The Net.Finance conference is one week away. Dick Beedon, Amplifinity's Founder, will be speaking on May 21st at 12:05pm, on the ways in which Managed Brand Advocacy can transform consumer perception of your bank, as well as the ways in which Word of Mouth can help attract new customers who stay loyal longer, and who generate more business by tapping into their personal networks. Take a look at the day's agenda here.
If you'd like to speak with Dick Beedon or Dan Pasick, both will be on hand to cover the finer points of brand advocacy. Click here to contact them or to set up a short meeting.
Marketing Profs today shows, once again, that moms can multi-task and spread Word of Mouth faster and farther than almost anyone! Happy Mothers' Day to all you moms out there, from Amplifinity!
Come talk to Amplifinity at the NetFinance Conference, May 21-23rd, at the Sheraton Wildhorse Pass - Chandler. Our founder, Dick Beedon, will be speaking about our Advocate Management Platform and the huge impact brand advocacy can have on banks. Let's set up a short meeting!
Ninety-two percent of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising—an increase of 18 percent since 2007, according to a new study from Nielsen. Online consumer reviews are the second most trusted form of advertising with 70 percent of global consumers surveyed online indicating they trust this platform, an increase of 15 percent in four years.
Sure, the number of consumers who trust word of mouth is growing -- and it has been for years. Technology has made this trend possible, and it's a good thing. But at what point is a trend not a trend anymore, and just a fact? I think word of mouth has reached its apex and now we are at the point at which companies can rest assured that brand advocacy is an investment worth making. How do you make that investment?
Turn to Amplifinity. We can create a Word of Mouth strategic plan for your company that will easily integrate into your existing systems, and will allow you to identity, grow and nurture your advocate base. From there, the possibilities are truly endless. Just like Nielsen and so many others have found, your customers trust recommendations from people they know. And this is not a trend that is going the way of bell-bottoms or the mullet. This one is here to stay. Let us explain why we are truly the leaders in brand advocacy management. - click here to view our video, or send us a request for a demo.
WOMM-U is coming up and Amplifinity will be in the Windy City to attend on May 7th - 9th.
WOMM-U is a school open to all those interested in advancing their knowledge of Word of Mouth Marketing and the science behind social marketing.
Let us know if your company is planning on being there or sign up here!
This video, sent to me by Lauren Carlson, CRM Analyst for Software Advice, features an interview with Duke Chung, founder of Parature, who says that companies need to focus on brand advocacy and discusses why it is a vital step in building a brand. Chung also outlines five ways companies can start building brand advocates today. Take a look and let Amplifinity know how your company has accomplished this - or ask us how you might start!
Take a look at the article I wrote for MarketingProfs' Blog, "Four Ideas for Activating your Brand Advocates." We'd love to hear how you keep your brand advocates engaged - have you had any success stories you'd like to share?
These days, there is much ado about the power of influencers, the importance of building brand advocacy, the necessity of managing the people who are most willing and likely to talk about your brand positively and negatively. Everywhere you look there are “social management” companies springing up, promising to get you likes and fans, assuring you that they can run campaigns that will...
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Energize your brand advocates
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Get companies a dizzying number of recommendations
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Help marketers grow their marketing databases
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Acquire new customers from the social web
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Gain deep social insights
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General viral campaigns
As Brandon Evans pointed out in his recent AdAge article about influencer marketing, there’s no question that a brand must have a way to identify those who create value for it. I doubt you’d find any naysayers when it comes to that point. He goes on to write that influencers are not necessarily, as some assert, those with high Klout scores. Rather, the influencers who actually influence spending/purchasing decisions, are those who interact regularly with their networks and share common interests with them. Not rocket science so far.
Influencers are important. We need them. People don’t pay attention to traditional marketing like they pay attention to their friends. We’ve got it. So what now? Evans offers some questions meant to cut through the temptation to simply amass fans and Facebook likes - the flash in the pan variety of brand advocacy. He recommends incorporating a thoughtful strategic plan when it comes to your influencers. That’s a good first step. But there must be more than a first step – there must be a series of steps over a period of time.
It’s becoming fairly apparent that companies can run a MASSIVE referral campaign, thereby generating sales and increasing brand visibility. They can run a Facebook ‘like’ campaign that draws thousands of potential consumers - sure. BUT, to truly get to the heart of brand advocacy or influencer marketing, a company must think long-term. We know that the companies who start now, and manage and build brand advocacy over a period of years will see:
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A change in their rate of growth (advocates recruit new customers)
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A higher level of consumer loyalty (consumers who are recognized and nurtured stay truer to a brand longer)
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Higher profitability (Advocates recruit and bring in customers who spend more)
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Metrics, databases and highly useful brand advocate/influencer data that can be harnessed, categorized, cross-categorized, scaled….and ultimately unleashed at the precise right time
It’s time for companies to create a brand advocacy strategy that is long-term, focused and comprehensive. It's got to be a part of their overall marketing strategy or they simply will not thrive in this consumer-driven world. Indeed, a long-term brand advocacy strategy is the only logical road to what Evans calls “true influence.”
In this article, "Why Your Customers are Just not that into You," by Dan Kohn, (writing for Marketing Profs) he points to the study he conducted with Pitney Bowes, asking 6,000 consumers what marketing activities draw them closer to a brand. While many of the results were fairly straightforward, I found it particularly interesting that according to their findings, 70% of consumers did not want call center reps to "get too chummy," but 60% of customers wanted more personalization on company websites, etc.
At first glance, this seems something of a contradiction and it creates as set of more perplexing issues for marketers -- if consumers want personalization and recognition for their efforts and brand loyalty, how do we meet their needs without actually meeting the customer? In the past, customers walked into your stores, said hello every morning over the coffee counter, or made other attempts to build relationships with you. Evidenced by this study and many others, over-attempts to create realationships with your customers do not effectuate positive results, but there is a particular balance that needs to be created to both welcome new customers and see a great ROI.
What is it that you do to ensure you're meeting your clients' need for personalization, while staying within their comfort zone? How does your company leverage social media or offline word of mouth to create and sustain relationships with your customers? Amplifinity would love to hear.
This punchy NetBase infographic that reveals what men and women appear to want based on NetBase's social media monitoring and analysis is intriguing. They say: "...we thought it would be fun and interesting, but also because it would help us illustrate all the possibilities that exist for understanding conversations in social media. We proceeded to identify categories of wants, pinpointed the most talked-about and most-loved brands, and found themes associated with each of the brands. We finally had to stop and admit that there are endless possibilities for what you can do with this kind of data."
What I found interesting, was that if this infographic is on the mark, both men and women like to talk about food. It would be fascinating to conduct a similar study of conversations by region of the US - my guess is that the outcome would reveal very disparate topics of conversation. In any event, this infographic gives marketers something to think about. Thanks, NetBase!
What are the topics you either 'gush' or 'talk' about when you're online? Amplifinity would love to know!
