Online PR was once a thing of dreams, allowing brands to reach out to customers on their own, find out what they were talking about instantly and then measure the results. It’s now the norm, with digital agencies springing up like nobody’s business and the online space being an integrated part of every decent communications plan.

It wasn’t always like this, and once upon a time people dismissed it as a fad, possibly because they were afraid of it – or simply didn’t understand. Word of mouth (WOM) marketing seems to be in the same position at the moment. It’s always existed – it is after all one of the key objectives for most PR and advertising campaigns (just pipped to the post by ‘sales’). However, the introduction of networks like Digg, Facebook and the uptake in self-publishing provides the perfect environment in which direct brand to consumer relations can thrive.

Steve Knox wrote recently in AdAge that offline and online connection is key to taking on WOM successfully and that its real goal is to disrupt expectation within reason. “A classic example was the attempt to reposition Las Vegas as a “family friendly place.” This change was wildly disruptive but strayed too far from the core schema of Las Vegas as an adult playground. It was rejected in the consumers’ mind. Effective word-of-mouth that drives consumer advocacy disrupts mildly, not wildly, from the consumers’ foundational truth.”

There’s some blurring over the placement of WOM within the communications space. Online PR uses elements of this practice to create buzz, but the key difference is that generally WOM tries to engage on a deeper level with an array of consumers – not just fans. This means that it weighs in on the side of the evangelist vs. the high-profile influencer. Talking to a group of people with passion for a brand but possibly less reach is much more valuable than a one-time hit from a superstar blogger.

Mike Rowe, CEO of 1000heads, the word of mouth people, told us that the nature of his business is talking to consumers about what they want, rather than telling them what a brand wants to say. “Old world thinking shows us that brands only want to engage in positive conversation, but relationships are more complex than that. You accept all of your friend’s flaws, and don’t dismiss them if something negative becomes apparent.”

WOM is still a relatively young industry, and it will take time to be accepted as a valuable method of communicating with consumers. After years of knocking on doors in the early stages of 1000heads growth, Rowe told us that the mass rollout of broadband was a tipping point for the business.

‘The first real barrier was just finding the right people to talk to. It’s not like today – where you can find people with passion about pretty much any topic, waxing lyrical about it on their own blog. You had to search them out. Broadband made immediacy and access to voicing opinion online so much easier. Present day, the barrier is actually social media. Social media isn’t conversation, it’s a channel. This is clouding many people’s vision of what they want a consumer to feel when they walk away from any interaction with a brand. They just think they should get a Facebook page.”

Rowe also said that what happens next for WOM is near impossible to predict, but that much of its development would happen naturally. “As brand behaviour changes, this space will become much more important. This is partly to do with age, as those that have grown up with social media rise through companies and into senior management roles. This presents a huge challenge for traditional PR, and even the definition of what news actually is.”