Word of mouth marketing spreads from one person to another in an informal setting without the influence of advertisers. A personal recommendation from a friend or someone familiar or trustworthy adds a layer of credibility about a specific brand, product or service. People are more inclined to believe word of mouth marketing than other forms of promotion methods because the person giving the recommendation is speaking honestly about the product or service. They are also unlikely to have an ulterior motive, meaning that are not motivated by an incentive for their referrals.

In order to build a great word of mouth campaign, individuals must use specific networking strategies that produce desired behavioral responses. An effective networking tactic that creates effective word of marketing is to target key individuals who are authority persuaders and have a high number of personal connections. These individuals are natural “connectors”. They have the innate ability to assess the value of their contacts and match-mate them with each other. One of the most effective books on this topic is called, “The Tipping Point.”

“The Tipping Point” is a must read for individuals who want to maximize the word of mouth marketing of their personal brand. This book will teach you how to identify and tell the difference between people who are labeled as Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. A smart networker does not personally have to be a social butterfly with a large rolodex. They simply need to know how to build relationships with connectors. It is equally important for a networker to know who the Mavens are because the Maven’s personality is to gather extensive information and pass that knowledge along to others. Finally, Salesmen are the personalities who have a unique ability to persuade others.

Marketers place significant value on positive word-of-mouth marketing. Creating a natural buzz about your brand is done through the use of creative networking strategies. These creative strategies are constantly being evolved with the emergence of social media and Web 2.o.

Web sites like Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are just a few social networks that can help you create buzz marketing messages that turn into the powerful and useful resource that word of mouth marketing has become for consumers and marketers.