges occur in face-to-face conversations or over the phone and are mostly informal and random which makes it difficult to share them beyond their initial audience. However social marketing networks, like the ones being developed by Buzfactor, will make it far easier for consumers to share recommendations well beyond their personal network of relationships.