Archive of tag "communities"

3-Minute WOM Lesson: How to stay in touch with fans

January 5, 2010

Having permission to consistently communicate with fans is key to long-term word of mouth. Three opportunities to do it:

1> Email
2> Communities
3> Events

1> Email

Nothing beats a list of email subscribers that have given you permission to regularly contact them. The best word of mouth marketers build their email lists by consistently offering their fans the chance to sign up: after purchases, in online sidebars and footers, after downloading content, and after recommending something to a friend. Once you’ve built the list, help it spread and grow organically by offering ideas, insider news, or member-only specials that subscribers love to share.

2> Communities

Online groups help you keep your fans organized and easily reachable. There are lots of simple (and often free) platforms available, including Ning, Facebook, and even email-only communities. By giving your fans a place to gather, you’ll not only make it easy for them to create conversations and share ideas, but you’ll also make it easier to quickly contact them with news or updates.

3> Events

Live meetings are often among the most resource-demanding ways to stay in touch with fans, but they also offer the most benefit. These meetings are where fans make real-world friendships with other fans, where they share their ideas and suggestions for your company, and where you get to meet them personally. Only the most enthusiastic followers will show up, but that makes it all the more powerful of an experience.

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Upcoming GasPedal events

October 30, 2009

11/4 Ariba and Clorox: Launching new online communities (Member-only call) Click here

11/5 Dell and UPS: Monitoring online chatter about your company (Public call) Click here

11/10 BlogWell Atlanta: The Home Depot, UPS, Sungard, Orange Business Services, ConAgra, Turner Broadcast System, Newell Rubbermaid, and Coke share case studies in corporate social media. You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal. (Public event) Click here

11/11 Atlanta: Social Media Business Council Member Meeting (Private event) Click here

11/17 AccuQuote: Social media for the analytic marketer (Public call) Click here

12/16 Word of Mouth Supergenius: Learn to be a fantastic word of mouth marketer with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’ll learn practical, hands-on techniques to get started, grow your program, and earn amazing word of mouth. (Public event) Click here

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3-Minute WOM Lesson: How to create word of mouth by connecting your customers

October 27, 2009

In this issue, Kira Wampler, Intuit’s Word of Mouth and Social Marketing Leader, Small Business Division, offers her three tips on creating WOM by connecting customers:

1> Focus on what your customers care about
2> Find ways to get everyone involved
3> Forget the marketing speech
4> Listen to Kira’s live Supergenius preview

You can see Kira — as well as 30 other brilliant word of mouth marketers — live at GasPedal’s Word of Mouth Supergenius on December 16 in Chicago. This “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference features 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors.

1> Focus on what your customers care about

It’s not about going after the latest social media fad; it’s about building a program around a subject important to both you and your customers. For Intuit, they’ve built communities around the challenges small businesses face. Once you’ve found the common issues that connect your customers, you can start to look at the tools and tactics you’ll need to bring these folks together.

2> Find ways to get everyone involved

Look for opportunities to get multiple teams and departments working toward common goals. One of the biggest lessons Kira says they’ve learned at Intuit is that integrated campaigns everyone can get behind are far more successful than standalone initiatives. When you make it easy for employees throughout the company to get involved, they take a huge sense of ownership in it — especially when it’s about how to help customers be more successful.

3> Forget the marketing speech

Focus on letting the voice of the customer come through. Kira recommends creating an environment where the topic of conversation is about the things your customers care about, their concerns, and their ideas. If you do it right, your customers will be talking about themselves — and, ultimately, your campaign.

4> Listen to Kira’s live Supergenius preview

Hear Kira expand on her three big ideas on creating WOM by connecting customers, as well as reveal her word of mouth superpower here:

Check out our Facebook page to see all our interviews.

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GasPedal will help you get started with word of mouth marketing, blogs, social media, communities, and viral marketing.

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