Dave Balter, one of the leading specialists on “Word-of-Mouth” marketing and the founder and CEO of BzzAgent, has published a free e-book (approx. 119 pages) on the how to successfully use word-of-mouth marketing to build buzz around a company, product or service. This is a great resource and best of all, thanks to Dave, it’s free!

Click here to download the book. (approx. 2.4MB pdf)

For those that require a hardback copy, click here to buy it online at Amazon.com.

Beal knows a thing or two about banking. He just happens to be a self-made billionaire who made his fortune in banking and real estate. He also might know a thing or two about advertising. Not two pages later, I found a four-page letter from Regions Bank Chairman, Dowd Ritter, reminding his shareholders (and those who advise his shareholders) that Regions is performing well in one of the toughest years in the financial services industry.

Coincidence? I think not. If you have $184,561.91 to spare, go ahead, write a letter, and let your message be heard.

Inc. Magazine published an article in its February issue about the positive effects of marketing viral videos online at places like YouTube and Google. In the article, Inc. profiled three companies, gDiapers, Personality Hotels and RJE Business Interiors.

All three companies took a simple approach to producing the videos and spent between $5,000 and $25,000 for production and marketing. gDiapers focused on the benefits of using its reusable nylon pants and biodegradable liners. Personality Hotels gave a 5 minute tour of the company’s hotels. And RJE Business Interiors created a reality series that showed company employees installing furniture and performing community service.

After publishing these videos, gDiapers experienced double digit revenue growth, Personality Hotels increased reservations by 5% and RJE Business Interiors increased revenue by 22%.

The Winning Strategy

In the article, Inc. also discussed the success of Blendtec, a maker of commercial blenders. The Company created a more creative series of videos entitled, “Will it Blend?”, which showed its blender chopping marbles, golf balls and even an iPhone. The videos have been viewed 35 million times and since launching these videos, the Company’s sales have grown from $2 million to $10 million. 

Top Online Video Sharing Sites

• Google Video
• YouTube
• Revver
• VideoEgg
• JumpCut
• Eyespot
• Ourmedia
• vSocial
• Vimeo

My Favorite Viral Video

Just for fun, I wanted to share my favorite viral video created by Smirnoff. Enjoy…

The Evening Standard has developed a new strategy for reaching and attracting customers. Instead of growing subscriptions, The Evening Standard is focused on growing daily circulation numbers by offering patrons an easier system for purchasing afternoon papers…

The new Smart-Card system, named “Eros” after the winged figure on The Evening Standard’s logo, allows customers access to a prepaid “tap and go” payment system. Other features include discounts based on frequency of purchases and additional rewards when customers submit their demographic data.

Currently, the technology is available at 150 locations throughout London.

 

If you’re searching for new ways to communicate with potential customers, then consider becoming a guest blogger. Most bloggers are on a constant search for content. If you approach them with a good topic, more than likely you’ll be offered the chance to contribute to their blog.

How would becoming a guest blogger benefit you? Consider this. If your company offers financial services specializing in commodities, you could reach your target market by writing a post about the future of the oil industry on a commodity trading blog.

Keep in mind that when you write a guest blog posting, its common practice to submit a byline. This will give you 2-3 sentences to describe your background and include a link to your website. Don’t forget to do this, as this advertising is the primary reason you wrote the post in the first place.

5 Steps to Successfully Becoming a Guest Blogger:

1. Identify your target blogs. (Hint: if you search for blogs on Technorati and sort by Authority, you will know which blogs are the most popular. The ones with the highest authority rankings probably have the most reach as well)
2. Review each blogs’ archives. You should also pay close attention to see which blogs have used guest bloggers in the past. 
3. Identify the editor of each blog you intend to contact
4. Draft an email introducing yourself, identifying your topic of interest and explaining why this topic fits with the theme of the blog. Also be sure to tell the editor that your blog will not just be a commercial for your company
5. Follow-up after 1 week if you haven’t heard a response

At least that’s according to Pepperidge Farm, who is helping women improve their social lives through its “Connecting through Cookies” campaign. The campaign was launched on its website, http://www.artofthecookie.com, and offers women the opportunity to learn successful strategies and tips on how to meet others and maintain friendships.

Pepperidge Farm pulled Sally Horchow, author of The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections, to be the spokeswoman for the campaign…

Who knew that women had such social problems?

Well, that’s not quite the full story. Although the campaign helps women learn new ways to stay “connected”, Pepperidge Farms hopes that this $2 million campaign will help it develop new ways to reach its consumers and give them a reason to purchase Pepperidge Farm cookies.

This is not an unusual strategy in for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies. Other large CPG companies, including Jockey and Dove have been implementing similar initiatives. Jockey came up with the site jockeyunderwars.com and Dove launched its campaignforrealbeauty.com, which speaks about body image and self-esteem.

In anticipation of this interview, I wanted to share with you an interesting and innovative business concept that I read about in Monday’s USA Today.

The Lobsterman Cometh

Have you ever wanted to be a lobsterman? Well, now you can…Two brothers in Maine are selling the rights to entire lobster traps. That means, for $2,995, you can own the rights to whatever lobsters are caught in your designated trap for the entire season. They will then ship your lobsters overnight wherever you want and will include mussels, clams, Maine-made gourmet desserts, and bibs. Customers are guaranteed at least 40 lobsters for the season.

Brothers John and Brendan Ready own the Company, Catch A Piece of Maine, which launched in October 2007 with eight other fishermen. They are offering 400 traps for sale, which according to the article, 30 have already been sold. What’s even cooler – those who purchase traps can track their catches online.

Why is this concept so cool?

First, it shows how the Internet is helping small (wholesale) businesses connect directly with consumers. Not only can these lobstermen go around the traditional middlemen, but they can increase their profits while offering products and packages at less than retail prices.

Secondly, the article reported that in recent years, the lobster catches have doubled and tripled and that fisherman are working to find new channels in which to sell their lobsters. This new strategy could be the solution.

McDonald’s has stooped to a new low by advertising its Happy Meals on the envelopes containing report cards of elementary school students in Seminole County, Florida. Certainly advertising should reach out to the Company’s targeted demographic, even when this includes children. This, however, is just plain badvertising.

The problem with McDonald’s recent advertising is that it is forced on children without any regard for the parents. Sure, kids watch television and read magazines, but parents have some control over what their children see and read. When situations like this happen at school, it leaves parents vulnerable because it doesn’t give them the option to choose what their children are exposed to. 

This is not the first time the School has allowed advertising on its report card envelopes. Prior to McDonald’s, the school’s sponsor was Pizza Hut. But what’s even worse is that with all of the negative feedback and bad press McDonald’s and the school have received, they have both decided to continue running this advertising through the remainder of the school year.

Just consider the last time you picked up a magazine or newspaper. Do you remember any of the advertisements? How about when you lasted watched television? Do you remember a single commercial? By now, we are so used to seeing advertising that we subconsciously ignore it.

Here are three things we know:

• people read blogs
• people use social networks to communicate
• people watch a lot of television (and they skip over advertisements with the help of TiVo)

So what does this tell us? It’s simple. Companies need to focus on getting their messages out using alternative, and more modern, methods. Whether it’s developing a corporate blog or reaching out to the media, new and free communication channels are available in today’s business world and companies need to take advantage of them.

As an example, I recently helped a client gain exposure on CNN.com’s homepage as a response to a media campaign announcing a poll they were hosting. Being on CNN.com resulted in over 5,000 additional unique visitors each day to my client’s website. If you compare this to traditional advertising, this same amount of exposure would have taken thousands of dollars.

There are several ways in which you can help leverage your company’s media exposure. Here are just a few examples:

Develop a catchy hook: When developing a media pitch, it’s time for you to think outside the box. What can you add to your story that will bring it to the next level? Put yourself in the shoes of a journalist and ask yourself, “Would they care about my story?” If not, then it’s time to rethink your message.

Become an industry expert: Do you manufacture widgets or do you offer a service to the public or to other businesses? It doesn’t matter. If you do business at all, it’s important to build your reputation as an expert in your industry. For those that know how to do it, it’s not difficult. Offer free articles to industry trade journals, volunteer to participate in open panel discussions or launch a blog. The media always needs expert sources. Being known as an industry expert will open you up to serve in this role.

Follow the news: Stay up-to-date on the most recent news in your industry. Set up Google Alerts for certain keywords and phrases. If a phrase comes across the wire that relates to your industry, follow-up on it and offer your expert insight and perspective to your local media outlets.

Most importantly, the next time you consider spending money developing a large advertising campaign, consider this: The Body Shop was built using publicity with no advertising at all and Starbucks built its brand through PR. Starbucks now has approximately 12,000 retail stores and annual sales over $9 billion.

Now that you’ve successfully launched a brand, how are you planning to promote it? Here’s one idea…build a community.

Not sure what I mean? Just consider the Harley-Davidson Owners Group (H.O.G.). This brand-centric community was developed by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company to bring together riders from around the world. It not only allows members to participate in local chapters and special events, but it also gives its members access to a special members-only website. Since its establishment in 1983, H.O.G. has attracted more than one million members.

One of the greatest benefits to developing this type of community is that it creates better brand awareness and loyalty. We all want our customers to be happy and come back again and again…and again. While advertising works most of the time, it’s only a piece of the puzzle. When you combine advertising with other forms of marketing communications, you will find that you have even more channels to get in front of your consumers.

The biggest challenge companies’ often face when building these types of communities is targeting the right audience. Before diving in to your development process, take some time to figure out your target demographic and what your company can offer that will attract this demographic to your community.

Concepts to Consider When Building Your Community:

Work the Web
The Internet is available to virtually everyone. When building your community, consider using Web 2.0 tools to launch your own version of a social network. If that’s too complicated, then start by setting up a simple message board or forum on your corporate site.

Go Local
If you own a retail store, focus on your local community. Your customers are probably also your neighbors, so host special events and other types of get-togethers that would interest them. Out here in Boulder, Neptune Mountaineering offers their store as a free venue for adventurers to give slide shows and lectures.

Find a Partner
You don’t have to build a community alone. It’s easy to find a partner to help. For instance, if you own a hardware store, partner with several of your key vendors to launch a community for consumers interested in home improvement.

Examples of Creative Brand-Centric Communities

Reel Moms
A community of mom’s with infants who get together at Loews for first-run movies, events and giveaways. The Company calls it “A Playdate for Moms!”
http://loews.bipnet.com/reelmoms/

Xango.tv
A video sharing site that allows customers and distributors to upload videos about Xango. The Company claims this is the first ever brand-centric video-sharing community in the industry. Currently, it has 10 different channels and is offering a $10,000 XangoTV award.
http://www.xango.tv/

Barack Obama For President
Here’s an example of a community within an established community. The brand in this example is presidential contender, Barack Obama. His Facebook group has attracted 11,225 members and his profile has 163,808 supporters.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2364211938 (Must be a Facebook user to view)

Defy.tv
Developed by adventure sportswear company, The North Face, Defy.tv allows users to upload and share extreme-sports videos.
http://www.defy.tv/