Introduction to Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communications

A digest of essential theory and important considerations with examples from the retail industry

This course introduces the topic of electronic word-of-mouth communications (eWOM), which is an important concept in the area of branding and marketing communications. eWOM communications is related to the group of marketing activities that involve social media marketing, viral marketing, etc., as well as user and consumer-generated content available via the internet.

The material presented in the course is aimed at individuals who require a formal grounding in eWOM and a strategic understanding of the subject, from an academic perspective. By boiling down the fundamental concepts central to eWOM into a number of bite-size lectures, this course first exposes the definition of traditional word-of-mouth (WOM). The transition from WOM to eWOM is then explored, paying particular attention to explaining Kotler’s “Model of Consumer Behaviour”, which underlines the buying decision process. A timeline is provided to mark the different milestones that witnessed the transition from WOM to eWOM. This course also sheds light on some of the key high-level factors for promoting eWOM, including website considerations, content requirements, social media considerations and many more.

Throughout the course, several real-life examples are provided. These are from the world of retail and more specifically the domain of fashion retail, which is widespread and happening globally. Therefore, the course material also highlights practical aspects on how, for example, bloggers, website owners, marketing professionals, organisations, etc., are able to establish eWOM communications.