What do you get when you combine academia and executive leadership from Fordham Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, Tel Aviv University, ChatThreads Corp. and Keller Fay Group? You get a consensus that we all tend to underestimate the impact of social media both online and off—and a true sense of how many people are affected by a strong message.
At last week’s WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) Summit in Las Vegas, this prestigious group convened to uncover “Answers from Academics to WOM’s Toughest Questions” and did so in a way that made audience members think of social media differently—moving from a pure online experience to more of a behavioral learning opportunity. (Here’s their recommended reading.)
We’re talking behavioral in a sense that brands must activate triggers for users that put more value on a name and/or word associations that make those brands more observable, especially in the mass volumes of posts and content that live and breathe online. It’s more important now than ever to put more value on why ideas, brands and names resonate—and why they get talked about more online than not.
Regarding behavior, it’s evident that building and establishing relationships with people in the social community is a key and driver into conveying any given message—with the proper disclosures, of course. These relationships help add to a campaign and allow for a deeper engagement that leads to imitation, thus increasing the chance of attaining that validation for a brand. It is this strong relationship that entices users/readers to publicly display their loyalty and support.
Ask anyone who knows me, for example, and they’ll tell you that I consume Coach purses. The brand is near and dear to my heart (and wallet). And so are coupons. My favorite online, opt-in coupon is the one that screams “20 percent off Coach Factory Outlet”—because I’m on the next bus out to Woodbury Commons to redeem it, and I pass it along to others who I know will use it.
Behavioral research shows that brands achieve higher relay rates through the most targeted of outreach efforts: a sample or a coupon that gives people a reason to talk about the product and, perhaps, even crosses generational gaps to get people activated and motivated to buy. Let’s just say that my mother, who is in her late 50s, would have never been crazed to spend $100 on a purse. With this coupon and my obsession, she is now.
And who would have thought there was such a psychology behind giveaways—online or offline? After coupons, giveaways are my next favorite thing. There is a strategy behind giving two of anything away versus one. But, of course, you are going to share it with someone just as easily as you would pass along a coupon. Again, since you have only that one, you’re going to be very particular about who gets it because you know they will use it and they trust that it is genuine because it came from you. This becomes the ultimate word-of-mouth targeting experience, powerful in its approach to target the right buyer.
Overall, according to those in academia, we in the PR industry tend to undervalue the “value” of word of mouth and often fail to realize the impact brand marketers can make with customer conversations online. The definition needs to move from customer communications to customer engagement. In the end, the influenced customer whose behavior was shifted and activated by something as simple as a coupon has brought in other customers, reduced her own buyer’s remorse and, ultimately, caused more sales for that brand.
Who knew my simple Coach viral behavior is helping to keep the social media world go round? Let me know if you want their latest 20-percent-off coupon.
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