Digital Word of Mouth

January18

2011

There is no longer social media and traditional media. It is all media now. There are only social tools.“

Social media is not a campaign.It’s a commitment.“

Focus on how to BE social.Not on how to DO social.“

Agenda

• A resurgence of Word of Mouth (WOM)• The fundamentals of digital WOM• Putting the social tools to practice• Triangulate for kinetic potential• In the end, it’s about content

The average person is

exposed to over

3,000 marketing

messages per day.

Only 14% ofpeople trustadvertisements.

“ 78% of peopletrust the recommendations of their peers

“- Nielsen, “Trust in Advertising”

The right tool for the job…“

• A

Elasticity Capabilities

Blogs

Social Networks

Online Communities

Radio

Online Brand Content

TV

Search

Rewards Programs

Mobile Marketing

Print

Direct Mail

Media Relations

Opt-in E-mail

Online Display Advertising

Mas

sTa

rget

edPe

rson

aliz

ed

Trial AdvocacyRelationshipsAwareness LoyaltyConsideration

TRUST

Pers

onal

izati

on

Digital Traditional

Face-to-face Conversations

The evolution of Media

BroadcastCentralized control; broad message deployment

NarrowcastCentralized control; specific message deployment

NetworkedDecentralized control; fluidity; dynamic message deployment

We’re in the Age of WOM

• WOM has always been the world’s most effective form of marketing

• Left behind for mass reach• Social media has sparked a resurgence of

interest in WOM

The New Math

• Old: Message 5,000,000 to possibly reach 500• New: Personally reach 500 who influence 5,000 who influence

20,000 who influence 200,000

Organization

New Math: 5,000 people who want to hear your message are more valuable than 5 million who don’t.

The decline of brand marketing is the 900 pound gorilla in the room.

Success in neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.“- Jim Rohn

THE FUNDAMENTALS

Types of WOM Marketing

• ORGANIC WOM– Occurs naturally as a result of the

positive qualities of your product/brand

• AMPLIFIED WOM– WOM that is intentionally started

through a proactive campaign.

Three Rules of WOM Marketing

• BE INTERESTING:– Give people a reason to talk about you.– Be interesting or be invisible.

• MAKE IT EASY– Help WOM spread. Give them the tools.

• MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY– When people like you, they’ll share your message.

Key Themes

• Conventional Wisdom: “You’re losing control of your brand”– To the contrary – you CAN moderate

• WOM must be co-created and nurtured in coordination with consumers

• Integrate WOM into all consumer touch points• Always capture information for future contact– Like a good salesman, always ask for the next step.

The Psychology of WOM

• Reciprocation• Commitment and consistency• Don’t try to be cool• Liking • Authority• Information brokers

WOM Checklist: Four Elements

• Talkers:– Who will tell their friends about you?

• Message:– What will they talk about?

• Tools:– How can you help the message spread?

• Measurement:– How will you monitor and measure?

THE REAL QUESTION IS…

Why would anyone want to talk about YOU?“

People talk about you when it benefits them.“

Activate your fans, don’t just collect them like baseball cards.“

They’ll talk about you if…

• It makes them look smart• It enables them to help others• It allows them to feel important• It enables connection to a group• Detractors will talk if they have a bad experience

Myth-Busting

• People will want to watch your branded content• People will be patient with your content• People will find your content• The Internet is a level playing field• We have no idea why things “go viral”

Myth-Busting

• Experience beats documentation• You should build your own community and tools• Keep things professional• Traditional media is irrelevant to the web• People will create good content for you

Triangulate to Create Kinetic Potential

• Utilizing a mix of tactics that balance and blend both online and offline tactics, you give every program the potential to gain viral potential in the popular conversation.

• Optimizes current channel tactics and amplifies the program as a whole.

Design the measurement strategy based on your objective, not the technologies you use.“MEASUREMENT

Measurement

User Reach

User Reach

Volume of Participation

Quality of Participation

Volume of Energy

Quality of Energy

Listening Talking Energizing Supporting Embracing

Measurement

Extent of exposure to our content and message.

Amount of engagement or interaction with our content

Degree of influence of or change in perceptions and attitudes.

Amount of actions taken as a result of the program.

Amount of tangible, business value created (revenue or savings).

Examples:

• Impressions• Search rank• Brand mentions• Share of positive

discussion• Count of followers,

fans• Unique visitors

Examples:

• Time on site• Return visits• Inbound links• Subscribers• Comments• UGC Sentiment• Re-Tweets• Avg.

comments/post• Likes per status

update

Examples:

• Purchase consideration• Change in

attitudes• Associate with

brand attributes• Net promoter

score• Review

sentiment• Avg. rating

Examples:

• Event attendance• Coupon

download• Visit retail store• Lead generation

Examples:

• Revenue generated• Savings realized

• Direct attribution (unique codes)• Correlations• Survey

methodologies

And in the end…“

Every company is its own TV station, magazine, and newspaper.“

IT’S ABOUT CONTENT

Social Media is Content Marketing

• Creative– It’s a 24-hour content cycle. You’d

better have something to break through the noise of the conversation.

• Brand Building– Content and conversation define a

brand more than a new logo or a press release.

• Engaging– Inspire feedback. This is not a

copywriting assignment.• Relevance is Redefined

– To create conversation, simple, random and banal may be a brand’s best bets.

Create a persona. Not a proposition.“

Digital Word of Mouth

January18

2011

Brian Cross, Managing Partner314-292-6890brian@goelastic.comGoElastic.com@goelastic

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