Ecosystem and eWOM: LJ 9

Most people I know, myself included, heavily rely on EWOM in everyday life. For example, if my family and I want to try a new restaurant, we immediately do research on Google and Yelp. If my friends and I want to try out a new entertainment activity (i.e. bowling or mini-golf), we will do the same. If I want to buy new workout gear, I will look for recommendations on TikTok. If I want to watch a movie, I will look through suggestions on social media. I rarely try or buy anything new without referring to social media first. Considering how important it is, “any company engaging in social media marketing, both large and small, should first conceptualize and develop its own version of the social media ecosystem” (Hanna et al. 2011).

The increased use of EWOM makes sense because consumers trust other consumers; “research has shown that eWOM may have higher credibility, empathy and relevance to customers than marketer created sources of information on the Web” (Gruen et al. 2006). It is a natural and understandable tendency to be cautious about the information advertisements give you about a product. They want you to buy the product, so they obviously would not say anything bad about it. It is for this reason that influencer marketing is gaining in popularity. If companies get social media stars (seemingly “normal” people) to positively review their products, it would help increase sales. 

Though I do not follow or engage with many influencers or social media stars, I have been influenced by their content before. I have bought something because of a viral trend or video on TikTok on more occasions than I would like to admit. I do not get influenced much by celebrities because some part of me does not view them as a “common” or “normal” person. I would say I get the most influenced by my friends’ and family’s opinions. They are the “realest” to me, therefore the most trustworthy.

EWOM is vital to a company’s success, and “the combination of both traditional and social mediums allows companies to develop integrated communication strategies to reach consumers on a myriad of platforms, enabling a wide sphere of influence” (Hanna et al. 2011). Properly combining old and new marketing techniques is the key to prosperity.

Gruen, Osmonbekov, T., & Czaplewski, A. J. (2006). eWOM: The impact of customer-to-customer online know-how exchange on customer value and loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 59(4), 449–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2005.10.004

Hanna, R., Rohm, A., & Crittenden, V. L. (2011, February 16). We're all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem. Business Horizons. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007681311000243