Online and Offline Word of Mouth

Your word of mouth marketing, online and offline

How often have you purchased a product based on a family member or friend's recommendation? Or how many times have you learned about a service that people are talking about on the internet and decided to give it a try? Without realizing it, word of mouth marketing has just worked its magic on you. It has been around for a long time even before other forms of advertisements graced your TV or computer screens.

Word of Mouth marketing is a free type of promotion that can work either way. Simple as it may seem, it can easily make or break the reputation of your business. To make sure that it will work in your favor, getting the right information across is vital. The information needs to travel accurately- no additions or omissions.

When conversations travel from online to offline, then online again, there are a few points to consider so it will remain authentic and seamless. Before anything else, creating enough buzz is the first step you need to make. It is important to understand that word of mouth can not only be encouraged but also facilitated. This means that you can control the information you want to put up to attract customers and generate enough interest to keep people talking. This takes a lot thought and planning so that you can get the right message across. You'd want to use brief yet catchy statements so that people can easily remember them even after their computers are turned off. Also be careful about using words that can carry a lot of meaning. It would be best to use simple words that are easy to understand and have only one precise definition. The problem with complicated statements is that it can be translated in different ways and might lead to inaccurate perceptions. 

Identifying influencers

Influential individuals can have great reach.  Aside from their valued opinion, they have specific knowledge and a specific following.

To keep the conversation going, posting regular updates will be essential. Often, these updates can spark a conversation offline and get more people interested. For the seamless transition from online to offline, provide information that is simple to understand, educational and relatable. At this point you can present real life client testimonials or experiences to highlight a product's features or how well a service is done. This is how you can compare your offerings with your competition and let people know what sets you apart from them. This can create a good flow and will encourage others to share their own experiences.

Forums, Yahoo Answers and LinkedIn Answers

Take the time to research how, where and when opinions and views are shared online. Take advantage of popular sites or forums and join in on the conversation.  You can  provide information or answer inquiries and also educate others on valid information about your company or services.

Review sites

Reviews can also be your best marketing tool. They can provide and a perspective that other people may find helpful. Remember that although online exposure is valuable, the ability to take the attention and interest offline is just as important. If you want to be an effective marketer, you need learn how to improve and amplify the potential of word of mouth marketing and create a strategy focused on developing and measuring word of mouth.  

Pinterest When You're a Service Provider

Lately, everyone seems to be on Pinterest. It’s really becoming one of the most popular social networking sites, as more and more people sign up to create virtual pinboards, share them with their network, as well as check out all the lovely creations of other Pinterest users.

Since more and more people are using Pinterest, this definitely puts pressure on personal and small business brands to learn the platform and use it to their advantage. Nowadays, it’s all about word of mouth marketing, as well as connecting and engaging with your clients and customers. So brands need to be where the people are, and right now, Pinterest is where many people are spending their time on.

Many personal and small business brands who sell products are taking advantage of Pinterest by creating pinboards that feature the items they sell. They host contests, interact with their followers, and basically create buzz marketing for their brand.

But what if you’re a service provider? What if your personal or small business brand doesn’t sell products, but offers services? Should you still use Pinterest in your small business marketing mix?

Before you can decide on that, here are some things you should ask yourself:

     1. Are you willing to devote time on this?
     2. Are you willing to share more about yourself?
     3. Are you willing to become a more “visual” brand?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you should definitely consider using Pinterest to market your brand. But how exactly do you do this? Here are some tips:

Show off your personality visually

Most people aren’t one-dimensional creatures. You may be a lawyer, an accountant, or a doctor, but it doesn’t mean that that’s your only interest. You may also be a great cook, an avid reader, or a music enthusiast. And you can definitely share these interests of yours on Pinterest.

Before you can sell your brand on Pinterest, you need to connect with the users there, which is why it’s a good idea to show off your personality and the things you like in order to create a good following. Create boards that are creative, inspiring and beautiful. Show off the things you like and love. Then once you have a good number of followers, you can start creating boards that are related to the service you provide so you can promote what you do and drive traffic to your site.

But of course, you need to utilize Pinterest on its terms first before you branch out to what Pinterest can do for your brand.

Consider your target audience

Who is your target audience? What are they most interested in? These are two important things you need to ask yourself so you can effectively promote your brand on Pinterest. You want to create pinboards that your target audience will be interested in, so that they can be directed to your website and avail of your services.

For example, as a cardiologist, your clients are likely to be people who are very concerned about managing their weight and maintaining a healthy heart, so you can create boards that are dedicated to helping people maintain their ideal weight and be heart-healthy.  One board could be about heart-healthy foods, while another board could be about exercises that are good for people with heart disease.

By becoming a good resource for your target audience, you can effectively promote your brand and sell your services.

Be active

Truly, the best way to market yourself on Pinterest as a service provider is to be active on the site. You need to regularly create boards, comment and re-pin other people’s images, encourage people to like and re-pin what you’ve posted, and so on. If you aren’t willing to devote your time to maintaining your Pinterest page, then it’s far better to just utilize other social networking sites that may help you connect and interact with your audience better.

Just like any other social networking site, time and effort needs to be devoted to Pinterest in order to successfully use it to sell your service brand.

Personal and small business brands can definitely utilize Pinterest in order to promote awareness of their brand and create buzz. Though brands who sell products definitely have the advantage since their brands are more “visual,” as a service provider, you can still create interest in your brand by showing off your personality, considering your target audience, and maintaining an active account on the site.

So don’t be afraid of using Pinterest to market your brand. Show off the things you like and love, and you can create a good following that directs traffic to your website as well as the services you offer.

Pinterest and Your Small Business Service Brand

Pinterest is fast becoming one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. More and more brands are using it to effectively promote their products or services within the site. As a small business service brand, would it be worthwhile for you to sign up on Pinterest?

Well, it depends. Some small business service brands can be highly successful in promoting their brand on Pinterest, but there are others who may not garner the same success and may be better off promoting their brand elsewhere. So if you’re a brand who’s offering services, not products, should you consider social marketing on Pinterest or not? Here are some things you should think about:

     1. Do your services translate well visually?

There are certain small businesses that offer services that translate well visually. Photographers, for example, can effectively utilize Pinterest’s virtual pinboard by showcasing their best photos and shots. Wedding coordinators can create pinboards of the weddings they’ve organized, as well as other pictures that inspire them to organize wonderful weddings. These visual displays can help people learn more about your work and determine whether your services fit their requirements.

Lawyers, on the other hand, may not be able to promote their brand effectively on Pinterest. Sure they can create boards of the things they love and the things that inspire them, but it’s not going to let people know how effective they’re going to be in the courtroom.

So if the services you’re offering translate well visually, then definitely  consider promoting your brand on Pinterest.

     2. Is your target audience on Pinterest?

Majority of Pinterest users are women, so if your small business service brand caters to women more than men, then you should definitely consider adding the site to your marketing mix.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that if your services cater more to men, that you shouldn’t be on Pinterest. But you may have to think twice and consider other options so you can reach your target audience better.

     3. Are you willing to devote time on the site?

Just like other social networking sites, it’s important to devote time and effort to your page on the site, so that you build a good number of followers. You want to make things interesting for your audience, so you should regularly post, comment and reply to people, and make sure to follow, share and like other pinboards as well. You can’t build a following if you’re not going to update regularly and if you aren’t willing to devote time to interacting with your audience.

After you’ve considered these three things, here are some tips to help you market your small business service brand on Pinterest:

       • Too much self-promotion is a No-No

Too much self-promotion on Pinterest isn’t going to earn you points on it. Remember that it’s still primarily a social networking site, so it’s important that you make sure to share other things in addition to the services you’re offering.

What you can do is create interest in your services by sharing content that’s inspiring and based on a broader theme. This helps build a community around your brand, and doesn’t hint of over self-promotion.

       • Connect your Pinterest with your other social media accounts

To effectively convert buzz to bucks, you should definitely connect your Pinterest with your website, your blog, and your other social networking sites. This helps promote your page and drive traffic to your website. You want to direct people to the place where they can become your clients and avail of your services.

       • Be more personal

The best thing about Pinterest is the fact that you can show off who you are and what you love. Personalize your page – take the time to update the appearance of your Pinterest page so that it reflects who you are and what your brand is all about. And again, don’t be all about business – lighten up. Show people what inspires you and create boards that are funny and interesting. Social marketing is all about connecting with your audience, and the best way to connect with them is to show them the personal side of you.

Your small business service brand can definitely benefit from maintaining an account on Pinterest. So don’t be too quick on dismissing this popular medium. Pinterest is fast becoming an excellent platform for marketing small businesses.

What is SaveLocal and Why Would You Use It?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past couple of years, you’ve surely heard about daily deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial. These sites have become extremely popular among people, after all, who doesn’t enjoy getting 50% off at a new restaurant or 50% off at an expensive spa?

For business owners, these sites can be an excellent idea since it can help them with their local business marketing and get new customers to your door. But as a small business owner, you need to ask yourself is: What do you really want—new customers or repeat ones? Do you want people who are only looking for deals, or do you want people looking for a brand they can be loyal to?

Also, did you know that Groupon typically gets 50% of what the customers pay? For example, if you put up an offer of 50% off on $20 worth of food. The customer pays you $10 for this deal and from this, Groupon gets $5 and you also get $5. That’s $5 for $20 worth of food. Imagine if thousands of people buy this daily deal (since these sites usually don’t allow you to put a limit on the coupons that can be bought), do you think you’re going to get any profit? Or would you actually become buried in debt?

Yes, there are many Groupon horror stories out there. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it hasn’t worked for some – there are also numerous success stories of companies that only have praises for these daily deal sites. But as a small business owner, are these sites the best choice for you? If you’re planning on marketing in West Texas, is it really recommended to use these sites that offer your coupons everywhere?

SaveLocal and Small Businesses

Here’s where SaveLocal comes in. ConstantContact, a company which has successfully helped thousands of small companies with their email campaigns, has now entered the deal site arena with SaveLocal. But what they’re offering is something quite different – SaveLocal basically helps you create, design, promote, and track your deals, at a very affordable price.

With SaveLocal, you decide what coupon to offer, the number of coupons you want to sell, and who can receive these offers. Unlike Groupon and other deal sites who reward people who are simply looking for a good deal (and aren’t likely to return and pay the full price), SaveLocal targets your existing customers and encourages them to share the coupon with their friends and acquaintances.

Basically, the coupons are only sent to the business’ email list and Facebook followers. The customers are offered the deal, as well as an incentive to share it with their friends and social network. It’s an excellent small business marketing strategy.

Though the people who will receive your coupons may be smaller in number, these people are the ones who are more likely to be returning and loyal customers. SaveLocal rewards your existing customers and encourages them to spread the word to their friends. These people are likely to be local, increasing the chances that they get the coupon. Also, for their friends to get the deal, they have to opt-in to your email campaign as well, giving you the ability to connect with them further.

You see, one of the basic downfalls of Groupon and other deal sites is the fact that you don’t get any information on those who buy your coupons. They buy the coupons, redeem them, and then they move on to the next 50% off deal, forgetting about you. But with SaveLocal, you can obtain the most valuable asset – a way to communicate with your new customers, to offer them other deals and encourage them to frequent your store again and again.

And what would this cost you? You only have to pay $1 to $3, depending on the cost of the deal you’re offering. This is perfect for small business owners, who can offer excellent deals and still get a profit from the sales.

But perhaps the main question you need to ask is: Why should I use SaveLocal? Can’t I simply create my own deals?

Well, you can. But SaveLocal makes it so much easier to conceptualize the deal and analyze the results at an affordable price. So if you want to save time and effort, then this site is a great way to do so.

For small business owners who want to offer deals to their customers without ending up in debt or even bankrupt, then SaveLocal is for you. Remember that you’re not targeting random people who just want a great deal. You’re targeting people who are likely to return and become regular customers. So to make it happen, give SaveLocal a shot!

Disclosure: I do have a partnership with Constant Contact. That partnership came about because of my genuine liking for their tools and system.