Marketers wanting to tap into the power of word of mouth marketing to increase brand awareness, preference, and purchase eventually learn a fundamental truth. This truth is simply, “Marketers do not decide what gets talked about. People decide.”

Studies clearly indicate word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing. According to research from McKinsey & Company, word of mouth is responsible for up to 50% of all purchase decisions.

Studies also indicate there are seemingly endless ways to spark word of mouth conversations. The Keller Fay Group has been tracking conversations people have about brands since 2006. Their findings tell us 22% of all conversations people have about brands, products, and services are sparked by advertising. However, the vast majority of word of mouth conversations, 78% of them, are sparked by something else.

Which means… the playground for marketers wanting to trigger word of mouth from customers about brands is HUGE.

Anything and everything a customer can “touch” is an opportunity to spark a conversation. Every customer touchpoint is a possible talking point.

And since people, not marketers, make the decision about what gets talked about, it’s up to marketers to give people something to talk about at every customer touchpoint.

It's time to think about all the associations your service brings to your customer's mind.

For example, any restaurant that uses a “Please Wait To Be Seated” sign from a restaurant supply catalog has given up on being talk-able. This sign is one of the first customer touchpoints someone will experience inside a restaurant. It’s the perfect opportunity to showcase a brand’s unique personality by creating a custom sign that expresses the uniqueness of the restaurant.

Chevrolet was one of the most talked about brands at the 2011 SXSW Interactive Conference. They accomplished being talk-able by giving conference attendees something to talk about at various touchpoints. There were Chevy Volt-branded recharge stations throughout the Austin Convention Center for attendees to recharge all their electronic gadgets. Attendees needing a ride to someplace in downtown Austin could hop into Chevy Cruze and be shuttled free of charge. You could get a 360-degree picture taken of you and your friends at the Chevy Sonic photo booth. Prior to the start of SXSW, Chevy sponsored 10 teams on a scavenger hunt road trip from their hometowns to the conference in Austin. Of course, Chevy was all over social media during the conference with the much-used hashtag of #ChevySXSW. By far, Chevy was the most talk-able brand at the 2011 SXSW Interactive Conference because they gave people reasons to talk at various touchpoints.

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Should you be doing it? Are you doing it already? How do I know if it is working?

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing, in the simplest of terms, is the act (and the art) of communicating and engaging with your clients, customers, and target market without “selling.” Instead of interrupting them, you are part of the action, and something that they may look forward to. You are the conversation that they are looking for, instead of a sales pitch. The customer will feel that the information you deliver is making them smarter or their lives better.

At the heart of this type of marketing is the ability and willingness of a business to deliver consistently valuable information that entertains and educates your buyer. So you probably think, “Hey I have a blog, and I’m on Facebook,” and that is a great start. But what it comes down to (and which is ultimately the difference between content marketing that works, and content marketing that fails), is the content.

So How Do I Make it Work?

Look at your Facebook page or YouTube channel. Does it have messages that interest you, or is it focused on the interests of the consumer? Does every post end with a sales pitch, a “coupon,” or an offer? How about your blog? If your blog is dedicated to your sales efforts, you can rest assured that it is unlikely to be read by anyone except your sales team.

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Welt Talk is our new occasional feature where we interview people about their experiences marketing with  social media and e-commerce tools.

In May 2011 alone, Etsy.com had 996 million page views and some $40 million in goods sold there. Drew Steinbrecher, a graphic designer, joined in 2008 and went self-employed with his thriving vintage stores, Kitsch Café and Kitschwear, within a year. Though busy, he sat down to discuss his experiences marketing on Etsy.

Why choose Etsy instead of striking out on your own?

My aesthetic and inventory tend to attract stylish, educated women ages 22-34. I went where my customers already were.

What about Etsy appealed to you as a Graphic Designer?

Etsy has a clean look and it’s not “clunky.” Etsy is like Target and Ebay is like Walmart. The brand is hipper and the audience is more sophisticated. They cashed in on the resurgence of crafting and were at the right place at the right time. Think of it as a talented hipster’s online craft fair with some vintage knick-knacks and craft supplies thrown in.

How do you approach marketing Kitch Café? Continue reading »

Doctor Tweet? (Image courtesy of thenextweb.com)

It sounds like common sense. The British Medical Association recently warned doctors against befriending patients on social networking sites because it could potentially violate confidentiality.

Now a conscientious medical professional is unlikely to make a mistake of that caliber, but it does illuminate how difficult it can be to build relationships with your patients and still maintain that all-important clinical distance. Continue reading »

The data cloud is the future and where we’ll soon share our data, spread out in all that storage, and use our computers like access terminals. For many, using Google Docs was their first encounter with this virtual storage and everyone seems to be anticipating the “Cloud from Cupertino” with baited breath. But are you ready for your ISP to turn off the tap if you actually use all that the cloud has to offer?

It’s happened to one Seattle man. Andre Vrignaud seems a bit of a “Data Hog,” going over a massive 250GB of data traffic in a month, but service provider Comcast won’t even consider upgrading him to a business account. He’s a gamer who shares video, pictures, data, and music. Sure, he seems like an inordinately heavy user, but is he just ahead of the curve? Will we all be sharing over 250GB a month soon?

…for the rest of the entry, join us on Generation Nerd…