In the recent years there has been tremendous hype generated around social media and how it can impact marketing. Most people agree that social media can be used to amplify word of mouth exponentially and companies of all sizes have established themselves on various networks. However all said and done the true value of social media is still not clear and most companies have either not been able to utilize its potential or don’t know how to evaluate its benefits. The author’s company also maintains active pages on Facebook and Twitter but they have realized that those steps alone would not make any substantial difference to the performance of the company. Word of mouth needs to be treated as a standalone media that cannot be purchased like traditional advertising but needs to be earned. Companies need to provide genuine value to people who initiate and/or sustain word-of-mouth conversations in the virtual world.

Authors - Michael Zeisser, an alumnus of Mckinsey’s New York office, is a senior vice president at Liberty Media.

Source: McKinsey