WOM and social media: Presaging future directions for research and practice |
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Authors: | Allan J Kimmel Philip J Kitchen |
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Institution: | 1. Marketing Department, ESCP Europe 79 avenue de la République, 75543 Paris Cedex 11, Francekimmel@escpeurope.eu;3. ESC Rennes School of Business, 2, Rue Robert d'Abrissel, Rennes 35000, France |
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Abstract: | Word of mouth (WOM) has become the focus of growing interest among marketing practitioners and consumers. However, the promises of WOM marketing are often oversold, and various assertions about the nature of WOM, its dynamics, antecedents, and consequences at times have been misstated in mass-mediated articles and books on the topic. In this introductory paper for the special issue on WOM and social media, we survey the current state of WOM knowledge and the role of WOM in contemporary marketing, reconsider common beliefs about the WOM process in an effort to separate WOM facts from fallacies, and presage some future directions and best practices in light of evolving online channels of WOM generation and transmission. |
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Keywords: | word of mouth word-of-mouth marketing social media online word of mouth connected marketing |
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