Tagged: word of mouth

SPAM-A-LOT: It's going to get worse…

… before it gets better. We are talking about social spam on Twitter.  Other social networks suffer from this problem as well, however recent changes to Twitter this last month has made the issue worse. We feel the worst is yet to come.

This last month, Twitter launched its new front page / logon screen. This gave us insight into their revenue model, which includes trending data and analytics. Many companies  understand that their brands need to be in this space, but they don’t understand how to use social networks.

The proven models are about volume and numbers, not about engagement or advocacy on the social web. Therefore are many semantic bots that have been created and are now spaming the Twitterverse with hashtags and links. Volume, not authenticity, is the focus.

Businesses understand Pay-Per-Clicks and numbers more than they understand brand equity, authentic fellowship and brand advocates on the social web. We at Activating Word of Mouth use a metric that measures a brand’s Social Web Impact. This measures how influential your following is and how authentic.

The reality is, that brands still focus on volume and not engagement. Thus, new strategies like pay-per-tweet and celebrity endorsements are moving forward. This type of marketing will inevitably trend high on the twitter feeds and consequently land on the front page.

Is this good? Continue reading →

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In Order to Succeed You Must Get Out of the Bubble

Many businesses look to other businesses in their market and/or geographic area for ideas. In social media we find this is a double edged sword. We recently wrote about the Perils and Rewards of Being First in the market. This was in response to many conversations with prospective clients wanting to understand more about social media but not really wanting to make that dive into resourcing out part of their marketing budget toward Word of Mouth marketing on the social web.

We at ActivatingWOM have been traveling a lot. We are still amazed that geographic markets drive the decision to jump into the social web. When we are talking to clients in the Bay area, where social media applications, networks, etc are born every day, the dialogue is about new analytics and how to maximize new networks before the main stream takes advantage of these tools. In LA it is about how to define your social presence as it relates to fans of various talents and how engagement is measured. In DC it is about identifying policy trends in conversations and identify influencers of various policy discussions.

In Arizona, people are will watching and learning. Few companies are willing to jump out of their bubble and take the social media plunge. Even the various markets mentioned above are still in a bubble. They rarely look at how practices in these various markets can help with their web presence.

I come from an extensive political background. I saw the “bubble effect” often. In various campaigns you tend to surround yourself with like minded individuals who further strengthen your ideals but tend to disconnect you with others outside your bubble. I often challenged organizations and candidates to get out of their bubble. Washington tends to be so deep in the beltway bubble that they hire pollsters after pollsters to get the pulse of the American public.

On the social web, everything is available. Case study after case study is available. What relevance does it have to your industry? No one else in your industry is really resourcing out this work you say? It is time to get out of your bubble. In a previous post we demonstrated various companies’ success on the social web.

If you are a company that has never used Twitter or often laugh at discussions around social media, I have a test for you. Go to http://search.twitter.com and type in a few words related to your product and or services. I guarantee you that there are conversations happening around your services and or products. From Tea to Athletes we manage a wide range of clients who at one time thought the social web was not for them. This simple tests showcases that there are potential customers and/or fans out there. If they are already talking about you, why are you not engaging?

It is time to get out of the bubble, and make the jump. Don’t let bubble vision keep you from success.

Word of Mouth in Action

The folks at 12seconds.TV are close friends to the ActivatingWOM team. We have mad love and respect for the family over there. When we see authentic word of mouth happen to friends we love, we often take note. Here is a great shout out by Shawne Merriman:

Link to the specific mentions of 12seconds here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1712613/highlight/7011

Another Social Media Win – 12seconds Video Contest

By Kevin Spidel

World renowned photographer Jose Villa offered a scholarship to his photography workshops in Tuscany, Italy to the winner of his 12Seconds competition.

12Seconds.TV is one of the most popular video messaging sites on the web and also good friends of the ActivatingWOM team.

The video contest received over 4700 votes. Online word of mouth actions such as ReTweets, submissions, and advertising of each artists’ submission drove new views to Jose’s website and piqued interests of many who had not previously known about his workshops.

Jose also created a twitter account and actively engaged in conversations: http://twitter.com/ItalyWorkshop

The submitted videos demonstrated artistic talents from around the world and exposed artists’ works to the social web. The bonus was that by using 12seconds.tv the contest was interactive with the artist, kept the attention span of new viewers, and was entertaining.

Here are the top picks: http://josevilla.bigfolioblog.com/weblog/post/110789

And the winner:

shiz-what? on 12seconds.tv

By engaging his online audience to produce their own content about his workshops, Jose not only won over new fans, but received more creditable word of mouth advertising than if he had worked through traditional firms, which would have required a large budget for less return.

This is authentic word of mouth marketing on the web. It is a social media win!

Your Customers Are Talking About You – Why Aren't You Talking To them?

By Jennifer Kindred

Last week Kevin and I spent several days in the Bay Area.  The trip was a professional and personal success for both of us; we met and interacted with amazing people all over the Bay Area, particularly in Santa Cruz.  I could go on and on about our trip, but then would miss the point of this blog entry, which is utilizing the social web in our everyday lives.
On our last day in San Francisco we had a meeting with a potential client who suggested we go to lunch and that I pick the place.  Hmmm, I’m a Chicago gal, not so familiar with San Francisco, so my first instinct was to go to Yelp.com.  Yelp is a great resource for reviews of almost anything, including restaurants.  The site not only gives you information about the restaurant but provides reviews from people who have eaten at the restaurant.  This is word of mouth in its purest form on the web.

I thought about the power the reviewers had over a restaurant’s business and my choice.  I personally do not put 100% stock in other people’s opinions but in a world of infinite choices, others opinions do provide guide posts.  Quite honestly, I am much more apt to bypass a restaurant if there are several bad reviews on a site like yelp.

Sites like Yelp are a PR agencies worst nightmare…no control over the reviews.  However, that is because traditional and Web 2 types do not understand how to engage and use both good and bad reviews that are found on the social web.  Bad reviews are often the most valuable pieces of information that a business such as a restaurant can find.  If a restaurant contacted the reviewer and engaged in real conversation about the bad review and then offered to compensate them for having a bad experience at their restaurant; the restaurant would have just taken a negative impression and turned into a positive interaction with a customer.

Word of mouth marketing gives power to the consumer but also allows the business to find out exactly how their product/service is being perceived and consumed.  A major part of Activating WOM  is to track semantic conversations about our client’s service/product.  In a world full of choices make sure you are engaging your customers in a meaningful way.

The next time you are in a new city and rely on the social web to navigate restaurant choices, remember to provide meaningful reviews about your experiences.  Empower yourself through Web 3!


Activating WOM the WRONG Way: Celebrity Edition

By Kevin Spidel

We are up in the Bay area this week discussing the big differences between traditional PR and Social Media Consultation versus Activating Word of Mouth. We are surprised to find how many CEO’s and Public Relations firms are still not understanding that Word of Mouth authentic engagement can be managed within a social network. They feel it is strictly organic. Organic conversation growth is a big part of WOM, but having organic growth and detailed strategy is not mutually exclusive.

One topic that keeps coming up is celebrities using Twitter and Facebook. Access is now more convenient for their fans to create conversation with celebrities they love. This is exactly what traditional PR agencies fear, turning their clients loose on the web with no filter.

On June 5th Shaq caused some drama in the athletic world that then  activated word of mouth on the social web. At first glance it just seems like a simple spat among two high-profile athletes. Shaq posted an unusual series of taunts and insults tweets about Howard, while the Orland Magic star has been quiet since losing to the L.A. Lakers on Thursday.

This prompted coverage in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/sports/06leading.html?_r=1

This is the wrong way to activate word of mouth and becomes costly to the individual athletes who now need a PR firm to clean up their social web faux pas. Further social media mistakes might prevent others from effectively using Twitter and engaging their fans for fear of similar things happening.

This is where strategic word of mouth is needed. Before an athlete makes the jump onto the social web there needs to be a plan, coaching, and the ability rapidly respond with support should something go awry.

Here is some of AWOM secret sauce to manage celebrities’ social media web presences:

  • Step one: Evaluate the digital footprint of the athlete
  • Step two: Determine what role each social network will play in impacting that digital footprint
  • Step three: Coach the individual about authentic engagement without compromising the plan
  • Step four: Engage

Authentic Word of Mouth is not a Campaign

David Berkowitz wrote an article yesterday discussing the fact that the one word you can not mention in a social media conference is “campaign.”

If you approach word of mouth advertising as a traditional media campaign, you will fail and do damage to your brand. Social networks are for social engagement, not for you to spam users. Don’t get confused by the technology, social networks are gatherings of individuals… much like a cocktail party. If you approach these networks as such you will succeed.

Here is a video about Whuffie and Tara Hunt. Take a moment and listen to her background at the end:

Our firm identifies authentic influencers on the social web and engage them with quality brands that are interesting to those individuals.

Again, thinking of the cocktail scenario, your impressions of various people at that cocktail party is defined by honesty, influence, your history with them, and their background. The same thing is true about social interaction on the web. These influencers have the same variables. Authentic word of mouth comes from these relationships and influencers; not a campaign, pure visibility, and traditional marketing strategies.

In Activating Word of Mouth we determine the influences for your brand and develop strong relationships with these individuals. Their mentions and marketing of your brand is authentic.

Ford = Social Media Win!

By Kevin Spidel

A few months ago I was contacted by Ford to create a video of why I should be given one of their new cars to drive  for 6 months. At first, I was thinking this was another big company trying to capitalize on social media leaders’ networks. I wrongly opted to skip making the video.

That was dumb.

A few weeks went by and I started noticing all my friends in social media (professional and hobbyists) begin posting their videos for Ford. These are people I trust. I was surprised that they were falling for such a scam. It was me that was being naive.

Nearly all of the top 100 people that Ford awarded cars to I know through the web and my work. I missed out.

Being upset at myself for missing out on the fun (and the free car) I started following this social media campaign closer. Today there was another write up: http://mashable.com/2009/05/18/ford-social-media

This article showcases the best data to date on a successful social media campaign by a large company.
Here is a winning video submission from one of my colleagues / friends.

This video captures true authentic word of mouth marketing, not paid shrills.  Participants are enthusiastic about an opportunity to drive a new car and are rewarded for marketing Ford online.

This is a solid example of how and why Ford is winning on the social media game.