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by Dave Balter
Some would say the word of mouth industry has officially entered its second chapter. For the past decade or so, word of mouth has evolved from a nascent idea into an organized group of companies providing value to clients everywhere. Ask most companies today if they have a word of mouth strategy and you'll no longer get a deer-in-the-headlights stare. That's one reason I included a volume number in my latest book, The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II. The other reason being that the title begins a conversation (Where's Volume I?), which is what word of mouth marketing is all about: the ability to activate and engage in discussions about products and services. The challenge I laid out for...
Continue Reading Dave Balter's Guest Column
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This post from the Brains on Fire blog takes a look at a recent campaign that was designed to promote R&B singer Ashanti's latest album. The promotion, which was created with viral intentions, are a take on the singer's recent video, in which a "woman scorned" takes revenge in a twist that ends with her object of scorn stabbed to death in a bath tub. Fans can send friends stomach-turning "gotcha-grams," which appear to come from a concerned police officer, and identify the recipient of the gotcha-gram as the killer's next intended victim. Side-stepping the threatening nature of the campaign, this post delves into how it ultimately contradicts Ashanti's "brand" -- which is notoriously nonviolent -- and has the potential to alienate fans.
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Whether their impulse is to court the attention or try to duck and hide, technology companies are growing more and more savvy in their dealings with tech bloggers. Perhaps the biggest change in the way these companies are approaching the bloggerati comes from the fact that they are starting to treat them more like members of the press -- instead of like pesky, noisy gossips. A good example of this kind of blog-finesse in action was the recent launch of Samsung's Instinct phone. Members of the blog community were treated like press, given trust and respect, and signed non-disclosure agreements prior to the Instinct's launch -- agreements that they kept.
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WOMMA member company The New York Times has stepped out with a beta version of its own proprietary social network for Times users. TimesPeople, according to this article in the Silicon Alley Insider, is a fairly unobtrusive social network. It includes features such as messaging, lists of top stories and links, and member status updates, and fits them all into a Firefox browser. Using TimesPeople, readers will be able to see what stories their friends are recommending, which the company is hoping will drive more clicks and more time spent on its site.
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Work on WOMMA's fourth volume of "Measuring Word of Mouth" is underway, which means this is a great time to roll up your sleeves, get involved, and show off the amazing work your company has done in word of mouth research.
>> Submit a Word of Mouth Marketing Research Paper
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Whether you choose to submit a paper to the main body of the book or to our special section on valuing a conversation, your contribution sets you apart as an expert in the WOM industry. Not only that, contributions to "Measuring Word of Mouth, Vol. 4" will inform the content for our 2008 Research Symposium in November -- so folks whose research work is accepted into the book will have first dibs on speaking slots.
And you don't have to start from scratch. This is a great way to get more mileage out of work that your company has already done. If you have a research report, research article, or research-based whitepaper, repurposing it based on the "Measuring Word of Mouth" guidelines is an excellent way to increase the value of the work you've done.
>> Submission Timeline
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* June 30 - Topic Proposal Submissions Due (HURRY!)
* July 28 - First Draft of Papers Due
* Sept. 15 - Final Paper Submissions Due
* Nov. 12 - Research Symposium (Paper Presentations)
To find out more, and to get a copy of the "Measuring Word of Mouth" style guide, email: editor@womma.org.
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While numbers from ComScore put Facebook and MySpace in a tie for first place among online social networks, as of May 2008, WOMMA member company Nielsen Online still ranks MySpace as the top social network based on unique audience, with Facebook coming in second. According to the numbers, MySpace is up just 7% over its May 2007 figures while Facebook is up an enormous 83%.
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We are constantly adding valuable word of mouth marketing whitepapers, research studies, essays, opinion papers, and other content to WOMMA's member center. These are just a few of the NEW items you'll find there:
>> Valuing Word of Mouth as a Function of Time
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This paper from WOMMA member company BzzAgent takes a look at the cost per minute of WOM, which it values at $0.05. According to BzzAgent, what's missing from the current slate of engagement metrics is a viable "qualities of time" measurement. According to the paper, when viewed strictly on time engaged, experimental and event marketing dominates.
>> Collective Intelligence Webcast from BrandIntel
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This webcast from WOMMA member company BrandIntel takes a look at the paradigm shift that's occurring between the "new consumer" and the "new marketer." According to BrandIntel, Consumer-generated content is quickly overtaking traditional media as the primary source for product information and marketing. As a result, social computing has quickly grown to become an intrinsic part of the marketing mix.
>> WOMM-U 2008 Video Archive
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WOMMA has the video archive from our 2008 Word of Mouth Marketing University general session presentations available in the WOMMA Member Center. Tune in to see keynote Joseph Jaffe, Jeffrey Graham from the New York Times, Judy Stonefield from OPI Cosmetics, Carla Hendra from Ogilvy North America, Bob Pearson of Dell, Jordan Corredera of Carnival Cruise Lines, Jen Gulvik of Houlihan's Restaurants, and more!
WOMMA members, log in to the WOMMA Member Center to get your hands on this great content:
http://womma.leveragesoftware.com/blog_view.aspx?CustomerID=memberlibrary
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Your First Source for All Things WOM
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The WOMMA Word puts up-to-the-minute word of mouth stories in your hands every day with an easy-to-swallow dose of news, strategies, case studies, campaigns, jobs, research, and more. If it's happening in WOM, WOMMA's The Word's got it covered.
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The Word of Mouth Marketing Association
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WOMMA is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. Our more than 385 members are building a prosperous word of mouth marketing profession built on best practices, effective standards, and ethical leadership. Those are the qualities that bring WOMMA members together -- and we hope that you will join us if you share these values.
Learn more about WOMMA
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Shannon Stairhime, Editorial and Content Manager
65 E. Wacker Place, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60601
1-312-853-4400
editor@womma.org
http://www.womma.org
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© 2008 Word of Mouth Marketing Association Inc. You may forward this email if it is not altered in any way.
WOMMA and Word of Mouth Marketing Association are registered trademarks of Word of Mouth Marketing Association Inc.
WOMMA respects your privacy. We will not release your email address ever, for any reason.
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