The Impact of Social Media On The World

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Aug 14th, 2009 | Comments

Our good friends over at Roost posted a powerful video we felt the need to share. This is a video showcasing the powerful impact of social media on the world. This video, posted on Youtube, then onto Facebook, then onto their blog came to me via a retweet, and now has over 12,000 views! The powerful networks and influences on these networks are based on relationships online and offline.

A perfect example of social web word of mouth!

ESPN Covers Twitter

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Aug 10th, 2009 | Comments

The Shawne Merriman Tweetup that our Managing Partner Kevin Spidel broadcast on USTream was covered on ESPN. Our Kevin makes an appearance at 1:25 of the clip:

SPAM-A-LOT: It’s going to get worse…

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Aug 6th, 2009 | Comments

… before it gets better. We are talking about social spam on Twitter.  Other social networks suffer from this problem as well, however recent changes to Twitter this last month has made the issue worse. We feel the worst is yet to come.

This last month, Twitter launched its new front page / logon screen. This gave us insight into their revenue model, which includes trending data and analytics. Many companies  understand that their brands need to be in this space, but they don’t understand how to use social networks.

The proven models are about volume and numbers, not about engagement or advocacy on the social web. Therefore are many semantic bots that have been created and are now spaming the Twitterverse with hashtags and links. Volume, not authenticity, is the focus.

Businesses understand Pay-Per-Clicks and numbers more than they understand brand equity, authentic fellowship and brand advocates on the social web. We at Activating Word of Mouth use a metric that measures a brand’s Social Web Impact. This measures how influential your following is and how authentic.

The reality is, that brands still focus on volume and not engagement. Thus, new strategies like pay-per-tweet and celebrity endorsements are moving forward. This type of marketing will inevitably trend high on the twitter feeds and consequently land on the front page.

Is this good? (more…)

Scottsdale Airpark News: Social Media Profiles: China Mist

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Aug 4th, 2009 | Comments

China Mist Pure
Kiley Biggins, China Mist Brands
Photos by Seymour & Brody Photography Studios

This year, we launched China Mist Pure Bottled Organic Teas, six varieties of pure natural flavors. We took the same great fresh-brewed tea you find in your favorite restaurants, resorts and upscale grocery stores and put it in a contemporary hourglass-shaped bottle.

This isn’t your average bottled tea, and we just couldn’t enlist average marketing avenues to promote it. We needed a new kind of plan, so we plunged into the social-marketing world with a Facebook page and Twitter account. To date, we have 250 fans on Facebook.com and 1,391 followers on Twitter.com.

When we decided to tackle social marketing, we knew we’d need professional assistance. To devise a strategy and execution plan, we enlisted the help of Kevin Spidel of Activating Word of Mouth.

Take It to the Tweeple
Kevin sat down with me and China Mist Brands Co-founder John S Martinson many times to teach us a whole new language. We learned about Twitter, tweeps, re-tweeting and all kinds of important Twitter-y words that helped us promote our product. Getting information out by word-of-mouth advertising is considered one of the most viable sources for product information.

The China Mist Brands Facebook page shares news about China Mist Pure. Posts include new locations where the bottles can be purchased, free sa mpling events, photos of the marketing materials for China Mist Pure in Dubai, links to online voting for the bottled teas and much more.

With these outlets, we took that word-of-mouth advertising and amplified it by allowing it to be read online and spread more rapidly. As tweeters (people who post messages on Twitter.com) would engage in communication about the organic teas, we found an entire network of people who are avid China Mist Pure fans. They post photos, or Twitpics, of places they are drinking the teas as well as stores where the bottled teas can be found. Some of the followers liked the bottles so much they found ways to reuse them. We saw a Twitpic from a follower who reused her bottles as flower vases, and one who created a beautiful wind chime from the glass bottles. (more…)

Engage With You Online Network…Offline

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jul 29th, 2009 | Comments

Online communities are a fantastic way to meet new people…geography knows no bounds on the Internet.  We may talk about meeting new people from another continent on Facebook or Twitter but ironically we often gravitate to local peeps…even on the Internet.  I love finding people who live in my community to talk to online, we swap stories about the weather, restaurants, and events.

Not surprisingly, online connections end up meeting offline.  Ever heard of a Tweetup?  They are happening all around you, where Twitter folks from the same city meet up (usually at a bar), have a few drinks and converse in more than 140 characters.  In Phoenix, we have Tweetups all over the Valley on Friday nights and then converge on a central location to enjoy Phoenix Friday Nights.

For companies and organizations, creating online communities is the first step to developing a reliable fan base.  Sponsoring offline events such as Tweetups, is a great way to give back to your online fans and encourage them to continue talking about your cause or brand.  For example, Activating WOM assisted in organizing China Mist Tea’s first Tweetup here in Scottsdale, AZ.  The Tweetup was at China Mist’s office, which includes their factory.  Tea tastings, factory tour, great swag, and fabulous company were the highlights of this Tweetup.

The key to a successful offline event is having….fun!  Offline events need to be more than getting people in a room but be creative, socialable and diverse.  Tweetups are great but should be mixed up with other offline activities.  Activating WOM is working with China Mist Tea, Bashas, and Arizona Diamondbacks to organize a Tweet-Hunt.  Similar to a scavenger hunt, the objective of Tweet-Hunt is for participants to create video and/or pictures while performing each offline task.  The first person to successfully post media of all tasks onto Twitter wins the prize.  The winner of China Mist’s Tweet-Hunt will get a pair of club house tickets to an Arizona Diamond Backs game.

Whether you are an individual looking to meet Twitter peeps in your area or a business/organization that wants to interact and give back to your fans; offline engagement is a great way to interact with your network. We are always excited to hear what our readers think…have you attended a Tweetup event?  What kind of event?  Did you have fun?  What was the most creative offline meetup/event that you have participated in?

Meeting people online is a great way to begin a conversation…continue the interaction offline in a fun, socialble, safe environment!

China Mist and Twitter

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 28th, 2009 | Comments

China Mist was one of our first clients. We are proud to be working with them as they engage their consumers.

AWOM Weekly Tip: Measuring Influence

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 22nd, 2009 | Comments

In the coming weeks we will be releasing details behind our measurments tools. Until then, here are some tips and tools to assist you in measuring  your network’s influence.

People engage the social web for many different reasons, but mainly to connect with others.  There are so many social engagement levels, measuring your network’s engagement with you is difficult.

There are several third party applications that measure parts of your network’s engagement level. If you are looking for basic evaluations of your impact, here are a few great sites we recommend. If you are looking for specifics, well… of course, come see us ; )

How much influence  does your brand have on the Blogosphere and Twitterverse? (more…)

Advertisers Kill Tradition

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 20th, 2009 | Comments

Tonight in a Tweet, I realized how true this statement really is; advertisers who approach the social web as a communication vehicle, kill cultural norms within a given space. Case in point…Twitter. Twitter is not just a vehicle to communicate. It is not a tool. It is a culture.

Here at Activating Word of Mouth we focus on authentic word of mouth. This begins with relationships, not spam. We take the advertising out of marketing. Other marketing firms approach social networks as a new vehicle to get their products/services out in volume. They are about noise. Last night I noticed a new trending topic “Chris Brown.” My first thought was, did I miss the news? Did he do something to Rhianna again? I clicked on the search for “Chris Brown” in Twitter and saw this: (more…)

La Frontera Times Training

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 20th, 2009 | Comments

Last week we did a training for La Frontera Times readers. Many asked for the slide show to be emailed after the event. We posted it here for your viewing:

It Comes Down to Numbers

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jul 17th, 2009 | Comments

Any marketer knows that messaging is about numbers.  Where you message and how you get that message out takes strategy.  The “where” part of the marketing equation depends on several factors such as geography, product, and consumer demographics.  The “how” is all about what medium you use to get that message out to consumers.  We focus on social web marketing but understand that, like other mediums, this may not be ideal for all companies and products.  However, companies and organizations who do not consider social media in their marketing tool box are making a grave mistake. 

Activating WOM is 100% about marketing on the social web…why?  Because we know that the social web is growing and that where consumers congregate to carry out conversation is where companies and organizations need to be!  Twitter and Facebook are growing at ridiculously fast rates.  According to Nielsen and reported by Mashable, Twitter grew a massive 1,928 percent in the US from June ’08 to June ’09, now reaching a total of 21 million monthly unique visitors.  While Facebook leads all social networking sites with 87.3 million unique visitors in June.

What does this mean?  Well it all comes down to numbers. You can not lightly glance over those numbers above. If you are a company and not thinking about social media as an addition to your marketing plan then you are living under a rock.  If you are an advocacy group and not strategizing about how to get your message out through the social web then you are missing out on your biggest megaphone.

We all know that people use the Internet to communicate and find information, the social web is just another part of this communication.  Denial, fear, and ignorance of these tools will do nothing but allow your business or organization to lose a competitive edge.  At Activating WOM we understand that social media is new to lots of people and want to help businesses and organizations figure out how to integrate the social web into their marketing strategies.

A recession is no time to embrace fear but a time to think creatively and get your message out to a large audiences for the least amount of capital.  Social media can do this and so much more…don’t wait to get on board, engage the social web today.