Posts tagged ‘Word-Of-Mouth’
Sharing is Caring
“There’s an app for that!” is a phrase we hear more and more often, but sometimes the app in question is more innovative than others. One such example is What Do You See? by Malmö-based duo Blixt & Dunder. What Do You See? lets the user see the world through the eyes of an infant, based on medical research on vision development. The utility of the app is undoubtedly somewhat unclear, but what does that matter when it’s both interesting and fun?
Download What Do You See? here, and see the world with – quite literally! – new eyes.
As Swedish streaming phenomenon Spotify conquers America (as usual, through effective word-of-mouth), more and more services are incorporating its technology in their own. One example of this is Spotalike, a service that generates Spotify playlists based on the song you enter on their website. The underlying data is gathered from Last.fm.
Although this in itself is nothing new – Pandora and iTunes’ Genius service are two examples of similar technology – we like the simplicity and tongue-in-cheek attitude of Spotalike. Check it out for yourself here.
TwentyFeet go the extra mile
Services or tools that simplify the way we use social media is a recurring (and possibly also our favorite) topic here at womnewsletter.com, and this post is no exception. TwentyFeet is the name of a new tool designed to facilitate the gathering of statistics from various social media networks and -sites. You can, for example, monitor your Facebook-, Twitter- and YouTube activities, all from the same dashboard; handy, timesaving and much awaited!
Even though TwentyFeet is still just available in a beta version, we gladly welcome this addition to our social media toolbox. Read more about TwentyFeet on their website, or read thenextweb.com’s first impression of it here.
Give us today our daily Bre.ad
Mashable recently published a post regarding the URL-shortening tool Bre.ad. Bre.ad automatically links a created (shortened) URL to a “toast” page which is customizable by the creator. The toast is displayed for five seconds before the viewer is redirected to the intended website.
For example: if we at Word-of-Mouth Newsletter wanted to link to the article on Mashable.com, we could do so via a toast page promoting something entirely different, let’s say our Twitter account. For a more comprehensive and visual description of how it works, read Mashable’s post here.
The obvious question that arises is of course: will Bre.ad turn out to be a useful and innovative marketing tool, or just a new way of bombarding internet users with unwanted ads?
Here at womnewsletter.com, we’re not just fans of social media solutions, but also of initiatives promoting democracy, debate and freedom of speech. Luckily enough for us, YouTube is launching a feature that encompasses both of these! YouTube Town Hall matches members of the American Congress for debates on all kinds of topics, ranging from international issues such as the US involvement in conflict abroad to national healthcare.
Although we’re still waiting for a similar initiative to hit Europe, we encourage you to take a look at the US debates here.
A few days ago Mashable published a Q&A with Geoff Cottrill, chief marketing officer for Converse, in which he revealed the brand’s strategy for communication via social media: acting like a good party guest (or host, depending on the channel and role). According to Cottrill it’s all about bringing something to the table and knowing how to engage in relevant and interesting conversation with your target audience.
“We think that the fans of any brand want to know about product and like offers too, but they also want to have an emotional connection -– we’re trying to be a good host for that connection.” – Geoff Cottrill
Can this allegory of social media as a party to which each guest brings their own topics of conversation and experiences, be used by marketers to further understand the possibilities and hurdles of social media- and Word-of-Mouth marketing? Time will tell.
Never has the expression “A picture is worth a thousand words” been more fitting when discussing news media: in the image shown below (or rather, on the site it links to – click here to go there), the german newspaper Berliner Morgenpost enhances their readers’ experience by tagging the image with links and brief descriptions. The tags in this particular linked image are in german, but even those of us who don’t speak the language will get the gist of it.
Note how the image is easily shared via Twitter, Facebook or e-mail. It quite likely that we’ll be seeing more and more of this type of reader services in the future.
The F-Factor: Friends, Fans & Followers
In their trend briefing for May 2011, trendwatching.com discuss what they call “the F-Factor” – the growing importance of Friends, Fans and Followers, and how these influence consumption behavior online. Trendwatching.com report that three quarters of Facebook users have “liked” a brand, and that the average user clicks the “like” button nine times a month. Coupled with the fact that 92% of consumers cite word-of-mouth as their best source for new product ideas (according to Ted Wright, CEO of Fuzz – more about Mr. Wright and his views on word-of-mouth in this blog post), the F-Factor is a force worth harnessing for marketers worldwide.
Read the full brief here.
One can never have to many insights when it comes to word-of-mouth marketing. In this comprehensive and informative lecture, Ted Wright – CEO of Fizz and board member of WoMMA – shares his thoughts and insights when it comes to word-of-mouth marketing. Watch, be inspired, and reflect on how YOUR company can benefit from the power of word-of-mouth.
Ted Wright on Word of Mouth Marketing from Fizz WOMM on Vimeo.