We're all advertisers: LJ9

 Almost all content creation is involved in some sort of advertising and, with the creator-centric model of the internet, most everyone has become an advertiser in their own right. Even before the internet we acted as advertising for businesses, brands, and products. In real life we wear clothes with obvious logos and brand names, we use branded tools, and we recommend restaurants and products we have enjoyed. The internet only amplifies these advertising behaviors. 

Electronic word of mouth (EWOM), as discussed by Michael Luca and Previte et al., has helped to enhance word out mouth recommendations. Word of mouth is the process by which something is advertised through its customers who recommend or discuss the business with others. In the past, with limited reach, word of mouth was mainly spread through friends and families. However, with the connectivity of the internet, strangers can provide reviews of anything to anyone. Sites like Yelp allow people to post reviews, both positive and negative, of businesses and their products and/or services. This presents major benefits over traditional word of mouth advertising. These comments are long-lasting and can be referred back to. They're also available to everyone on the internet and everyone has access to reviews from multiple people about multiple experiences. While not a perfect system, EWOM can be greatly beneficial to companies. According to Luca, an increase of one star on a Yelp review can increase profits 5 to 9 percent.

I have personal experience with EWOM. Not only have I looked to reviews to decide on products, restaurants, and once even a college professor, but I have also worked with Yelp reviews in one of my classes. We were assigned to write and post a Yelp review on three different restaurants targeting a different audience in each one. This assignment along with this week's readings on EWOM show me how much power I can have in online advertising. With a knowledge of audiences, rhetorical strategies, and writing skills, I have an advantage when it comes to advertising, or criticizing, businesses I have had experiences with. Everyone has a say over how a business is portrayed, but the most effective voices will be those who know how to persuade and reach specific target audiences. It doesn't just end with consumption. Knowing how effective reviews and EWOM can be and being able to most effectively utilize them can do great things for altruistic services. As mentioned by Previte et al., altruistic services need to grow customer bases and support because of decreasing amounts of participation in these crucial services. As a consumer, I can use the internet and EWOM to support and spread awareness of important services being performed and altruistic organizations that need help for their work to flourish. Once again, the internet has provided power to people to spread the word about things they find important. 

Comments

  1. Arianna T.April 26, 2022 at 6:17 PM

    Hi Mikael,

    It is true that almost every content creator in some way is advertising a service or product whether they are aware of it or not. I agree that comments are long lasting which allows the electronic word of mouth to be effective in the growth of businesses. This allows for small businesses to grow as well or can destroy them before they even start.

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  2. Justin CrossApril 27, 2022 at 12:37 PM

    Hi Mikael,
    Your point about the reviews being long-lasting was interesting. I had not really thought about the fact that those opinions would stick around, just as everything on the internet does. While this may not be as influential when it comes to product reviews (products are generally improved from time-to-time), it would definitely make a difference when it came to someone referring to someone else, say a politician. People's actions tend to linger in others' minds for a long time.

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  3. Devin TitusApril 27, 2022 at 5:04 PM

    Hi Mikael, I can definitely relate to your post as I am someone who also looks at reviews for products and restaurants before deciding whether or not it is for me. Similar to you, I have also even relied on electronic word of mouth for deciding which professors to take. I think the internet and social media especially have only enhanced the advertisement of products although advertising has always been very prevalent. As you mentioned, even before the internet people have always been walking billboards as companies that sell products always make sure their logo is front and center. This allows for those who have already brought the product to do the advertising for the company. I also think it is important for third-party sites such as Yelp to exist because it ensures that reviews both positive and negative receive the attention they deserve. I say this because when looking through reviews on certain companies' websites it is not uncommon for them to draw more attention to the positive reviews rather than the negative ones. That is why I think it is so important for reviews both negative and positive to be shared because it ultimately leads to companies improving on their product.

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  4. Bryan ArnetteApril 27, 2022 at 8:35 PM

    Michael, I agree with you because I myself always tries to research a restaurant to make sure that it is something I would enjoy enough to spend my money at. Just recently I went out to eat with a friend to a hibachi restaurant in town that a friend by word of mouth told me about but they were referring to the one in New Tampa that has recently closed, moved and is set to reopen soon, but instead of waiting to visit that one I went to the other one in town thinking my experience would be the same. I was very much wrong because the experience I got was not the same but if I would have taken time to look up the reviews of the Dale Mabry one that is still open I would have found out that it was not as great as the one in New Tampa.

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  5. Phuc NApril 30, 2022 at 8:34 PM

    The electronic word of mouth (EWOM) is a concept that I have heard fairly regularly but have yet to explore its full meaning. It is fascinating how this new era of internet has turned a regular chatting period with friends and family members into a potential catalyst for wide-scale advertisement. With the help of the World Wide Web, any compliments or criticism about a particular brand or service will can spread far beyond what one can ever imagine. Not to mention the amount of impact one feedback can carry, especially when it comes to affecting the reputation of a business. Most of the time the criticism can be attributed to actual problems with the service received. Yet the lack of moderators for these reviewing website can sometime encourages dishonest reviews to flood an otherwise regular business. Significantly affecting their standings and livelihood.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Danny Doan's Learning JournalMay 1, 2022 at 6:40 AM

    Hey Mikael,
    I agree that word of mouth on the internet has impacted the whole word of mouth term by a huge margin. I also liked your approach on how everyone is pretty much a walking advertisement. People like to show off their clothing, items, and other brand products which influence the people that they know. I never really thought of it like that!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Demarko R.May 5, 2022 at 2:57 PM

    I agree with you when you say how almost all content creators are advertisers. It is so easy to pick up a camera and show of a product even if it is not your own. EWOM is an amazing thing, being very beneficial to both consumers and business. It is a fair trade, consumers get to see if a product is worth it, while the businesses gain information and get rewarded with extra revenue if their product is actually good and worth it.

    ReplyDelete

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