Word of Mouth

From a somewhat surprising study on word of mouth marketing:

• Positive mentions outnumber negative mentions 6 to 1
• 92% of brand conversations are happening offline, of which 20% happens over phone
• Only 9% of conversations are "mostly negative"
• People are more likely to pass along good mentions than bad ones - so good news travels faster than bad news!
• 41% of conversations mention advertising
• 72% of opinions about brands are shared by family members and personal friends, 13% are shared by co-workers and 7% are shared by a professional or expert on the topic
• The Internet (12%), television (7%) and newspapers (5%) are the top three media channels most frequently referenced in brand-related buzz
• Email, instant message and online chat rooms/blogs comprise 6% of word of mouth