Published in November 2018, word-of-mouth remains the most powerful marketing tool for cultural institutions, whether deployed online or offline. For cultural activities and immaterial heritage sectors, online word-of-mouth becomes an especially potent channel to reach audiences and drive engagement.
Building and Stimulating Word of Mouth
Effective word-of-mouth requires a product that intrigues and appeals to audiences—a mechanism often organic, but one that can be deliberately stimulated through web marketing tools. A museum in Venice, for example, could gain competitive advantage by ranking first in Google search results for the keyword “museo a Venezia” (museum in Venice). Achieving this requires structured, long-term SEO work to improve search engine positioning. Search engine optimization is one of many available tools; others include social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr; paid advertising on search engines and portals; online public relations through blogger and opinion leader outreach; and email marketing. All these web marketing tools must be supported by a quality website featuring interesting content, compelling communication, and straightforward navigation.
Measurement and Control
Web marketing and communication activities incur costs due to the labour involved, but word-of-mouth itself spreads spontaneously at no additional expense. Digital channels offer a critical advantage: all online activity can be measured and analyzed, allowing institutions to assess performance objectively. However, word-of-mouth is influenceable but not controllable. Negative information typically spreads at roughly twice the speed of positive information. Provided a cultural product has no significant negative aspects, this risk remains manageable. The fundamental principle endures: word-of-mouth is a powerful tool for building awareness, a rule as valid today as it was a century ago—only the mechanisms for stimulating it have changed.
Frequently asked questions
What digital platforms are recommended for promoting cultural activities?
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, alongside search engine optimization, paid advertising on portals, online public relations through blogger contact, and email marketing all contribute to word-of-mouth amplification.
Can word-of-mouth marketing be controlled?
Word-of-mouth is influenceable through web marketing tools but not fully controllable; negative information generally travels twice as fast as positive information, though this poses minimal risk if the cultural product itself is sound.
What is the advantage of measuring online cultural marketing?
All online activity can be measured and analyzed, allowing cultural institutions to objectively assess whether their marketing efforts are working effectively.
