International Digital Marketing

What a great idea!  “Pay with a Tweet” is the first “social” payment system where the WOM is considered more valuable than money. The idea is simple: if the user wants to download the product, all he/she has to do is “tweet” about it. When the user tweets about it, he/she tells all his followers about it.

Sounds good, we all want to create buzz. But who is it for, what to “sell for a Tweet” and what benefits it brings?

Few examples taken from the official website:

DJ’s: Latest mix to promote the next show or just to bring more people to the website.

Other Music Artists: New single or music video to promote a new album or tour.

Journalists and Publishers: Leading article to promote your magazine, newspaper or charged online service.

Authors: Teaser version of the next book to boost your sales.

Consumer Brands: Latest commercial to make it go viral.

Creatives: Access to the portfolio to increase your degree of popularity (and possible job offers)

Business Professionals and Scientists: Master thesis, study, paper or presentation to increase your popularity and create a reputation of a specialist in a special field/industry.

Service Provider: Basic version of the service to bring more people to the company website where they can learn about the benefits of the charged premium service.

Film Directors and Entertainment Companies: Trailer for the upcoming movie to maximize the viral momentum of the marketing campaign.

I am waiting with interest how this concept gets going and if the companies/people have to pay for it (not yet visible at the website). It is a great idea, but I wonder if it will work in real-life…when there is Youtube, DailyNews, eMule and other platforms where you can watch and download things for free, the question is: are the users going to pay for the content/product even if it is only a “tweet”? Would someone tweet and endorse a product before actually using it?

I found today an interesting article by Ed Keller, CEO of the Keller Fay Group revealing the 7 strategies Google uses to increase the word of mouth. During the School of WOM, conference organized by WOMMA in Chigago last week, Jim Lecinski, Google’s Managing Director U.S. Sales and Service, talked about the seven strategies Google uses to get the positive buzz going:

1. Pose a Challenge to the Community

By challenging the community, the users will respond, embrace the challenge, share and create something big. Participants share it with their friends, viral marketing gets going, media gets interested, more people hear about it. A snowball effect, I would say. An example: The “YouTube Symphony Orchestra“. Contestants were challenged to download a score and upload online videos for their audition. In four months time (December 08-April 09) 3 000 musicians from around the world auditioned and only 96 were selected to join the orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. More than 1 million watched the concert on YouTube.

2. Hold a Contest

Who does not like winning? The contest Doodle 4 Google received more than 30,000 entries from under 12-year-old students from over 20,000 schools in U.S. The idea was to create their own Google doodle, “logo” that shows in its homepage, inspired by the theme, “If I Could Do Anything, I Would…”. The finalists were chosen via online voting and the winner, a 9 year old girl, was selected by judges. Her doodle was featured on the Google home page and she received a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for her school. Investing in the future and education gave a very positive image of Google.

3. Give a Gift

Free gift? Yes please. Everyone likes a gift and tells all friends about it. Therefore the word about “Free Wi-Fi for the Holidays” Google offered from November 2009 until January 2010 with Virgin America and 54 airports across the U.S. spread like a bushfire. Even having a WIFI at the airport is not so evident, so a free WIFI is surely worth talking about.

4. Surprise Them

Google is famous for its ever changing doodle in its home page. To celebrate Pacman’s 30^th anniversary in May, Google created the first interactive Pacman-doodle. For their immense surprise and delight, the visitors could play Pacman in Google’s homepage. I happened to be one of them and absolutely loved it! And yes, I told all my friends about it. People love unexpected surprises!

5. Draft on Advertising

Why only use advertising when you can follow and expand “the story” with something interactive? Usually avoiding mainstream advertising, the Google ad “Parisian Love” on the 2010 Super Bowl surprised many people. It is a story of two people meeting, falling in love, getting married, and settling down to start a family in Paris – all told via the Google search. However, the point of this advertising was to create a follow up for it and push the audience to use the Search Stories Video creator that allows users to create their own story via search terms, add music, preview, and upload it to YouTube for everyone to see.

6. Let Others Tell Your Story

You already have fans out there, people who love your brand. Let them tell your story, they might even do it better than you do! Google wanted to spread word on Apps, a Google’s web-based hosted software alternative to Microsoft. To motivate the users to talk about Apps and create a user fan base, Google created a special website where users could share their own story and tell the world why they have “Gone Google.” The company gave away “Gone Google” laptop stickers, bumper stickers, mobile phone stickers, luggage tags, etc. Fans loved them and were proud to spread the word of the new software.

7. Invitation Only

More exclusive it is, more you want it. The “scarcity” strategy Google uses for new product launches such as Google Voice and Google Wave creates demand even before the actual product launch. Only a limited number of people can participate and each one of them has only a limited number of invitations they can offer to others. People who have the new product feel special and love talking about it and people who have not been invited yet start searching for someone who still has these invitations. My friend passed me the exclusive Google Wave invitation, asked in Facebook if I liked it and suddenly I started getting mails begging me to send an invitation. IPhone had similar effect in Europe: my friends and colleagues were travelling to U.S. only to buy the new iPhone. We all were jealous when we saw it “live” and rushed into stores when it was finally available in Europe.

What I like about these strategies is that they are actually old marketing tactics with innovative twist focused on word of mouth. There is no need to be a technology guru to apply these in your industry. “Go Google” and modernize the old tactics that work!

You have finally identified your key influencers in the blogosphare, now what? The question is delicate since even if you want to promote your product, you need to forget the usual sales speech. Wrong approach might be perceived in a negative way, since no one likes to be sold to. The strategy should be based on relationships NOT selling.

But what to do? Think “Out of the Box” like Nokia does.

To promote Nokia’s navigation tools and accessories, the company decided to use a different strategy to reach its key influencers. Sexy sports cars were dropped at five different bloggers doorsteps and the quest begun. All bloggers were given Nokia navigation tools they could use in different missions. At first the bloggers had to find the car keys, then a enigmatic box, then another group of bloggers on bikes…The adventure ended at a hotel where all participants could try out all the toys and watch a little video of their journey.

The result is quite impressive: Nokia identified its key influencers, surprised them and gave them something to talk about. 1000heads created a great video case study, #NokiaNav: The Story in Full, which has already 2,500 views in Youtube. I recommend watching the video, since it shows a great example on how to create a real bond with the key influencers by moving the virtual relationship with bloggers into a real-life relationship. In the end of the video the viewers are directed to a special Nokia dedicated site.

Well done, Nokia.

A recent study surveying consumers buying behavior in China and the US revealed that word of mouth influences the final purchase decision more than advertisements. 48% of Chinese respondents declared worth of mouth to be their most important source of brand information compared with 43% of Americans, while only 39% in China and 45% in the US stated advertising via traditional or digital media to be their primary source. However, what comes to the final stage of the purchase process, among the 1800 adults in China and America who participated in the study conducted by Jack Morton Worldwide, only 32% in the US and 21% in China found it to be influential in the final stages.

In China, 52% of respondents felt that observing other people using a product influenced them the most yet in final purchase decision the importance raised up to 64%, compared with 30% in the US. Online research had higher impact for the Americans with 49% and promotion and sponsorship gathered 42% and the product reviews by experts resulted relevant as well.

Why the word of mouth plays such a big role in purchase decisions in China and the US? According to the study, the constant stream of new offerings available in China causes noticeable uncertainty among many Chinese consumers. Diversity, freedom of choice and the fact Chinese brands are competing now at the same level as foreign brands confuse people. Seeing people using a product that works and hearing positive opinions of the product reduces this uncertainty. These results added to the Trendstream study I referred to earlier, about consumers in the Asia Pacific region trusting and engaging with brands that communicate with them through social media, highlight considerably the importance of an engaging Social Media strategy in China.

In the US, the situation is quite similar what comes to the brand diversity and wide range of products. Especially before buying an expensive, relevant product, such as computer or car, consumers prefer listening other people’s opinions before making the purchase decision, and it includes their friends, experts, bloggers, and consumer opinion forums. Jack Morton Worldwide’s study recommends that the brand owners create “moments of dialogue” with their target audience to ensure that there is a long-term growth in the brand loyalty. These consumers could become their brand advocates. Indeed, instead of a one-way communication to the mass, more personal and two-way approach is preferable and more effective in the US market.