When used as the first touchpoint for new customers, traditional acquisition channels like paid ads fail to drive conversions since they can feel impersonal and promotional. While paid efforts are a crucial strategy for retargeting, ecommerce brands need to opt for more organic forms of marketing like word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing to increase their reach among new and relevant audiences and build brand trust.

Shoppers today base their decisions on recommendations from friends, family members, or creators they follow—people whose opinions they value. Their validation feels more authentic and trustworthy than paid advertisements. In fact, a Nielsen study shows that 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know over all other marketing channels.

In this article, we’ll explore what WOM marketing is, its benefits, and five effective techniques to increase organic word of mouth for your ecommerce brand. Let’s dive in!

What is Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM)? 

Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on encouraging customers to share their positive experiences about a product or brand with others.

Unlike traditional advertising, which relies on direct messaging from the brand, WOM marketing works through genuine recommendations from people within your social circle—family, friends, and influencers you follow. 

It is especially helpful for small businesses and emerging brands that don’t have the budget to run large-scale and paid campaigns to broaden their reach.

For example, a customer purchases a pair of sneakers from an online store and loves them. They share a photo on Instagram with a positive product review, tagging the brand. A friend who sees the social media post decides to buy the same sneakers based on the word-of-mouth recommendation.

The brand benefits from increased visibility and sales without spending on ads, all due to the endorsement they get from real people! 

Types of social proof that increase word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) for your brand

When potential buyers see that others trust and recommend a product, they are more likely to make a purchase. This social proof helps to reduce any uncertainty that buyers feel, leading to confident and quicker decisions.

In ecommerce, different types of social proof can amplify your brand's credibility and influence purchasing decisions, such as:

Customer reviews & testimonials

Whether you’re on an online marketplace like Amazon, TikTok Shop, or a DTC brand’s website, online reviews and ratings help you decide whether the product is worth a purchase.

When new shoppers see that satisfied customers have had positive experiences with a product, they are more likely to trust it. Reviews also help potential buyers assess whether the product fits their specific needs so that they can make the right choice.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing includes photos and videos shared by your customer base (also known as user-generated content), which act as powerful social proof. It builds authenticity by showing real people using and enjoying your products. 

Whether it’s a photo shared on Instagram or a TikTok unboxing video, UGC provides buyers with a genuine look at how your product fits into everyday life, which builds trust and credibility.

Referral-based purchases

Referral-based purchases are driven by friends, family, or even colleagues who make purchases based on recommendations from past customers of the brand. In exchange, customers earn a reward like a discount on their next order, a free product, or even cashback.

Referral marketing is an effective way for brands to incentivize past shoppers to drive word-of-mouth and acquire new customers.

Influencer & creator endorsements

Another word-of-mouth strategy that many ecommerce brands use is to partner with influencers. When popular creators, bloggers, or influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram recommend your product, it creates brand awareness, helping you reach new target audiences on social media platforms, building trust, and making them likely to buy from you. 

Unlike other types of word-of-mouth marketing campaigns, influencer marketing is often paid. 

Top 5 word of mouth marketing techniques for ecommerce brands

Now that you know the benefits of running WOM marketing campaigns, let’s help you set them up! Here are five word-of-mouth marketing techniques that can amplify your brand’s reach and drive more sales:

Strategy #1: Turn customers into affiliates with a referral program

When customers share their positive experiences with your products, their peer-driven recommendations act as social proof, reinforcing trust and influencing potential buyers. In fact, peer recommendations can increase the likelihood of a purchase by up to 92%. This trust from friends and family is much stronger than any advertisement, as it comes from a personal connection.

Incentivize your past customers to refer new ones with a referral program. Through this, your past customers can earn a discount, cashback, and other rewards for every new customer that they bring in. 

When setting up your referral program, keep these best practices in mind:

• Set up a clear reward for customers like $15 credits or a 20% discount on their next order.
• Provide a shareable link that customers can send to their friends and family easily, letting you track every sale generated through WOM.
• Let customers know about the program by sharing its information within your post-purchase email.
• Make it easy for customers to see how many people they referred and the rewards they earned. 

For example, Latico Leathers is an ecommerce leather goods brand that incentivizes customers to become affiliates by offering 15% of the sales they generate through their referrals. Using Social Snowball, they were able to generate an additional $18K in referral revenue, lowering acquisition costs.

Strategy #2: Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC) 

User-generated content (UGC)—such as photos, videos, and reviews shared by your real people—serves as authentic, unpaid endorsements for your brand. Unlike traditional promotional content, UGC is seen as more genuine and trustworthy, as it reflects real customer experiences. 

Unlike referral marketing, UGC prioritizes content created by customers, often having them share visuals of their experience with the brand, making it a powerful word-of-mouth marketing strategy. Some ways to do this are:

• Promote a branded hashtag: Create a unique hashtag for your brand and encourage customers to use it when sharing their experiences. This makes it easier for you to find and share their content, showcasing real-life endorsements.
  
  
• Run contests to encourage content creation: People often need an extra incentive to create content. Run contests that will motivate customers to share photos, videos, and stories about their experience using your products. Offer rewards like a 10% discount, a giveaway for a $50 gift card, or a freebie on their next order. This increases the amount of authentic content your brand receives, increasing reach.
  
  
• Engage with and share UGC: Regularly repost customer-generated content on your social media channels. This makes customers feel appreciated and motivates others to share their experiences, creating a cycle of social proof.
  
  
• Encourage and showcase reviews: Simplify the review process to make it easy for customers to leave feedback. You can then share these testimonials on social media to build social proof among followers who haven’t already bought from you. 
• Partner with UGC creators: While organic UGC is valuable, it can be inconsistent in both quality and quantity—some customers may create amazing content, while others may share visuals that don’t align with your brand’s aesthetic. UGC creators solve this by producing high-quality, authentic content that mirrors real customer experiences. They help maintain a steady flow of content that can be repurposed across social media, product pages, and ads—all at a much lower cost than mainstream influencers.

Solawave is a skincare brand that often partners with UGC creators to drive word-of-mouth through authentic content. 

Strategy #3: Improve on-site conversions with customer content

Your product pages are prime real estate for showcasing social proof because this is where shoppers decide whether to add to cart. Featuring customer reviews, testimonials, and before-and-after images on your website helps demonstrate real results, giving visitors the assurance they need to make a purchase.

For example, Solawave, a skincare brand, features customer testimonials, reviews, and before-and-after images from real customers within their product pages.

But customer content shouldn’t be limited to product pages alone—integrating social proof across your entire website can further build trust and improve conversions.

• Feature testimonials on the homepage to establish credibility from the first interaction.
• Create a dedicated ‘Wall of Love’ page with UGC, customer feedback, and social shoutouts.
• Display customer photos and videos on-site to show real people using your products.
• Enable video shopping with UGC content to provide an interactive shopping experience.

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Strategy #4: Gamify your affiliate & referral program

Gamifying your affiliate program increases motivation and creates competition, which creates an engaging experience. Through gamification tactics, you can motivate affiliates to achieve more and, in turn, generate more word-of-mouth marketing for your brand.

Here are some ideas to gamify your word-of-mouth strategy:

• Implement tiered programs where affiliates earn a larger commission after referring 20 customers.
• Reward a bonus for affiliates for reaching a milestone like generating $100 in sales.
• Send freebies to affiliates during their first anniversary.
• Set up leaderboards to create competition among your affiliates.
• Allow customers within your loyalty program to earn points for referring new ones. Since these members already have brand loyalty, they’ll be eager to refer and earn points.

For example, PurelyB, a superfood brand, implemented a tiered structure in its affiliate program, driving higher engagement from affiliates.

Looking to gamify your affiliate program? Download our 20-page playbook with winning strategies and real-life examples to help you get started.

Strategy #5: Automate capturing word of mouth with email & post-purchase flows

Email flows are a great way to engage and motivate your existing customers to become promoters of your brand, turning them into active advocates who can boost your credibility and influence new buyers.

Here’s how you can use emails to drive positive word-of-mouth:

• Remind customers about the value of sharing your products and their experiences, including the rewards they can earn.
  
  
• Keep customers engaged with your brand and motivated with updates about the referrals they’ve brought in and the total rewards they’ve already earned. Inform them about any additional rewards you have in place (like milestones or bonuses).
  
  
• Integrate your affiliate program with your email marketing tool to set up triggered email flows based on specific actions. With Social Snowball's integration with Klaviyo, you can seamlessly incorporate affiliate data into your existing email flows, creating additional touchpoints to nurture referrals. For example, you can include referral codes or links in your post-purchase emails, making it easy for your customers to start sharing your brand.

For example, Fanjoy, an ecommerce brand in the merchandise space, uses Social Snowball to send a follow-up email explaining how customers can earn money by promoting the product within their social network. If the customer doesn’t engage, follow-up emails are sent to remind them to join the affiliate program.

By incorporating these reminders into their post-purchase email flows, Fanjoy was able to generate $100,000 in new incremental revenue from customer referrals.

Ready to scale word-of-mouth marketing for long-term growth?

To truly make word-of-mouth a part of your digital marketing and scale personal recommendations, it’s important to think of it as an ongoing effort to build trust rather than a short-term marketing effort. Each interaction with your customers is an opportunity to reinforce that trust, motivating them to share their experiences and spread the word.

By offering rewards and incentives for sharing, you can leverage the power of word of mouth to increase your ecommerce brand’s social proof. Over time, this becomes a strategy for consistent, long-term customer acquisition.

Ready to increase social proof for your brand through genuine recommendations? Social Snowball can help you automate this process, turning your customers into motivated advocates and acquiring new customers successfully.

Frequently asked questions

How can I measure the impact of word-of-mouth marketing on my ecommerce sales?

You can track the effectiveness of your WOM marketing using referral sales data, affiliate program performance metrics, social media mentions, and customer reviews. Additionally, use tools like Social Snowball to attribute revenue to word-of-mouth efforts and Klaviyo to set up emails to launch your campaign.

What types of products benefit the most from word-of-mouth marketing?

Products that solve a specific problem, create a unique experience, or have a strong emotional connection tend to perform well with WOM marketing. Categories like beauty, wellness, fashion, and tech gadgets often see strong word-of-mouth engagement.

How do I encourage customers to leave reviews and share their experiences?

To encourage your customers to share their stories you need to make it easy and rewarding for them. You can do this in a few ways:

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• Automate review requests via post-purchase emails.
• Offer incentives for UGC and referrals.
• Engage with customers on social media and reshare their experiences to make them feel valued, increase customer loyalty, and turn them into vocal advocates.

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