Archive of tag "training"

3-Minute WOM Lesson: How to get employees involved in word of mouth

July 26, 2011

[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

The people on your payroll can be a powerful word of mouth force if you equip them with the training, the tools, and the motivation to do it right. How to get started:

1. Give them guidelines
2. Give them tools
3. Give them status

1. Give them guidelines

Create simple rules and guidelines for your employees on how to engage with fans and customers. It’s not about creating restrictions, it’s about straightforward education on how they can participate in conversations about you honestly and ethically — and most employees are happy to be shown the boundaries. And when you do, start by teaching these 10 magic words: “I work for _____ and this is my personal opinion.”

2. Give them tools

To help your talkers tell friends about you, you need to put tools in their hands — and your employees are no different. Try giving them coupons, friends and family discount codes, leaked information, beta tests, or product samples. And when you find something that really gets your employees sharing, there’s a good chance it’ll work for your external fans too.

3. Give them status

Want your internal experts to get more involved in online forums or industry groups? Declare them your company’s subject matter experts on the topics they know best and help them get involved in blogging, online communities, events, or local groups. Or on a larger scale, try creating an ambassador program that gives employees the product expertise (and the VIP status) to go out and engage customers on behalf of your brand.

Share This Post

Comments

0 comments. Read them below or add one. (Trackback)

Create your social media policy with the help of the newly updated Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit

June 20, 2011

A strong social media policy will help protect your brand. It isn’t something you add in later – all great social media programs have a strong ethics policy at their foundation.

And now thanks to a lot of hard work and collaboration from the members of SocialMedia.org, creating yours will be much easier. That’s because today they’re releasing a completely updated edition of their Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit.

The Toolkit – a widely downloaded, open source, member-written guide to creating a social media policy – now includes updated language to cover all social media platforms and three new checklists specifically designed to answer questions raised by the FTC’s new guidelines.

New checklists include training employees and advocates on disclosure, ethics questions for vendors, and best practices on monitoring and responding to disclosure problems.

When the first Toolkit was released in 2008, many members of the social media community saw these issues as a matter of opinion or intellectual debate. But with the FTC’s October 2009 release of the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, it’s clear that proper social media ethics are a matter of law, not personal preference.

The good news: The FTC says that one of the clear protections for your company is a social media policy. With the help of this Toolkit — which has formed the basis for hundreds of social media policies used by companies today — you can create one for your brand.

How to use it:

  • Walk through the checklists with every department using social media, ask the tough questions, and then create something that works for your company.
  • Take it and make it your own.
  • Work your policy into your formal training program.

And remember: SocialMedia.org is not creating or proposing new industry standards or rules (SocialMedia.org is not an association, regulator, or standards group). Members are simply sharing their learnings with a wider audience.

Get the Toolkit:

Share This Post

Comments

0 comments. Read them below or add one. (Trackback)

How Pfizer created their social media playbook -- live from BlogWell

January 20, 2011

BlogWellCome to an upcoming BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media conference in Austin, New York, or Washington D.C. to hear brands like Toyota, REI, Dell, GE, Walmart, H&R Block, ConAgra Foods, and more share case studies in corporate social media.

You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal — in one afternoon, for just $250.

You’ll get practical, how-to advice on creating great content, getting management buy-in, educating employees, simple and ethical disclosure, and engaging fans. You’ll ask questions, discover new ideas, and get answers from people who have been there, done that — all in four hours.

…and you’ll experience a bunch of great case studies, like this one from our last BlogWell in Philadelphia:

Pfizer: Social Media Playbook: Practical Guidance for Colleagues, presented by Kate Bird from GasPedal on Vimeo.

BlogWell Philadelphia Social Media Case Study: Pfizer, presented by Kate Bird
View more presentations from GasPedal.

Share This Post

Comments

0 comments. Read them below or add one. (Trackback)

Announcing BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media in Austin on Feb. 2

December 13, 2010

BlogWell Austin

Big news: We’re bringing BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media to Austin on February 2. We’ll feature practical, how-to social media case studies from 8 great brands, including Toyota, REI, Texas Instruments, and Kellogg’s.

BlogWell is one awesome, idea-filled afternoon focused on social media at big brands. There are no agencies and no startups (though they’re welcome to join and learn along with us!) – just big companies sharing what they’ve learned.

As a preview of the big day, we’ll be sharing videos from our last BlogWell in Philly over the coming weeks.

Register and learn more about BlogWell: Click here

P.S. If you haven’t been to BlogWell yet, check out a few nice things past attendees have said about it:

“The discussions were thought-provoking and inspirational.”
— Jim Lein, Oracle

“I came away inspired, energized, and with a nice bundle of new best practices to apply.”
— Ed Nicholson, Tyson Foods

“An amazing amount of useful material was presented in a timely, efficient way.”
— Donna Speigel, Crate and Barrel

“A well organized and well executed conference. Great job!”
— Todd Blecher, Boeing

“One of the best seminars of this type that I’ve seen in a long time.”
— Sandra Buettner, Johnson Controls

“A great forum for social media professionals to collaborate and learn from each other’s lessons and successes.”
— Jennie Ecclestone, General Motors

“The most valuable source for staying current on B2C and B2B social marketing techniques in Fortune 500 companies.”
— Paul Dunay, Avaya

“One of the most organized and informative events all year.”
— Jackie Bona, Google

Share This Post

Comments

0 comments. Read them below or add one. (Trackback)

← Previous Entries

Email Newsletters

*We will never, ever release your email. (Privacy Policy)
**Third-party newsletter (Privacy Policy)

About GasPedal

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

We're not an agency, and we don't do campaigns. We teach you how to do it yourself, create an action plan, and manage the program. Learn how to spend your time and money wisely for best results.

Our fast, how-to marketing strategies are affordable, easy to execute, and deliver measurable ROI in 60 days.

Tell a Friend

We will not use email addresses for any purpose other than sending this recommendation. (Privacy Policy)

Thanks for the word of mouth! Your message has been sent!

Please enter a valid email.

Your email failed. Try again later.