Word of Mouth Marketing SmartBrief

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December 14, 2012

Word of Mouth and social media marketing news

Everybody's Talking About ...

How "digital neighborhoods" get customers talking
More than 80% of consumers pay attention to social media posts made by their friends, according to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association -- but small businesses in the U.S. don't seem to realize social media's word-of-mouth-marketing value, marketing expert Scott Anderson writes. A recent Hiscox survey found that only 12% of SMBs were promoting their services through social media. "Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and other services can ... function as 'digital neighborhoods' where people ask their friends for help when they're looking for a reliable auto mechanic, party venue ... or a local restaurant. And they're going to trust the answers they receive," Anderson writes. B2C Marketing Insider (12/12)

WOMM at Work

Simplicity fuels ShoreTel's successful customer-referral program
Unified communications firm ShoreTel has been using a word-of-mouth-marketing customer-referral program that now accounts for 29% of the company's customers. The company put together a streamlined website called GetVoIP.com that outlines the incentive programs various companies offer customers for Voice over Internet Protocol service and how they can take advantage of each one. "Most customer reference managers are happy if they can get even 5 percent of their customers to be customer references," ShoreTel Customer Programs Manager Liz Pedro wrote. TMCNet.com (12/12)

WOMM travels by horse for Ohio nonprofit
Victory Gallop is a nonprofit in Bath, Ohio, that offers therapeutic horseback riding to children with speech impediments, emotional and behavioral struggles, and severe illnesses. The program serves about 60 children each week, and co-founder Sue Miller said many are there because of word-of-mouth referrals. "The owners and volunteers feel like family to us," said Laurie Schueler, whose daughter has attended the program for five years and participated in one of its end-of-the-year horse shows last week. Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) (12/9)

Building Blocks of Buzz

Dunnhumby's BzzAgent dashboard fuses WOMM, social analytics data
About a year after buying word-of-mouth-marketing company BzzAgent, marketing analytics company Dunnhumby USA has released BzzAgent Pulse, a dashboard that combines data from both companies. The dashboard, which Unilever helped Dunnhumby design, aims to help brands bring accountability to social media and world-of-mouth-marketing efforts. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/13)

8 ways to promote your company's events on Facebook
A well-run Facebook campaign can be a cost-effective way to promote small-business events, writes Amy Porterfield. Create an Events page, share it widely and consider using paid ads to maximize turnout, she advises. "Turn your event into a Page Post Ad by clicking 'export event' and creating an ad for your target audience." Entrepreneur online (12/11)

Why social media is essential for small-business recommendations
Small businesses need to get serious about promoting themselves via social channels to generate customer buzz and recommendations, writes Madison Jacobs. Coming up with sharable content and engaging customers in meaningful conversations is a great way for SMBs to get a jump on their larger competitors, Jacobs writes. "Simply put: customers are going online to discover, qualify and purchase products so small businesses need to be there too," she adds. SmallBizTechnology.com (12/12)

Words from WOMMA

Word of mouth recommendations: Is your company stuck in a vacuum?
Today, we relay a rather macabre story involving a hamster named Ashley, and the way in which her untimely death provided yet another reminder of why generating, tracking, and managing word of mouth/earned media is a 2013 marketing imperative. Keeping reading at WOMMA.

WOMMA's proposed authenticity guidelines: Open for public comment
WOMMA has introduced a proposed set of guiding principles designed to help safeguard the authenticity of consumer ratings and reviews and is now seeking public comment before formally adopting the guidelines. The proposed guidelines, which can be applied by any marketing organization, regardless of technology platform or association membership, delineate three necessary criteria for authentic content. View the criteria and provide your feedback here.

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