Is word of mouth the best way to advertise something?

[Camille]

[Mart]

It is certainly one of the best ways. What the people around you use is a great influence on most people.

I don't think anyone can just put a blanket statement on it saying it is THE BEST.

[Wayne Z]

As a small business owner, I can attest to it being the best.

Unfortunately, it is also the slowest.

[?]

It depends. Some things will simply not do well with word of mouth advertising. Very few people are passionate about, say, toilet paper - it's something you need and are happy is there, but you're not going to jump on to Twitter raving about the quality of your asswipe.

[Golfer]

Word of mouth reach one person but an ad on TV can reach millions.

[Vagabond5879]

YES, because that is someone's personal experience with a certain store or job that someone has done for you!

:-)
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[something fishy]

it helps!
but radio by far reaches more people as well as internet

online reviews

the out dated phone book

the newspaper

*(*

[?]

This depends on what you're advertising for. Local market or global market or whatever market can change your approach to advertising. Word of mouth is great for small business dealing with the community it operates in, restaurants and bike shops are great examples of small businesses that heavily rely on positive word of mouth to succeed.
On the other hand you have national or even global businesses that need to use advertisement to get their name and products noticed and to reach as many consumers as possible. Insurance companies and grocery store products are a prime example of this sort of advertisement.
In closing, see what it is you're trying to promote or bring attention to and look at WHO you're trying to inform. The best form of advertisement is the one that works for you or your product.