Consumer-generated media is the fastest growing media online and should be as important to your business as it is to other consumers. Listening to and leveraging consumer-generated media may well be the most important source of competitive advantage for any company. Studies have shown that when it comes to product information, consumers place far more trust in other consumers than they do in manufacturers, marketers, and advertisers. By listening to CGM and to what your customers are saying, you can gain truthful insights as to how they view your business, products, and services.
Consumers consistently rank word-of-mouth as one of the top information sources for making purchasing decisions. According to a recent study, 90 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know and 70 percent
trust opinions of unknown users, whereas only 27 percent trust experts and 8 percent trust celebrities. The rapid growth of this trend poses both challenges and opportunities for marketing, advertising, and public relation teams.
It is also important to monitor what is being said about your business and key company officials so that you can do damage control for any negative comments and leverage the positive ones.