Selling innovative ideas is never easy. WOMMA works hard to build industry respect and acceptance of word of mouth practices.
We do this through:
1. Promoting Ethics
2. Highlighting Successful WOM
3. Connecting the Thinkers with the Doers
We want you to join us. Help us build a strong and ethical WOM industry by becoming a WOMMA member.
For more info, visit the Speakers Bureau page or contact Tarah, WOMMA’s Member Relations Director, at 312-853-4400 x. 205 or Tarah@WOMMA.org
Traditional media enjoys a yearly celebration of its legacy every Super Bowl. It is one of the rare events where consumers look forward to seeing ads. But word of mouth marketing had pushed its nose into the arena. This blend exemplifies a rarely discussed phenomena - traditional to WOM advertising.
The cited article highlights Ogilvy & Mather’s brilliant ad “How to Create Advertising that Sells.” I propose an update that includes how to create advertising that gets people talking.
Challenge: Read the Ogilvy ad and think of additions that make advertising more talkable. Write them in the comments below this post.
Read more at ZDNet
Media format matters. While only 18% of consumers “somewhat or strongly dislike” ads in magazines, the number jumps to 44% for social networks and 63% on mobile phones. This data from a recent Ad Age survey brings into question the value of ads in social and mobile formats.
I find it fairly luck that the survey was conducted right before Facebook announced a new advertising tool, Sponsored Stories. The word “Ad” implies a static bit of art + copy linking to somewhere. Sponsored stories now offer an option that moves beyond the old model that fares so poorly with consumers.
Key Takeaway: Traditional advertising does not translate to new media formats. Form your social marketing around the principles that make social popular in the first place.
Read more at Marketing Pilgrim
Some of the best marketing copy is coming from ratings and reviews. Users have the freedom to express their love of a product without sounding like a brand tooting its horn. The cited post offers some great tips on how to use this user-generated gold:
1. Add Ratings and Reviews - First thing’s first, add ratings and reviews to your site.
2. Improve Product Design - User feedback often points out product flaws. This is free feedback that helps you improve your product.
3. Defend Yourself - Misinformation and slander are resolved very effectively by using consumer-generated ratings and reviews.
Read more at Zuberance’s blog, ZuberRants
The big news this week in social media wonkland is about Facebook’s new advertising option, Sponsored Stories. These are ads that appear in the right hand column show an exact copy of a user’s friend’s post about a brand. The goal is to have a scalable digital word of mouth advertising function.
In testing, Facebook said that users responded well to Sponsored Stories. But I have to admit that I’m torn. As a marketer, I like how this function further blends the social graph, opt-in like-ing and genuine user updates. As a user, it seems a little weird how my updates might be used in ads to my friends.
The Big Question - What do you think? Please comment below as a marketer, user, person, robot, whatever.
Read more about Sponsored Stories at The Wall Street Journal
Many YouTubers make online videos look very easy. Anyone who has tried to make one knows they are not easy. I ran across some great tips to create a solid online video that drives inbound traffic.
1. Answer your customer’s biggest question - You know the questions all your customers ask. Move beyond the FAQ page and answer them in video.
2. Give the product experience - I like to try before I buy, as do most folks. Show how your product works. Show the packaging. Show the support people customers can reach out to.
3. Interview your best customer - Anonymous online reviews are trusted second only to word of mouth. Putting a face, name and voice behind a review only increases its validity.
Read more tips at Rohit Bhargava’s blog
Community managers got a lot of attention this week due to Community Manager Appreciation Day. Some brands have pushed beyond simply have community managers by developing social media command centers. Notables include Gatorade [video] and Dell [video].
This brings into question how community management programs need to be staffed. Global brands clearly need a solid investment to handle the thousands of daily comments, tweets, posts, etc. But smaller brands can’t build fancy command centers. For instance, WOMMA’s community management is really just me and a MacBook. Trends are pointing toward all brands at least having someone at the helm, no matter what size the brand is.
Read more about the community management developments at Fast Company
Community managers act as a conduit between brands and customers. That can be a pretty tough place to be. Both sides tend view the Community Manager as their advocate. And maintaining a zen balance between the two parties can be, let’s say, difficult.
I’d like to point out all the great content I saw this week about CMAD and community managers themselves:
We got a look inside the mind of a community manager [infographic]
Edelman asked their community managers about what it takes
David Binkowski said thanks instead of asking for a coupon
Zooppa thanked their community manager, Josh, with an awesome Karate Kid reference
Boston, New York, Austin, Denver, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Narobi chimed in.
I hope you thanked your community manager. If not, mark your calendars for the fourth Monday of January in 2012.
The past five years have been a remarkable time for marketers, communicators and public relations professionals. Twitter, podcasts, blogs, Facebook, et al. (Quora, anyone?) have infused a new and refreshing vibrancy into our respective professions, making them more relevant to consumers and the public, and equally valuable to the business community….
Starting yesterday, marketers can use Facebook user posts in sponsored ads. The new marketing option offers increased validity to the messages users see in their news feed. The cited post had a good before and after visualization:
Original post:
Sponsored story:
This new option has already garnered interest from Coca-Cola, Levi’s and Bud Light. It’s certainly something to add to your arsenal if you advertise on Facebook.
Read more about Sponsored Stories at the Financial Post
