Introducing Word of Mouth Marketing

BA (Hons) Advertising

Word of Mouth Marketing

Inspired by….

What is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of Mouth

The act of consumers providing information to other consumers.

Word of Mouth Marketing

Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place.

It is the art and science of building active, mutually beneficial consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications.

http://womma.org/wom101/

http://www.slideshare.net/1000heads/whatis-wom

WOMMA UK

Why is this important?

The average person sees over 3,000 advertising messages every day…

But how much are these messages

Seen?

Trusted?

Where is the trust in advertising?

http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/british-public-putting-more-trust-in-advertising.asp/7820/

2011 ComRes Study

2010 Alterian Study

www.alterian.com/brands-at-risk

Only 5% (4% UK, 6% US) trusted advertising

and

8% (9% UK, 6% US) ‘what the company says about itself

But realistically - who do you trust more?

Brands OR People

The power has shifted to the consumer…

…people trust people - not marketers or adverts

It’s all about conversations…

…..conversations are the drivers of growth

And people like to share their thoughts and opinions…

….it’s what makes us human

Recommendations matter!

How are you most likely to share your opinions to your friends and acquaintances?

It’s time for brands to join the conversation!

2010 Alterian Study

www.alterian.com/brands-at-risk

The Anatomy of a Recommendation…

WHO said WHAT

Remember this old chestnut?

The Peer Influence Pyramid

http://blogs.forrester.com/interactive_marketing/2010/02/my-first-forrester-report-tapping-the-entire-online-peer-influence-pyramid.html

Mass Connectors and Mass Mavens

http://blogs.forrester.com/augie_ray/10-04-20-peer_influence_analysis_what_it_how_marketers_use_it

Mass Influencers come in two flavours:

Mass Connectors, who create a great number of impressions about brands and services in social networks, like Twitter and Facebook, and

Mass Mavens, who create and share content about products and services in other social channels such as YouTube, blogs, forums, or ratings and review sites.

So do people really talk?

• The average British consumer discusses around 10 brands per day

• 81% of word of mouth takes place face-to-face, 10% is via phone, 9% is online (including e-mail, texting, and social networking sites)

• Around two-thirds of conversations about brands are “mostly positive,” with more than one-third of WOM with an active recommendation to buy or try a brand/product

• Food/dining and media/entertainment are the top two categories discussed by consumers.

http://www.ipa.co.uk/content/IPA-endorses-first-UK-WOM-study

But where are these conversations taking place?

9% Online

91% Offline

Source: Keller Fay Group 2011 TalkTrack® Britain study

A few things we seem to have forgotten…

• A great customer experience will go the furthest

• Your brand is how your customer experiences it

• A happy customer is your greatest advocate

• Recommendations are the most powerful form of marketing

It all comes down to trust…

“Advertising is only effective if consumers trust the messages they see and hear”

James Best, Chairman of CAP (Committees of Advertising Practice)

So what can we do as marketers to enhance word of mouth conversations?

• Give people something that’s worth talking about

• Provide tools that make it easier for people to share their opinions

• Empower your customers and employees so they become your advocates

• Establish two way communication channels

• Listen to your customers then respond promptly and honestly

• Be transparent (and nice)

http://www.slideshare.net/womuk/womma-uk-event-wom-and-seo

http://www.slideshare.net/womuk/womma-uk-event-wom-and-seo

http://www.slideshare.net/womuk/womma-uk-event-wom-and-seo

Business is changing…

“Social business isn’t a state, it’s an acknowledgement that culture and technology has

changed, and that organizations can leverage these changes to solve the same business problems

that they have always had and will always have”

http://www.jmorganmarketing.com/evolving-into-a-social-business/

Social Media

Vs

Social Businesshttp://www.fastcompany.com/1779375/move-over-social-media-here-comes-social-business

What came first???

Business as we know it is changing…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dionh/4322802524/

The shift towards social business

http://www.slideshare.net/EdelmanEtc/smart-business-social-business-by-michael-brito

Social Business Case Study: IBM

http://www.1000heads.com/2011/07/ibm-a-social-business-case-study/

http://www.vimeo.com/23061709

But what makes people talk?

Why do people talk?

YOU

Experienced great products, experiences and service

Consumer experiences are the starting point of many brand conversations

THEM

Sharing knowledge and expertise empowers people

The feeling of having ‘insider information’ is a great catalyst to conversation

US

Being part of a collective or group

Driven by passion for a company, product or activity

http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/word-of-mouth-marketing/

Social Catalysts

Tell me more about WOMM…

Organic vs Amplified Word of Mouth Marketing

Organic WOM is natural and occurs when happy customers have a natural desire to share their experiences of a product or service with others

Practices that enhance organic word of mouth activity include:

* Focusing on customer satisfaction

* Improving product quality and usability

* Responding to concerns and criticism

* Opening a dialog and listening to people

* Earning customer loyalty

http://womma.org/wom101/4/

Organic vs Amplified Word of Mouth Marketing

Amplified WOM occurs when marketers launch campaigns designed to encourage or accelerate WOM in existing or new communities.

* Creating communities

* Developing tools that enable people to share their opinions

* Motivating advocates and evangelists to actively promote a product

* Giving advocates information that they can share

* Using advertising or publicity designed to create buzz or start a conversation

* Identifying and reaching out to influential individuals and communities

* Researching and tracking online conversations

http://womma.org/wom101/4/

Some Types of Word of Mouth Marketing

Buzz Marketing

Using high-profile entertainment or news to get people to talk about your brand

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

Viral Marketing

Creating entertaining or informative messages that are designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion, often electronically or by email.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI&feature=player_embedded

Community Marketing

Forming or supporting niche communities that are likely to share interests about the brand - providing tools, content, and information to support those communities.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

http://www.facebook.com/Marmite

Community Marketing

Product Seeding

Placing the right product into the right hands at the right time, providing information or samples to influential individuals.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jgxVsxbhYhs

Influencer Marketing

Identifying key communities and opinion leaders who are likely to talk about products and have the ability to influence the opinions of others.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0cpLps-DTUw#!

Conversation Creation

Interesting or fun advertising, emails, catch phrases, entertainment, or promotions designed to start word of mouth activity.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jIfV2OYpyJo

Brand Blogging

Creating blogs and participating in the blogosphere, in the spirit of open, transparent communications; sharing information of value that the blog community may talk about.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

Referral Programs

Creating tools that enable satisfied customers to refer their friends.

http://womma.org/wom101/2/

An awesome example for you….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iti8Ivy--s

How can I create a WOMM plan?

Remember this?

Social Media Strategy Process

1. Initial Listening and Research

1. Define Aims and Objectives

1. Identify Available Resources

1. Create Social Media and Content Strategy

1. Decide On Social Media Mix

6. Ongoing Monitoring

http://arengrimshaw.co.uk/an-introduction-to-social-media-for-business/businesslink/

Forrester POST Method

http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2007/12/the-post-method.html

Developing a WOM marketing planFocus on the 5 T’s says Andy Sernovitz (http://wordofmouthbook.com)

• Talkers

• Topics

• Tools

• Taking Part

• Tracking

1. Talkers

Find people who will talk about you

2. Topics

Give people a reason to talk

3. Tools

Help the message spread faster and farther

4. Taking Part

Join the conversation

5. Tracking

Measure and understand what people are saying

How does social media fit in with WOMM?

Back to the beginning…

“The increasing impact of Social Media and how it facilitates conversations between businesses and customers

highlights the importance of Word of Mouth Marketing”

Back to the beginning…

Social Media connects people and allows them to share their thoughts, opinions and media content

Imagine if those thoughts, opinions and media content related to your brand

Every time someone shares your content or mentions your brand, it acts as a personal recommendation for your product or service to their own network

Now, that’s powerful…

And remember…

Social Media describes a set of tools &

platforms…

…NOT a phenomenon

Social Media Module on SlideShare

http://www.slideshare.net/UCFadvertising

Clemi Hardie

clemi@noodlemarketing.co.uk

@clemihardie