Bringing social media, WOM strategy together - SmartBrief

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Bringing social media, WOM strategy together

2 min read

Brands & Campaigns

Today’s guest post is by Rebecca Pollack, who edits SmartBrief’s newsletters on food and consumer package goods. Follow her on Twitter at @SB_Food.

I’m always on the lookout for good social media tips that I can apply at SmartBrief, so a recent webinar hosted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association caught my eye. In “How to Weave Social Marketing Into Your Word of Mouth Marketing programs,” 360i’s Sarah Hofstetter explained to participants how to create a game plan, which social platforms to use, and how to keep the conversation between your company and your customers going.

The key lesson that Sarah stressed: Be authentic and transparent. In other words, be your brand. Here are a few other tips I picked up during the webinar:

  • Find out where your audience hangs out. When making a game plan, consider the opportunities of several different social platforms. Vitaminwater got it right when it pitted LeBron James against Kobe Bryant. Banners on sites such as ESPN.com as well as TV ads pointed consumers to the brand’s Facebook page. The platforms within Facebook allowed for a wider reach compared with what would have happened if The Great Debate pointed consumers to the brand’s Web site.
  • Share the right messaging at the right moment. Take a page from H&R Block. The company capitalized on tax season for longterm CRM. With its Twitter feed, H&R Block posted about tax information and its digital media programs, as well as provided customer support.  Number of followers: 3,375 and counting.
  • Continue the conversation and inspire your audience. If the conversation is going in the wrong direction (remember the Motrin moms commerical?), be a problem solver and get on their side. A bad experience can hurt the brand, but a good experience can yield an amazing viral effect.

Image credit, dbuffoon, via iStock