Let’s assume you were on the Tube and became involved in a conversation with someone. Granted that such occurrences are rare, especially amongst commuters, however, for the purpose of this topic you have began a dialogue with a complete stranger. Would you trust any of the advice given to you during that conversation? Enough to go and book a holiday or buy a piece of technology? It Seems ridiculous doesn’t it. My initial instinct is “no way” but actually the reality is we do…or at least consider the options.

Transfer this conversation to an online forum, and now let’s assume you’re not even involved but just eavesdropping. In fact, you now have the ability to listen in on thousands of virtual conversations all of which can appear in the natural search rankings based around the search terms you enter. If you’re looking to buy something or make some form of online commitment you are much more likely to make a decision based upon the content and sentiment included within these conversations from unknown sources, as opposed to the brands who provide the product or service.

The web has evolved to truly provide power in numbers and the Wisdom of Crowds is something brands and experts can’t ignore. In fact, major organisations should be looking at how to enhance the relationships with their existing customers and do their utmost to create as many advocates as possible. For me this is the most sensible strategy, and most probably offers the highest potential return compared to any other form of marketing. That’s of course if the advocate is genuine… and not an impersonator. Even though there is legislation to try and prevent this, how can it be policed?