people aren't going to talk about you

I've grown more willing to tell clients that they can't expect to generate positive word of mouth about their brand or product or issue if it, well, sucks. I mean, there will word of mouth (actually, there probably already is), but it will essentially be warnings to their friends, family members and co-workers to stay the hell away.

But there's more to it, says Seth Godin (in this post from way back in May).

Smart but simple; the kind of post that, if this was a slapstick comedy, would compel me to smack myself in the forehead — the universal signal for "duh."

People aren't going to talk about your product or service if . . .

• it's embarrassing,
• it's not cool,
• they're not sure if it's cool,
• it's SO cool, they don't actually want other people to know about it,
• too many people already know about it, or
  
• your values conflict with their own.

Just one more reason why social media, no matter how shiny and fabulous, should not be seen as the answer to all that ails you.

Thanks, Seth.

Crossposted on the agency blog.

del.icio.us tags: twitter

I'm going to be doing a Twitter training at the agency late next month and I'm collecting great content in the meantime.

Here's some of the latest:

• Comcast is one of the many companies who is using Twitter as part of their online customer service. Of course, I still hate Comcast, but maybe just a little less.
• Firehose is a real time Twitter timeline. Don't try to read it. Just try to take it in: people want you to know what they are doing right now.
• Twitter (and all-around) rock star Dave Armano gives you his tips on How to Twitter Conferences Like a Rock Star. Because I'm not a total social media wanker and don't go to conferences every week, I've yet to have the chance to tweet from a conference, but I'm looking forward to the chance. It's got to be better than my lame attempts to live blog conferences. In the meantime, I think Spike Jones from Brains on Fire does an excellent job of tweeting from conferences and we have a deal that he will attend conferences on my behalf if I fly him first class and put him up in boutique hotels.
• TwitBuzz is trying to capture what is generating the most conversation on Twitter (I have a serious aversion to the term "buzz.") It looks like they measure popularity through the number of links to content. They also rank the folks who, I believe, are generating the most tweets. (Is that what it means to be "most social?") The tool is meant to address "the desperate needs for management" of the content on Twitter. I don't see it.
• Finally, Stephen Baker writes about "Why Twitter Matters" at Business Week. It's definitely worth a read if you're trying to shed some light on the microblogging site. If you want to check out some of the research for the piece, look to the source. Baker asked fellow tweeters what they think. Check out the slide show that accompanies the article as well. (I had no idea Biz Stone was so hot.)
  

and another thing!

Following up on yesterday's post . . .

This has been said before (maybe even by me) but the thing companies should be focusing on -- if they want to generate word of mouth -- is being good at what they do. If your product or service is great, I assure you that someone will be talking about it. The great hotel I stay in when I am in Seattle? The restaurant where I get shrimp and grits when I am in Chapel Hill? My favorite scotch? The boots I bought this year and seem to wear every day?

I talk about them.

Like I said yesterday, companies stop telling agencies to "start a conversation." The conversation is already underway. Listen to that conversation. See what you need to do to be better at what you do and make the commitment to do it.

Then we can talk.

And they'll talk too.

del.icio.us tags: moms

According to research from BSM Media, pregnant women and new mothers rely on word of mouth more than other women and more than consumers, in general. 64 percent of mothers ask other mothers before they make a purchase and 63 percent think other mothers are the most credible source for purchasing decisions (via eMarketer).

del.icio.us tags 03.13.08

Politics
I've heard a few Republicans smirk and make the comment that Democrats only stay Democrats until they grow up -- and become a Republican. Not so fast, kiddies. LiveScience reports (via The Huffington Post) that a new longitudinal study says that people become more liberal as they grow older.

Digital Advocacy
From late January, here's an article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy about how nonprofits are using social media to engage supporters, promote their issue and raise money to meet their mission. Gone are the days (hopefully) when these organizations need to build expensive -- or crappy -- web sites to achieve these goals OR try to figure out how the hell to drive traffic to these sites, adding one more unvisited destination on the "information highway." As should be expected, the success of these efforts can be attributed to word of mouth. Gather.com's Tom Gerace knows what he is talking about when he says, "If you get contacted by a friend or colleague who points out a group doing great work, that can be (IS, Tom, IS) much more effective than trying to reach people with a random mailer that doesn't have the same trust factor."

If you don't believe ME that the promise of the future is NOT building more web sites, listen to Steve Rubel at MicroPersuasion who proselytizes about "the promise of small content that can go anywhere."

Word of Mouth
Spike at Brains on Fire makes the argument that it's quality -- and not quantity -- that makes all the difference in word of mouth. Those few are willing to do some heavy lifting for your brand, your issue. Reward them, recognize them, help them to be the evangelists that will take the conversation -- and the love -- further.

del.icio.us tags 03.07.08

Word of Mouth
Robbin at Brains on Fire can't figure out why folks in the C-suite are so freaked out about "loud and proud customers taking co-ownership of (their) success." As she says, "It requires letting go of control," something that the Barack Obama campaign, she points out (as well as Ron Paul, I point out) have been willing to do, to their benefit. In this election cycle, voter generated contact has increased the profile of candidates with minimal name recognition and have helped to turn out record numbers of voters at the polls. "Why," Robbin asks, "should a company care if its customers create art with your product or express their love in a song?"

Digital Advocacy
Katya at Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog has a list of 15 reasons why people make donations to organizations. Note, she says, that "'Because I loved the organization's brochure,' is not on there." What is? Word of mouth, great storytelling, a belief that they can have an impact, tax deductions, personal values, it's the cool/right thing to do. Check out the full list and consider adding a few of your own.

Fan Brands
Dave Armano is such a rock star. I would love to be able to think in terms of visuals and tell such simple yet fascinating stories through infographics in the way he does. This time it's the "Novelty Curve": the path from "I can't live without this" to "what was I thinking?"

word of mouth?

Some people take word of mouth very literally. Coke is promoting Coke Zero by offering free, branded tongue piercings to customers in South America.

I suppose it's better than getting paid to tattoo the name of a casino on your forehead.

Even better? Being a true fan brand.

Came to me via Serious Eats, which got it via Neatorama. (We all play so nicely, don't we?)

del.icio.us tags 02.16.08

According to Business Week, young people are starting to turn their backs on social networks, rejecting the "deluge" of advertising. Over the past four months, research from Comcast indicates that the amount of time that Internet users spend on social networks has dropped about 14 percent. What's an advertiser to do? Collectively, they're spending $1.2 billion in advertising on social networks, a number that is expected to nearly double this year.

Jackie Huba from Church of the Customer reports on new research from Global Marketing Insight that manages to take Oprah down a notch. From a list of 11 influences, African American book buyers are most likely to cite a recommendation from a friend or family member as their reason for buying a book. Miss Oprah is number 6.

del.icio.us tags 02.06.08

NPR's Michele Norris interviews Andrew Rasiej from TechPresident about "bottom up politics": the candidates' supporters are generating the best — and most impactful — political advertising in this year's campaign.

del.icio.us tags 02.03.08

At e.politics, Colin gives Obama's team their due: they are managing to bring online and offline organizing together to raise money and deliver votes. It seems obvious, but it didn't happen for Dean in 2004 and Obama is kicking ass and taking names. As Colin says, "These folks are really using the web rather than just throwing things online."

John Bell manages to ruffle a few folks feathers with this post about the need to measure word of mouth with quantitative metrics. I'm with you, John, we can keep flapping our lips about the value of word of mouth, but until we can explain it to the guy with a check book in a language he understands, we're just a bunch of dreamers. I get the ad equivalency model (BzzAgent does it), particularly if you're thinking about trying to make it clear to marketing folks who are turning over part of their ADVERTISING budget to pay for a word of mouth program, but John's "attention factor" sounds a little too mushy at this stage. I agree with what is at the core, but I'm not convinced it won't fall flat when the budgets are being divvied up.

del.icio.us tags 01.27.08

Some people do things just to be nice (not me). techPresident wraps up the year in political video. Consumers won't dismiss your company as using "green" as a marketing ploy if you're honest with them about what you're doing right -- and wrong. And a couple of things just for fun: Sesame Street and whiny white people.

Word of Mouth

It clearly says something about me that I presumed most people wrote online reviews to stick it to a company that's done them wrong. According to Keller Fay, it's just the opposite. The majority of folks who write online reviews have something nice to say and and want to share their good news to benefit other customers. They're also motivated by the desire to reward a company who makes them happy or to help that company get better at what they do.

Politics

techPresident has posted the best political videos of 2007 -- both "voter-generated" and videos from the candidates.

I love the SwiftKids

"My mother baked me this cookie."

Citizen Journalism
Download An Introduction to Citizen Media from Rising Voices for a non-techie guide to the "fundamentals of citizen media." Comes via PBS's MediaShift Idea Lab.

CSR

Consumers are growing skeptical of companies who claim to be "green," dismissing such rumblings as being mere "marketing gimmicks." According to Linda Passante at The Halo Effect, some of the companies that are doing the best work are making the least noise. Her words of wisdom? (And they are, indeed, very wise.)

"If you firmly believe that your company is committed to the environment, to workers’ rights, to fighting heart disease, or to even just excellent customer service, then you can’t just talk about it in some altruistic tone using vague corporate language. You need to show how you will do it, do it, and then provide details as to what you learned and how you’ll work to improve. Because, in the end, we all know that no one or no corporation is perfect, but consumers will respond to an authentic and transparent commitment."

Cool Stuff

Get ready to regress into your childhood: Sesame Workshop has launched the Sesame Street video player with hundreds of videos, searchable by keyword or character. The site is in beta. Will the "real" launch include the capacity to embed content? Please?


White Whine has a new "white person complaint" every week (“I really wish the Wings DVD’s would get here . . . I’m almost done with Mad About You.”) I'm sure they could come up with more . . .

del.icio.us tags: 2008 resolutions

Ben McConnell at Church of the Customer Blog has 10 marketing resolutions for 2008. It's impossible to disagree with any of them, but I'm particularly gungho for #9 ("Raise the ethics bar.") and #10 ("Do what you love.") I like to think that #9 was already my mantra in 2007, but can I make #10 a reality in 2008?

Dave Armano at Logic+Emotion is looking forward to 2008 as well and argues that microsites may not be the way to go for most brands. "If there isn't a steady supply of new, quality content -- then users really don't have a reason to come back and engage." Listen to him, folks. Save your money. Don't presume your customers will come to you. Be creative and go to them. Engage with them.

Marcia Conner urges us all to Create a Stronger, Smarter Organization at Fast Company and provides a Learning Culture audit tool to assess where you're starting from and where you need to go. Be brave and be honest.

del.icio.us tags 12.16.07

An old friend returns. Change.org tells you how to do it right. Greenpeace doesn't play games. Community is not one size fits all. Links abound for web designers. Japanese bloggers get covered in the Post. International Facebook users get covered by PBS, which also gives the 101 on hyper local blogs. And Steve Case gives away his money to determine how to get other people to do the same.

Digital Advocacy

Houtlust is back -- in the form of Osocio. All the best in advocacy campaigns from around the world. Inevitable jealousy for not having been the team that created the campaign is a side effect. Check out this great anti-drunk driving campaign. No subtle messages here, folks.

As the online community manager, Heather Mansfield at Change.org updates her Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations on a monthly basis to ensure that users are getting the most out of the site.

Greenpeace, fresh off their triumph against Apple, turns its attention toward gaming consoles with Clash of the Consoles. Not as rad as Green My Apple (swoon), but they're using a similar strategy: ask fans to take pride in the objects of their affection and get them on your side. In other words, don't alienate those that you need most.

The Case Foundation is supporting efforts to determine how technology can best be used for philanthropy.

Word of Mouth

Ben McConnell at Church of the Customer breaks down what "community" means, suggesting that size and the level of devotion of the community members are the defining factors. As a Maker's Mark Ambassador, I am happy to inform you that I agree with his assessment that it is indeed a cult.

Around the World (and in the Neighborhood) in Social Media

Bloggers in Japan do it more often, quicker, on the run, under the covers and they do it politely. Blaine Harden at The Washington Post lets us know that not everyone has Technorati ranking envy and is trying to strengthen their personal brand.

Mark Glaser at PBS' Media Shift looks at how Facebook users from around the world are using the social network -- and why -- and talks about, while the site may have universal appeal, there is no question that it is American through and through. (Poke.)

Mark also provides an extensive overview of hyper-local news sites: defining what they are, demonstrating different ways they gather their news and talking about the different business models that these sites are following. Plus, best of all, he provides lots and lots of examples. Thanks, Mark.

Web Design

I tagged this -- 455 Helpful Links for Web Designers -- as a "tool," which it is, for someone. I sent it to Samantha, but I just realized her blog -- Bad Ass Ideas -- is listed as a resource, so I'm guessing she knows about it already. Who's stalking who now?

two jews walk into a bar

Thanks to Erin Zimmer at Serious Eats for bringing He'Brew Beer to my attention. I have no idea if it tastes any good (I will find out tomorrow when I hunt it down at Whole Foods or one of the other sellers in DC), but I managed to get a laugh or two out of their web site. Great video schtick (although I wish I could embed it . . .), great merchandise, and they're giving love -- and real estate -- to their fans.

This is a beautiful thing. Appeal to the exclusivity of a group of folks -- myself included -- who call themselves the "chosen" ones and you have a fan brand that cannot fail.

del.icio.us tags 10.29.07

Inside CRM has pulled together "100 Places to Find Reviews for Every Product," although, with all due respect, it doesn't actually cover EVERY product. But it does cover automobiles, books and movies, food/dining, electronics, apartments and real estate, entertainment and lifestyle, clothing and beauty, toys and video games, pharmaceuticals, colleges and universities, travel and computers and accessories.

meet my baby

The folks at Maker's Mark, to whom I have committed myself to remain loyal, have made a point of referring to my Ambassador barrel as my "newborn," which makes a childless woman in her mid-thirties a bit queasy, but I will forgive them.

Do you want to see what it looks like? This is what they have posted to the site.

Admittedly, it's not a very good photo. If you want to carry this newborn analogy a little further, it looks like one of the new grandmas, not quite comfortable with the sense of mortality that she feels at the sight of the next generation, decided to drink a few glasses of the stuff herself and THEN took the photo.

But if you squint and look in the middle column, second from the top. There I am.


Maybe they know I have been drinking Laphroaig?

del.icio.us tags 10.21.07

While on the road in the country, Debbie Weil has pulled together her list of the "Best Links to Learn about Blogging, Social Media, Web 2.0 and Technology in China."

I don't have a Moleskine because I don't quite buy the pretentious "cooler than thou" aspect of owning one. I have an aversion to the idea of belonging to any club whose members demonstrate their uniqueness by owning/doing/wearing the same thing. (It's like punk in the early 90's.) But I should own a Moleskine because I'm a notebook fetishist and because I have fallen prey to more than my share of, "I will buy this thing because it is cool -- at least that's what they told me." The folks at The Moleskine Project don't share my hang ups and are asking folks to send in their best Moleskine doodles.

my favorite so far from The Moleskine Project -- from lapin at les calapins de lapin

Bob Garfield is using his anger toward Comcast -- and their less than stellar customer service -- for good through ComcastMustDie.com, providing the cable company's clients with the opportunity to air their grievances via the blog's comments and calling on the company to, in response, reach out to these customers and resolve their issues. So far, everyone's playing their part.

Doonesbury's Garry Trudeau has been collecting content from members of the military deployed in Iraq in Afghanistan via The Sandbox (housed on Slate.com) and has now published a book of some of the best stuff.

According to The New York Times, young people in Poland are attempting to turn the political tide in the country by using social media to engage their peers and turn out the vote, comparing efforts like the "I Choose" campaign to similar efforts -- like Rock the Vote -- in the U.S. Update: Looks like the kids have had an impact. Overall voter turnout in the election was higher than it has been in nearly 20 years and the Civic Platform party -- which had more support among young voters than the party currently in power (Law and Justice) -- came out ahead in this weekend's parliamentary elections.

The folks at TechPresident launched 10 Questions last week in partnership with The New York Times and MSNBC. At this stage, they are gathering questions from voters, with the aim of identifying the top 10, which will then be shared with the candidates, who will be expected to respond via video. Two thoughts -- will the site be dominated by liberals and progressives? And, by this stage in the game, how much do the candidates regret ever having said this election is about conversation?

Mashable has a new list of 20+ "sporting" social networks, whether it's fishing, biking, golf or NASCAR. Presuming of course, you want to spend any time with these people.

del.icio.us: word of mouth

According to Nielsen, 78 percent of consumers worldwide think word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising. A study from GFK Roper says the numbers are higher in the U.S., with 80 percent of Americans saying word of mouth is the "most trustworthy source for purchase ideas and information" compared to 70 percent of consumers worldwide. (via emarketer)

Talk amongst yourselves.

del.icio.us: customer voice

Satisfaction calls itself "people-powered customer service" and allows consumers and companies to connect to solve problems, share ideas and communicate. It's a great idea, but it needs to engage more companies and, unfortunately, more customers (according to Compete, they're at about 12k per month). It's going to need some level of critical mass before more companies join. Judging by the dialog on the Timbuk2 page, it's time they did.

They want to hear what you think over at Hey! Nielsen as well (found via Pete Blackshaw's blog). You can sign up for an account (I did) to offer up your opinion on television, music, movies and web sites. Pete says the content from the site will be shared with "big decision makers" in the entertainment industry, so if you're feeling the need to tell the world how much you love How I Met Your Mother, head on over.

give them something to talk about

I always tell clients that consumers don't trust advertising and that they're listening to word of mouth. But just because someone says they don't trust advertising doesn't mean they aren't impacted by it. It's a survey, folks. People also say they vote (when they don't), that they floss their teeth every day and that they only watch two hours of television a week.

From Keller Fay - "Advertising is the key driver of word of mouth." Give them a remarkable ad campaign. Give them something to talk about.