This kind of word of mouth exposure can go viral and strengthen your company’s brand along with its sales.
I had lunch with a good friend the other day. While we were chatting, Chantal highly recommended that I read a book called, “Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science” by Atul Gawande.
Chantal reads widely and we seem to share a similar taste in books. In fact, one Christmas we had to laugh when upon opening our presents, we found that we had purchased the same book for each other! With that kind of track record, I knew I could trust her opinion. So on my way home, I made a stop at the library and I was soon reading “Complications”. Chantal was right. It is a great read.
Word of mouth is a very powerful form of endorsement whether it promotes books, vacation spots, or other products and services. Human beings just tend to trust the judgements of their peers over brand advertising or slick corporate claims.
My manufacturing clients often tell me that much of their new business comes through word of mouth referrals. They are rightly proud of the reputations their companies have built with customers in their industries. After all, a good corporate reputation translates into unsolicited endorsements that can fuel new business sales.
Since word of mouth is such a great tool for generating new business, what if there was a way for a company to broadcast their word of mouth endorsements over a wider network? Social networking or social media tools such as Twitter allow a company to do just that.
Holy Grail
According to Dan McCarthey, “The Holy Grail for a marketer is a positive word of mouth. If you capture this, it is the highest means of converting prospects into sales, and at the least expense. Social media is a way to super-charge word of mouth.”
Twitter is a micro-blogging social media site that was launched three years ago. As of April 2009, Twitter had about 17 million unique US-based users (known as “Tweeps” in the “Twitterverse”) and about 24 million worldwide. It has become the fastest growing social media site on the web with a monthly growth rate of 1,382% according to Neilsen.
The challenge and the beauty of Twitter is that unlike traditional blogging which provides more context and depth of information, micro-blogging on Twitter requires the users to share posts known as “tweets” of no more than 140 characters.
The amazing thing about Twitter is that you can have access to really famous people – or at least their aides/handlers who ghost write their tweets! Here are a couple of examples of tweets from “friends” that follow my Twitter stream:
A tweet from Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper whose Twitter “handle” is @pmharper
“Locate Economic Action Plan projects near you with this new maphttp://www.actionplan.gc.ca… ”
A tweet today from Michael Ignatieff
“Had a great meeting with the Colombian President. Talked honestly about the obstacles facing the free trade deal between Canada and Colombia.”
Making Money on Twitter
Returning from the world of politics to reality … is anyone making money on Twitter? Dell computers is. As of 2007 Dell claims to have generated over $3 million in business from their Twitter followers on @DellOutlet.
How do business use Twitter? In the white paper survey, “The Coming Change in Social Media Business Applications: Separating the Biz from the Buzz”, by Josh Gordon, we learn that businesses use social media sites like Twitter for:
1) branding
2) information sharing
3) public relations (e.g. posting links to their press releases etc.)
4) understanding customers (i.e. customer service, market research etc.)
5) lead generation
6) collaborative work
7) internal communications
8) sales support
One of the social media trail-blazers in the business to consumer market is Zappos, an online department store. Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com ( @zappos) has over 750,000 followers and follows over 400,000 people on Twitter including me … not sure why! Zappos encourages its staff to spend quality time on Twitter to help put a more human face on their company. Zappos employees vigilantly monitor and respond to Twitter posts from customers to provide a new level of customer service and interaction, while inspiring brand loyalty.
Manufacturers on Twitter
For ideas on how your manufacturing company can profit from the word of mouth on Twitter, check out these manufacturing company Twitter profiles and set up your company’s Twitter account today!
Twitter asks the question “What are you doing right now?” None of my 1,100 Twitter followers tweet me banal descriptions about what they had for lunch in 140 characters or less. Instead, since they share my interests, they offer me fantastic word of mouth recommendations, refer me to valuable online links, answer questions and offer advice. I interact with a great social networking community and would like to extend an invitation to your manufacturing company to join the conversation.
Whether you are a veteran “tweep” or a neophyte to social media, I would love to follow your company on Twitter. You can reach me on Twittter @sarahsturtevant. See you in the Twitterverse!
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