NRA Show Blog

Three Must-Do Word of Mouth Ideas

 
By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

 Make yourself look like a rock star by doing these simple things starting today. It's not rocket science folks, these ideas are free, easy and are the most effective way to get you more word of mouth.

1. Ask people to spread the word

2. Put everything in an e-mail

3. Add a tell-a-friend link on every page of your Web site

As Floored!'sword of mouth supergenius contributing blogger Andy Sernovitz always says, tell a friend and be remarkable. How is your company getting people to talk about you?

Andy Sernovitz will be moderating a WOM/social media panel of operators including Domino's Pizza's Ramon De Leon at the National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2010, held May 22-25, 2010 at Chicago's McCormick Place. Stay tuned for more details.

* Excerpts/ideas from Andy Sernovitz's Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking book.

10 Golden Rules of Responding in the Social Media Age

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Converseon's Lindsay Lebresco recently spoke at Gaspedal's Word of Mouth Supergenius conference about "the golden rules of responding" in the social media age.

Lebresco dished out ten tips to join in the conversation:

• Respect (the venue, the participants, the importance of even a single comment)
• Expect everything to be public (even if you intended it to be private)
• Speed is of the essence (react in a timely and appropriate manner)
• Openness and Transparency are key (trust is paramount)
• Never conceal (who you are, who you work for and what your intentions are - FTC Guidelines)
• Do your homework (search, listen, read, know your communities first)
• Identify an engager (someone who will represent you well)
• Nothing builds credibility like action (do what you say or don't say it)
• Gather internal resources now (get them trained and ready to respond)

What's missing? Oh yeah, that's why Paying attention is so important!

Word of Mouth Tip #229: Say thanks!

* Word of mouth tip #229 is from word of mouth super genius Andy Sernovitz's book Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

Starbucks Brews Action With Word of Mouth and Social Media

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Last week's ideas-packed Word of Mouth Supergenius Conference hosted by GasPedal was a smash hit. Thanks a mil to all the speakers who shared tips and ideas on how to be great at word of mouth marketing.

We met up at the conference with Starbucks'  very own word of mouth/social media master Matthew Guiste for a one-on-one interview about how the company creates action with word of mouth and social media.

Q: How [and why] does Starbucks engage in WOM and social media?

A: We view social media not as a marketing channel, but as a way to genuinely connect with our customers outside the four walls of our stores. We meet them through a variety of experiences and online places. Chief among them are Facebook, Twitter, MyStarbucksIdea.com, YouTube and Flickr. We engage in these channels for a variety of reasons, most of which fit into the following three buckets:

• Listen and Learn: Active participation in the conversations in these places help us hear directly from and speak directly to our customers.