Word of Mouth Marketing SmartBrief

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November 5, 2012

Word of Mouth and social media marketing news

Everybody's Talking About ...

Financial advisers put a subtle spin on word-of-mouth
Wealth-management experts depend on word-of-mouth marketing to build their businesses, but many rich clients are reluctant to refer friends or talk about their own financial habits. But rather than asking directly for referrals, it's better for advisers to solicit clients' advice about how to grow their business -- flattering them and giving them an opportunity to volunteer useful information, some experts say. "Engaging the client's imagination is always a good idea," says financial planner Stephen Wershing. The Wall Street Journal (11/2)

WOMM at Work

SpaceX comes down to earth with WOMM campaign
Private spaceflight company SpaceX celebrated the use of its Dragon capsule to resupply the International Space Station by launching a line of branded T-shirts, hats and baby clothing. That's a sign that even high-tech companies such as SpaceX need strong word-of-mouth marketing, says space historian Robert Pearlman. "SpaceX lives within the social media, people-connected era. ... If you want to grow your image as the people's company, then you need to provide them with the tools for grass-roots and word-of-mouth marketing," he says. Florida Today (Melbourne) (tiered subscription model) (11/4)

How the Army learned to love bloggers
The U.S. Army maintains a blog site, ArmyStrongStories.com, where more than 900 regular contributors share tales about their experience. The aim is to offer an unvarnished and authentic look at military life, tapping into ongoing online conversations among potential recruits and their families. "We have to be where the conversations occur and be part of that dialogue," says Army marketing chief Bruce Jasurda. Chief Marketer (11/1)

Dodge teams up with The Onion for video-ad campaign
To promote its Dart model, Dodge is running a spoof video on The Onion's YouTube channel. The spot, a send-up of TV networks' upfront presentations to marketers, is intended to appeal to young consumers who might not see conventional television ads. "Millennials like to take their news sources online and with a dose of humor," says Dodge social media manager Mark Malmstead. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Media Decoder blog (11/4)

Building Blocks of Buzz

Why WOMM is a smart strategy for underdogs
Up-and-coming "challenger brands" are finding that word-of-mouth marketing is an effective way to turn the tables on larger and more established category leaders, experts say. Quirky packaging, events and other forms of customer engagement all have a part to play. "Challengers have always had very limited communication budgets and have always had to rely on very different ways to engage with consumers," says Eatbigfish founder Adam Morgan. The Drum (Glasgow, Scotland) (11/1)

When buzz backfires
Buzz-building marketing stunts don't pay off if the attention doesn't support the brand in an authentic way, writes Jasmine Henry. Burger King's decision to turn its King mascot into a creep was a viral hit, but didn't do much for the chain's brand, while Ford's willingness to overhype its Edsel marque turned the mediocre auto into a colossal embarrassment. "Building buzz is ideal, but too much buzz can leave consumers disappointed," Henry warns. Inbound Marketing Blog (11/4)

Words from WOMMA

WOMMA Summit: WOMM going far beyond the business
There are few marketers WOMMA knows who have used WOMM more strategically and effectively as long-time WOMMA member Andy Levitt. Not only has WOMM helped grow Andy's business, HealthTalker, but it played a prominent role when deciding which treatment to pursue when he was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease earlier this year. After receiving emergency surgery, Andy was on the hunt for the most logical, efficient, and best treatment he could find. See his story here.

Curation destinations: Do people read Twitter on Twitter?
Any practitioner of social media marketing trying to start a word of mouth firestorm would agree that in 2012, one of the primary challenges is noise. Now that the longer tail of the adoption curve has arrived at Twitter and Instagram, while the late adopters and noisemakers have polluted Facebook and the blogosphere, most audiences are keeping up with news, conducting brand and product research, and socially networking through 3rd party destinations or apps that "make sense of it all." Keep reading at All Things WOMM.

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Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible."

--George Orwell,
British novelist and journalist

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