There’s a complex theory about word of mouth talked about over at Daily Fix that I’ll try to simplify here:
WOM = O x U x S(C) – told you it was complex.
Stick with me though, because it’s kinda cool and since word of mouth is the most potent tool you have as a musician, this is a great concept to explore.. What’s being said is that the affectiveness of word of mouth equals originality multiplied by usefulness multiplied by the credibility of the seed.
My intrepretation is that the key to successful word of mouth is having an interesting but useful message that is also believable and easy to get out (think of scattering seed). We tend to think that people talk about stuff because it’s interesting, but that’s not the case. People also have to find something useful before they will tell their friends and neighbors about it.
But even that’s not enoght. People will only open their mouths when there is no fear of personal failure. They have to have confidence in their ability to communicate the message as well as what the message is. In other words, they need to be able to say it clearly and easily and trust that their word won’t be challenged later on too.
WOM = O x U x S(C) – make sure your message (or your “brand”) is originally useful, trustworthy and easy to talk about.
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