Social media software company Lithium is expected to acquire online influence measurement company Klout for at least $100 million in advance of its own IPO. The integration of Klout influence measurement into Lithium social software is a perfect match and might just help marketers and content publishers get more of the critical information they need to effectively communicate the right messages to the right audiences across the social web. After all, there is no better place to drive word-of-mouth marketing, brand advocacy, brand loyalty, brand awareness, and brand purchases than the social web. Don't believe it? Take a look at the data below.

An infographic published by Lithium offers a long list of statistics that prove word-of-mouth marketing works and it's happening via social media.

Here are just a few of the statistics that should matter to publishers and marketers:‍

Word-of-mouth affects purchase behavior. 50% of purchase decisions are influenced by word-of-mouth.‍

Word-of-mouth has massive reach. 1,000 customers can generate 500,000 conversations about a brand.‍

Word-of-mouth builds audience trust. 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising and just 10% trust brands today.‍

Word-of-mouth influences people. 81% of consumers are influenced by their friends' social media posts.‍

Word-of-mouth supports positive reputation management. 66% of brand mentions on the social web are positive.‍

Word-of-mouth affects search engines. 25% of search results for the world's 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content published via social media.‍

Word-of-mouth marketing works. 89% of consumers believe that customer testimonials are the most effective content with 70% reviewing online customer reviews first when they consider a brand.

One of the biggest secrets to driving effective word-of-mouth and building a bigger audience for your brand and content is to find the power influencers who already have the eyes and ears of your target audience. In fact, as an Authoritative Content publisher, you are likely a power influencer to your existing audience. You can find more of them by connecting with "superfans" who account for 10% of word-of-mouth marketing and generate three to five times more word-of-mouth messages and have a four times greater impact on purchase decisions than anyone else. You can get all of the details in the infographic below.

Via: Lithium