Have You Heard

I thought I would share some intresting on-line WoM research findings, based on a survey conducted by YouGuv in the UK. (The link will take you to the full post.)

The top line findings of the research shows in the last 12 months:
• 81% of consumers have searched for or read a user review for a product or service they were interested in buying
• 29% have written a user review and 23% have discussed a product or service in an online forum/blog
• 37% say they are most likely to write a review when the product or service didn’t meet their expectations, with less – 28% - prompted by a great experience
• 48% of respondents who would write an online review say their motivation for writing a review is to try and change how the company services/deals with its customers with 56% saying it’s to ensure other people don’t make the same mistake
• 62% say they have come close to buying something and then changed their mind because of a bad review or warning
• Consumers are most likely to look for recommendations for electrical products (61%); hotels (55%) and gadgets such as MP3 players (38%)
• In terms of sectors, consumers who would write reviews online are more motivated to make an online recommendation or criticism on hotels (45% would write to recommend, 43% to criticise) and restaurants/bars/clubs (36% recommend, 36% to criticise). Broadband, telephony providers (9% recommend, 16% criticise) and cable/satellite TV (15% recommend, 26% criticise)are much more likely to attract negative reviews.

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Brian Solis just wrote an interesting post about how brands need to become media in order to maintain a relevant presence. Click on the ball on your left to read the article. Here is a sum up in his own words below:

While establishing a presence is elementary, captivating audiences is artful. In the near future, brands and organizations will create new or augment existing roles for editors and publishers to create timely, relevant, and captivating content on all social media channels. This work is in addition to the other reactive and proactive social media campaigns that are already in progress. A strategic editorial calendar should blend video, audio, imagery, text, updates, and other social objects and networks to reach, inspire, and galvanize communities.

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Womma did a quick 5 minute interview with Jessica Johnson from Oddcast - a company that looks at producing on-line viral campaigns for brands (they call it user-personalised participation marketing). She had some interesting points I thought you would appreciate. Here are the best exceprts, but as always - click on the logo for the full article or the image below for oddcasts website.

What have you found makes campaign more sharable?
The ones that really get shared are the “do this to your friend” types....Campaigns like these, with the social component built in, seem to perform the best.

What are the key elements of viral?
I think it’s important to distinguish between viral videos and other viral content. Viral videos usually keep someone’s attention for under a minute. When it’s an application that allows for personalization, attention time rises — Oddcast sees average engagement times at around four minutes. Either way, it has to be something new, something novel. Otherwise there is no reason for someone to show it to a friend. That’s why we like to use personalization in our campaigns because it is inherently new and fresh.

How do you convince skeptical clients that your ideas and methods will deliver a good ROI?
Though it has become a little clichéd, I have to mention that we start with this point: the conversation will happen with or without them. The sooner the brand gets involved, the sooner they can benefit from the community... ROI is a tricky subject in the WOM world, but we show brand engagement both within an application, and then further via word of mouth on social networks. We are always working to develop our engagement, sharing, and conversation metrics so that we have the data to show our methods work.

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Sam Decker has just written an interesting intro piece into what he terms Social Commerce - how to turn your customers word-of-mouth into buying. You can click on the image to read his full post and what is the first of what is going to be a few on this topic.

While his focus in on-line the learnings can be used off-line as well as the principles ring true across both worlds.

Here are my outtakes:

1. Develop the relevant messaging for your customers

2. Develop platforms/ spaces/ forums for conversations about your brand to take place between customers and/or non-users.

3. Stimulate action by providing 'call-to-actions' - coupons/ discounts/ rewards/ feedback etc...

4. Track conversations and feedback - know exactly what people are saying about your product and brand.

5. Revise your product/ brand/ service offering based on what people are saying.

The nutshell version is this: Always ensure people are having positive conversations about your brand and find ways to spread that conversation. But always know what is being said - because if you act on what your customers are saying - you will have happier customers which will bring you more customers. Simple and oh so Easy. If you are not sure how to do that - give us a call:)

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Trendwatching.com have reveled that on-line reviews are more trusted than traditional advertising adn subsequently have more sway in influencing purchas behaviour. Reinier Evers, founder, Trendwatching.com, said: "Advertising is one-way, and it always per default claims something is the best, so there's no trust whatsoever, let alone an interesting take from people who live and think like you.

"Real world, and especially the digital word of mouth, is more important than advertising, as advertising has no trust factor, and trust is all consumers are looking for. The reason digital word of mouth is so popular is that it satisfies an existing need in a new, previously impossible, way. It also helps that people looking for information can increasingly get this from people who live and think like them [you can find profiles of reviewers online], which makes the information even more relevant."

The Lesson: Make sure you know what people are saying about your brand and product. And importantly, where they are saying it. Product Reviews are so powerful that you shoudl focus on stimulating postive reviews, and the best way to do that is providing a platform for your consumers to speak.

Click on the logo to go the article.

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Facebook Lite was introduced in India and the US last week and the response was overwhelmingly positive. It was first developed for countries with slow Internet connections, but when it was beta tested in the US, it became clear that Lite would be a smash anywhere. This may surprise many social media aficionados because of Facebook's reputation as a leader in functionality and aesthetics. One only has to look at Lite to see the advantages. In addition to loading quicker because of the stripped down design, the ads are smaller and fewer. The apps are gone. There aren't any chatting abilities, profile pics or status updates. Essentially, the clutter was cut. It's simple and streamlined. Your brain has less to analyze and can relax more. We will have to wait and see whether Facebook Lite will be successful enough to actually trim down the full version. Click on the logo to read an opinion of the site.

Article supplied thanks to WOMMA.

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The Parrele View has a definitive list of Social Media Case Studies - this is a great reference for anyone doing research or needing some inspiration. Click onthe image, make yourself a coffee and enjoy the reading.

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J&J asked the questions, 'Everyone else is talking about our company, so why can't we?  Here is a link to check out some case studies of how Pharma companies have got into Social Media - most of it isnt that innovative, apart from the example below. The best, however, are those that focus on providing relevant communication (rather than pushing brands) and allowing consumers to talk back - in essence create a dialogue as opposed to preaching to get sales. Click on the image to check the list of 10 case studies.

Here is my favourit example - by Beyers. They wanted to educate the youth about blood glucose levels and this is what they did.

"The tool, named Didget, connects directly into the youth's Nintendo DS and rewards the user for building consistent blood glucose testing habits and meeting glucose targets.  The Nintendo DS tool is supported by 'Didget World', a password protected social network where kids can interact with other users and build their own profile. Based on the popularity of online 'gaming' with young people, this is an ingenious use of social media to help monitor a health condition."

Click on the image to check out the site.

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This is a quick 2 minute video by WOMMA, explaining how 3601 and NBC.com leveraged what was happening behind the scenes of a show, to generate further Word-of-Mouth and interaction. The idea is not new - but it is how you execute it that matters. It's a great tie-in to leverage campaigns and a strategy that HaveYouHeard recommends most brands use, if relevant.

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