[Originally posted by Andy Sernovitz on Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That.]
A classic from John Moore:
Social Media helps small companies look bigger and helps big companies get smaller.
Meaning, a small company can have a big presence online with customers through using social media. Conversely, a big company can get ‘smaller’ because social media connects companies to customers on a very personal level.
Watch this great video about “Jumbo Shrimp Marketing“:
[Originally posted on the MGH Word of Mouth blog.]
*Joseph Kimojino, blogger, Kenyan native, and member of the Masai tribe, uses various social media to draw attention to a serious cause.
Taken from Wired.com
“Kenya’s wildlife is seriously threatened by poaching, except in parks like the Mara Triangle, which employs rangers to protect animals. The rangers’ salaries are paid from park fees, but tourism has dropped 90 percent. To keep the conservancy running, the park’s online outreach needs to raise $50,000 a month until the tourists return…”
Widespread violence following Kenya’s latest election has led to this serious decline which the Mara Triangle Wildlife Park relies on to function. In an effort to keep the operation running and protect the lives of thousands of wild animals, the conservatory has launched an online outreach effort, utilizing social media tools such as Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, and its own blog to raise awareness.
So far, the online outreach has been successful, raising over $40,000 in donations from the blog, $2,000 from his Facebook page, and additional help from the sale of ad space on the blog to safari companies. The rest comes from individual donations from people all over the world.
You can check out Kimojino’s blog about wild animals and his life as veteran ranger at the Mara Triangle Wildlife Park where you can also make one-time or monthly donations. He also posts photos of wild animals to his Flickr page, uploads interesting videos to Vimeo, and tweets up a storm in an effort to raise money for the park.
WAYS YOU CAN USE SOCIAL RESOURCES TO HELP SPREAD AWARENESS FOR YOUR CAUSE:
* Make a Facebook group
* Get volunteers to Twitter on the job
* Use LinkedIn or other professional networks to help find sponsors
* Create a MySpace profile and make friends with others interested in your cause
* Comment on other relevant blog or article posts
* Write about your cause and send it to bloggers who focus on your topic
* Make a video about your cause and upload it to YouTube
[Originally posted by Idil Cakim on Dot WOM.]
In its upcoming issue, BusinessWeek writes it missed the mark three years ago on describing the social media revolution as limited to the surge of blogs. Well, hindsight is 20/20 and I think the main point here is the lag between early adopters, early settlers and the general population in adopting technology — not smart journalists missing a beat.
I do remember feeling empowered by that issue. Back then, when few had figured out how companies could engage online influencers, it gave me more immunition and proof that social media was a force to be reckoned with and it made business sense. This week’s article may be a fast read for those of us immersed in interactive media, but it’s great support material to bring those who are on the fence about social media into the fold.
In particular, Jeff Jarvis’s quote about the evolution of companies into customer communities is worth noting. Jarvis predicts three years from now, BusinessWeek’s cover will be about companies as communities. Not suprising the comment comes from the person who built a community of dissatisfied Dell customers around his blog and applauded Dell, when the computer maker launched IdeaStorm–a terrific online feedback community where customers can tell the company their ideas for new products and services and Dell shares some ideas in its pipeline.
Assuming that word of mouth will continue to be more trusted than other communication channels when consumers make decisions, we’ll see more IdeaStorms. Companies such as Passenger, Communispace and BrandNetworks that build private and public communities for companies are headed in the right direction with their clients. Market research, customer relationship management, influencer targeting and brand advocacy will converge on the same platform.
[Originally posted by Spike on Brains on Fire.]
The latest winner of the “You Don’t Need Us” award was discovered in a conversation with John Moore, who is quite the beer aficionado. Wisconsin is a place that we actually go to often and a group of us are heading there again in June for some work with a client. Once John heard about this, he told us about the New Glarus Brewing Company. And while I haven’t partaken of the sweet nectar they produce there in New Glarus, WI (which will be remedied next month), they receive the “You Don’t Need Us Award” mostly because of one thing: exclusivity.
You see, a long time ago, New Glarus Brewing Company decided that they would only distribute beer in the state of Wisconsin (hell, their tagline is “Drink Indigenous”). They did have a brief stint shipping beer to Chicago, but decided to pull back on that since they could (and still hardly can) keep up with the demand in their home state.
Personally, there is something very alluring and romantic to me about companies that want to increase their quality and not their physical size beyond a certain point (FYI - the Brewing Co. is currently undergoing an expansion). I mean, from a financial standpoint, would you rather be part of a company that has a lot of employees that get paid a little or a SWAT team that gets paid a lot? And by choosing to only distribute in Wisconsin, people (like me) are instantly curious and have to at least try the beer. Why? Because people want what they can’t have. “No” is the most powerful word in the world.
Could they use a new identity? You know, as an identity company we could easily say that they do. But we don’t know them. We don’t know what works for them and what doesn’t. And,obviously nothing is broken. So why mess with a good thing?
Hey, I’m thirsty all of a sudden.
[Originally posted by Andy Sernovitz on Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That.]
Give every lunch customer 6 desserts to take back to the office.
Give them one desert and they will eat it.
Give them 6 and they will to announce to everyone that they just ate at your restaurant and you gave them snacks to share.
Lesson: One free sample is interesting. Lots of samples turn customers into evangelists.
According to new research from BlogHer and Compass Partners, 35% of women aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere weekly. The study also reported that, of online women, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs. Not only that, but of online women who contribute to blogs, 58% post entries at least weekly, and of those who actively read blogs, 80% do so at least once per week. Women bloggers blog for a variety of reasons: 65% do it for fun, 60% to express themselves, 46% to get information, 41% to stay up to date on family and friends, 40% to connect with others, 34% as a diary, and 28% participate in the blogosphere in order to connect with others.
The full story at Advertising Age:
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=127354
Whether you need a refresher course in what you learned in Miami or you want a taste of what you missed and would like to take a peek, we’ve got live video coverage from our May 8-9, 2008 WOMM-U conference available in the WOMMA Member Center.
Tune in and see:
– Joseph Jaffe author of “Join the Conversation”
– Jeffrey Graham of the New York Times
– Judy Stonefield of OPI Cosmetics
– Fiona Pietruski of SheSpeaks
– Carla Hendra of Ogilvy North America
– Bob Pearson of Dell
– Jordan Corredera of Carnival Cruise Lines
– Ted Wright of Fizz
– Jen Gulvik of Houlihan’s Restaurants
Check out some sample clips from our WOMM-U live video at:
http://womma.org/wommu/videopreview/
According to a new report from Jupiter Research, titled “When Good Social Marketing Goes Bad,” marketers are using consumer-generated media in their marketing plans, but are failing to do the leg work on the back end to keep things going. According to the research, 35% of marketers have CGM on their on sites and 21% have an online social networking profile. However, only 29% of marketers who use social media tactics follow through and monitor online discussions on an ongoing basis — and a whopping 17% of marketers who use social marketing tactics don’t monitor online discussions at all.
The full story at ReadWriteWeb:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/when_user-generated_content_goes_bad.php
If you’re looking to make a move and want to stay in the word of mouth marketing industry — and of course you DO! — the WOMMA Job Board is a great place to start.
To see what’s new on the WOMMA Job Board, visit:
http://www.womma.org/jobs/
WOMMA members — don’t forget to take advantage of your free Job Board listings. This is the best way to reach the most-connected marketers in your industry. Check the Job Board page for details.
On his blog, Jeremiah Owyang discusses some of the common challenges that come with corporate blogging — or, more accurately, challenges that come with corporate blogging done right. Some of the harsh truths are that blogging valuable content takes a lot of time, doesn’t generate tons of traffic right away, and makes legal departments queasy. Top that off with the fact that success is often difficult to measure, and you’ve got a decision to make. Deciding to kick off a corporate blog — and deciding to put the time and effort into it to make it successful — is a big decision. These are just a few things to consider before taking the plunge.
The full story at Web Strategy by Jeremiah:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/05/29/the-many-challenges-of-corporate-blogging/
