October 21the presentation in Kansas City

1. Word of Mouth Marketing:
Creating Buzz and Engaging Influencers
Sean Moffitt October 2011 @wikibrands
@seanmoffitt Social Media Masters KC #smm2011

2. SAM FIORELLA
Vs.
KLOUT

3. “WoM is the Holy Grail”
Number of Brand
Conversations Every Week
112
Believe word of mouth is
credible 92%
Will buy based on WoM/
solely on WoM 67%/19%
Source: Keller Fay/Agent Wildfire, 2010/11

4. “Online WoM is the 385x385 Friend
Howitzer”

5. What‟s are You Word of Mouthing About?
Awesome? Social? Authentic? Customer-focused?

6. Moneyball Knows…
Thinking Differently
“We are card counters
at the blackjack table.
And we're gonna turn
the odds on the casino."
Reframing the Game
“Your goal shouldn't be
to buy players. Your
goal should be to buy
wins. In order buy
wins, you need to buy

7. Tough Stuff- Word of Mouth (WoM) –
Delicious Blend of Customer-Based
Creativity and Business Savvy

8. I Used To Be The Marketing Suit….
Word of Pint Word of Canuck Word of Mom

9. “I‟m now the T-Shirt”
Agent Wildfire – Canada‟s Word of Mouth People
Since 2004

10. We Word of Mouth (WoM) with these
Influencers…‟WoM is Very Category Specific”

11. So we wrote a book …
Wikibrands – Intersection of Digital T-Shirts and
Brand Suits
2011 Launch by McGraw-Hill
Twitter: @wikibrands
Website: www.Wiki-Brands.com
Richard Florida, Best Selling Author,
“A must read for business leaders”
Don Tapscott, Digital pioneer and author,
Wikinomics
“This is an important, perhaps seminal
book”

12. Tired of Platitudes?
- How Does Good Business Put Their Social
Pants On…
What?
A study of top 100 engaged
brands and business
How?
A 10 step roadmap for
business success in digital
spaces

13. “Forget Marketing‟s 4Ps…
Embrace the Wikibrand 13Es”
Would you recommend my
brand to a friend or
Mission colleague?
Drivers
Well would you?
Evangelism
Advanced
Drivers
Escape
Experience Effiliation
Premium
Drivers
Ennovative Equity
Entertainment Entimate
Basic
Drivers
Entegrity Exposed Education
Esthetics Exchange
Company-driven User-driven

14. Do brands even belong in social
spaces?
Top 100 Twitter Pages?

15. Online WoM , Brands Get Followed, Acted
on and Engaged
-Twitterers are three times more likely to click on a
link than anywhere on the web
- Intuit community members spend 9 times more
time in community environments than traditional
website users 16

16. Let‟s talk about the big social elephant in the
room…

17. “Business Suffers from Social
Deafness”
The 6 Deadly Sins
Source: Agent Wildfire 2011 Buzz Report

18. A Crisis of Action & Knowledge
53% of businesses engaged in
social/digital spaces do not have
full-time staff to support the effort.
Only 14% of companies are
proactive in creating external
advocates and leveraging them.
90% of executives believe their
agencies need to radically
transform be more competitive in a
wikibrand world. Source: SNCR/Buzz Report

19. Facebook Timeline – Depth of WOM
Engagement
Growth Engagement
“Likes” “Discovery”
Updates Stories
Targeted Relevant
Exposure Experience

20. The 4 Laws of the Social „Net and WoM
Awesomeness Socialness Authenticity Customer-ness

21. Big Caveat:
Technology and tools
are less than 20%
of the deal
“The diffusion of innovation is based more on
sociology and psychology than on technology.‖
Everett Rogers, 1962- The Diffusion of
Innovations

22. The 4 Laws of the Social „Net and
WoM
Awesomeness Socialness Authenticity Customer-ness

23. The 1st Law of the Social Net - Awesomeness
“There is only one thing in the world
worse than being talked about, and
that is not being talked about.”
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey

24. The 1% Fact
- The World is Not Created Equal…
Whether its business, products, services, motives, TV
….
There is the “AWESOME” - 1%
There is the “GOOD” - 20%
There is the “MEH” - about 60%
There is the “BAD” - 20%
There is the “UGLY” - 0.5%

25. Who were #1, #2 and #3 people to fly across
the Atlantic?

26. The 2nd Law of the Social Net - Socialness
"Prosocial behavior is an essential component 34
of health and happiness in human beings”
Robert Kloninger. Professor of Psychiatry , Author of Feeling Good, The Science of Well-Being

27. “True Fans don’t want to be your Brand BFF”
Online Communities – Why Do True Fans Join?
#1 - Social Connection
#2 - Shared Community Values/Culture
#3 - Expression/Creativity/Venting
#4 - Establishing influence with key decision
makers
#5 - Access to Special Information/Advice
#6 - Appealing to Hobbies/Interests
#7 - Making a difference/to matter/support a
cause
Source: Agent Wildfire 2011 Community Management Survey

28. “The News Feed is the Conveyor Belt of Buzz”
Me in 1992 Me in 2011
150 X 12 150 X 12
4000 X 170
5000 X 500
20000 X 170
5000 X 190
5000 X 170
900 X 40
1800
People
8.4 Million
Strength People
Strength

29. The 3rd Law of the Social Net -
Authenticity
“In a world of incressingly paid-for
experiences, authenticity is what we increasingly
crave from each other and our brands.
Joe Pine, Author of Authenticity and The Experience Economy

30. Top Reasons – Social Media
Why Now Business Executives?
#1 The Need for Authenticity and Transparency -42%
#2 The rise of social networks - 38%
#3 Increasing role of wireless/mobile - 35%
#4 Customers/people waning attention spans - 25%
#5 Media fragmentation - 22%
#6 Change in mass marketing effectiveness - 20%
Agent Wildfire -The Buzz Report 2010

31. A Genuine Culture Change is Required
MASS DIRECT SOCIAL
MARKETING MARKETING INFLUENCE
MARKETING
Control Collaboration
Hype Transparency
Decisions Dialogue
Features Purpose

32. Successful or Not?

33. The 4th Law of The Social „Net
– Customer-Ness

34. Customer Experience Reigns
- Who Knows Better Than Your Customer -
Executives who
believe the
Customer
Experience is the
new battleground
- 95%
Executives who
believe they are
delivering a
positive customer
experience - 80%
CUSTOMERS
WHO AGREE -
8%

35. Where to Start with
WoM and Buzz?

36. Elwood: Er.. what kind of music do you usually
have here?
Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got
Country, and Western.

37. WOM Comes in More Than a Few Flavours…
SCALE
- Buzz - Evangelist
Programs
- Viral
- Brand
- Social Media Community
- Influencer - Collaboration
Marketing / Co-Creation
COMMITMENT
- Social Network
Badging -Pass along
Referrals
- Customer
intervention -Recommend
-ations
- Grassroots/
cause marketing - Social
Influence
- Experiential
Visual- Intersection Consulting

38. Top 10 Ranked WoM Elements?
#1 Conversation Worthy Idea/Concept*
#2 Great Product/Brand
#3 Customer Experience provided
#4 The Audience who Participates*
#5 Culture/employees of a Company
#6 Method in which it interacts w/ its audience
#7 Incentives for referral
#8 Strong process*
#9 Creative/design used
#10 Tools/platforms built*

39. Some of these people are not like the
others….The Influencer Matters

40. You can‟t chase everybody…
“The suggestion that a firm merely
needs to participate in a conversation
is a little naive.
Microsoft was mentioned 2.5 million
times in the blogosphere the previous
year, and we have eighty-nine
thousand employees.
How can you realistically be expected
to operationalize a response to all of
them?”

41. Influence is not Distributed Equally…

42. Spreading messages effectively on the
social web happens in two steps …
The
Crowd
The
Influencers

43. The open web has not reduced, but
instead, exposed the importance of
influencers….

44. And now we can provide the raw evidence

45. Influencers Stay on Top of What‟s Current
2.2% of
Twitter
users
account for… 58% of the tweets
1.7% of
Twitter
users have
… More than 1,000 followers

46. Influencers Generate Lots of Content
High
authority
bloggers post
…
300x more
frequently than
low authority
bloggers
Only 9% of top
blogs…
Get over 10,000
visitors per
month

48. Influence ≠ Followers

49. Influence ≠ Popularity

50. Influence Can‟t Be Peddled

51. Influence is Interest Specific

52. Why are they
so damn
valuable?

53. Four sources of Influencer power
x x x
= R E C S
Reach Exposure Credibility Suasion

54. Get your influencers in the right sequence…

55. Find Your Real Hardcore Fans
Invite them into The Front Row or On
Stage

56. Why We Word of Mouth?
36 Reasons

57. It‟s About Them
“It‟s Makes “It‟s Makes “They Get
Them Feel Them Look Something”
Good” Good”

58. It‟s About Your Product/Brand
“It‟s Who YOU Are”
“It‟s Who You‟re “It‟s WHAT You “It‟s Who you
Targeting” Do” Are”

59. # 1 – # 2 – Logo LoversThe Topic
# 2 – Logo Lovers
Passionate about
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. – p.s.
just survived an intentional parachute failure at
10,000ft‖
Tactic: Publish Manifesto (Naked Pizza)
/Employee Blog (Graco)

60. # 2 – Logo Lovers
“D’OH! The Simpsons’ effect on TV is like the Beatle’s effect on
music. We will buy them until they have nothing left to do.”
Tactic: Build Community (JetBlue TrueBlue)/
Use video sharing/Host user-generated video contest (Nike The Chosen)

61. # 3 – Knowledge Seekers
“Just another day of blowing something up”
Tactic: Topic-based blogs/Aggregated Advice
(Mint.com/ Amex Open Business Forum)

62. # 4 – Social Brokers
“You wanna hug it out?”
Tactic: Host events/organize groups/tiered membership
and roles/team wearables
(Canadian Breast Cancer)

63. # 5 – Altruistic
“Move that bus!”
Tactic: Personal Appeal /Meetups
(Wikipedia fundraising /Wiknics)

64. # 6 – Involved / Committed
―We're not the only people on this island and we alllllll know it!"
Tactic: Meritocratic communities/Challenges/Milestone
Celebrations (Mozilla Firefox)

65. # 7 – Seeking Feedback
"What does that mean when the fitness instructors are ahead of the
mayors?"
Tactic: Beta test Influencers (Lululemon)

66. # 8 – Ego Driven
“Show me someone without an ego, and I`ll show
you a loser.You’re Fired.‖
Tactic: Social dashboards/leaderboards/gaming (Empire Avenue)

67. # 9 – Reciprocity Dealers
“But we can only offer this level of programming with your
help.‖
Tactic: Affiliate/crowdsourcing revenue sharing (Amazon)

68. # 10 – Self – Expression
―SOME PEOPLE THINK
BEAUTY IS SOMETHING
YOU'RE BORN WITH......AND
NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN
CREATE......HOW NAIVE!!!!‖
Tactic: Crowd designing platform/challenges/themes/profiles
(Threadless)

69. It’s because of
what you provide
#11 – Social Currency
#12 – Brand Experience(s)
#13 – Fame
#14 – VIP Treatment/Customization
The What #15 – Scarcity
#16 – Influence
#17 – Intimacy
#18 – Visibility
#19 – Tight Boundaries
#20 – Rallying Cry
#21 – Rewards
#22 – Expertise
#23 – Bite-Sized Participation
#24 – Network Effects
#25 – Memes

70. # 11- Social Currency
Tactic: First to know/Top Stories/Trendwatch
(Gawker/Gawker Stalker)

71. # 12- Brand Experience(s)
―I think it’s really down to the wire, and
we’re afraid we’re last.‖
Tactic: Testimonials/Employee Flipcam Profiles/CEO blogs/Publish
Core Values (Zappos)

72. # 13 – Fame
“I genuinely believe with all my heart that we have
found (a worldwide star) with you.”
Tactic: Customer competition/Performance stage (Squad 6)
15 Minutes of Fame (Maynards)

73. # 14 – VIP Treatment /
Customization
“Sophie gets what Sophie wants and
Sophie is always right”
Tactic: Front of the line Incentives/exclusive access/updates
(American Express)

74. # 15 – Scarcity
” Watch out—I’m coming to town and I can’t bring all my
friends, so I’ve decided to look for a new BFF. I need a
best friend who is hot, who can keep up with me, and
most of all, who is real and won’t be a backstabber.‖
Tactic: Restricted access/gifting
(Google Gmail / +1)

75. # 16 – Influence
“You can only vote for him, you can't actually
adopt him. Call now."
Tactic: Collaborative innovation/fan clubs/meet employees
(Lego)

76. # 17 – Intimacy
“Will you accept this rose?”
Tactic: Twitter time response/local venue and interest-specific
social hubs (Whole Foods)

77. # 18 – Visibility
―The top 10 CNN heroes -- remarkable everyday people changing
the world -- were revealed by CNN's Anderson Cooper. All were
nominated by CNN viewers inspired by their hard work and
commitment.‖
Tactic: Identity embeds itself into product/packaging (Maynards)

78. # 19 – Tight Boundaries
―Yeah, I'm obnoxious, yeah, I cut people
off, yeah, I'm rude. You know why? Because you're
busy. ―
Tactic: Vetted member only access/Launch parties/Special
deals/niche labels (The Gilt Groupe)

79. # 20 – Rallying Cause
―And remember you can make a difference‖
Tactic: Matching Incentives/Partnerships/Product Badging/Bold
Targets/Red Friends (Join Red)

80. # 21- Rewards
“DEAL OR NO DEAL”
Tactic: Group-based deals /Countdown clocks /real-time
feedback/Social Integration/referral incentives (GroupOn)

81. # 22 – Expertise
―So now America, with an open heart and an empty
stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: Allez
cuisine!‖
Tactic: Well-curated forums /multiple communities /answered vs.
unanswered questions/Grant compeitions (Intuit)

82. # 23 – Bite-Sized Participation
“There’s no such thing as 110%. It stops at 100.”
Tactic: Petition wall /matching donation wall (Sharpie)

83. # 24 – Network Effects
―Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to
read at age three, and soon discovered there was a
whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in
Mississippi.‖
Tactic: Recently joined lists/ best members/interest-specific
groups/live chat (Facebook)

84. # 25 – Memes
―No soup for you! There was shrinkage! Vanderlet Industries! Man hands
The bro and manziere. Happy Festivus. Yada, yada, yada.‖
Tactic: Label members, activities, objects, Chirp Conference, 85
word, Twitter Glossary (Twitter)

85. # 26 – Innovative
"The following takes place
between ??:?? and ??:?? pm"
Tactic: Augmented reality, partner integration , local
mapping, training routine, mixes (Nike Plus)

86. # 27 – Remarkable/Outrageous
―What's the quickest you've ever knocked anyone out?
18 seconds including the ten-count. I think you're gonna break
that today. “

87. # 28 – The Best At What You Do
“That was unbelievable.”
Tactic: Provocative demonstration/contextually relevant tests
(Will It Blend)

88. # 29 – Authentic
“This is NOT fashion camp!”
Tactic: Authentic collaborators/product centric multimedia
(Burberry – The Art of Trench)

89. # 30 – Liberating / Problem Solving
“Dead body, Bonus!”
Tactic: User generated uses/Advisory Council/Lists
(Wd-40)

90. # 31 – Edgy
“Move forward. This never happened. It will shock you
how much it never happened”
Tactic: Underground evangelism/targeted sponsorship
(Pabst Blue Ribbon)

91. # 32 – Trustworthy
“I understand that you want to make finance
entertaining, but it's not a f***king game”
Tactic: Link a cause/movement to your brand – link to purchase
(Tom’s Shoes)

92. # 33 – Likeable
“Just go up to somebody on the street and
say "You're it!" and then run away.”
Tactic: Don’t charge for extras/respond to people in real-time
(Porter Airlines)

93. # 34 – Easy To Talk About
“You’re engaged ?”
Tactic: Making the invisible, visible and talkable online and offline
(Movember)

94. # 35 – Ritualistic
―The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary.
Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.‖
Tactic: Fake history, strategy guide, faux rules, personality profiler
(World Rock Paper Scissors)

95. # 36 – Sensory
“Who will speak for Planet Earth?”
Tactic: 3D Tours of Region
(Nimmo Bay Lodge)

96. 30 Hard-
Won Tips
to WoM
The best preparation? The top ideas?
The right squad? The golden touch?
Avoiding the potholes? Building relationships?

97. #1-5 Live in the tribe ….
- Find your lifestyle target, read their
content, listen to their exchanges
- Make a scouting report about their likes,
dislikes and interest
- Know who they hang with
- Link to their content, credit their work
- Go easy - Make a friendly first connection

98. #6- Staff up for desired level and degree of engagement
that they want and you can support
•Face to face
Are you listening to me? Highest engagement
Lowest reach
•Video chat
•Phone call
•Chat service (AIM, Skype)
•E-mail
•Facebook message
•Facebook wall post
Lowest engagement
Greatest reach
•Tweet

100. #7-11 Get a Buzzworthy WoM-able Idea
• Is your idea in the top 1% of
awesome, sociable, authentic and customer-
driven concepts you‟ve ever seen?
• Does it combine your brand traits, with
motivating activities and a primed audience?
• Does it max out on a few of the 36 reasons
why people word of mouth?
• Does the experience and follow up match the
promise that‟s been set up? Does your buzz
have longevity?
• Does it live offline and online?

101. Process
Agent Wildfire – an 8-step
OVERVIEW:
WOM
WILDFIRE
WILDFIRE playbook
What the Big Idea? Fan the Flames
W Buzzworthy, Spreadable, F Rebroadcast content, expand
Repeatable, Visual, Online/Offline referral, share testimonials
Incubate the Conversation
Influencer Recruitment Ongoing dialogue, moderation,
I Find, connect and invite the I content and incentives
connected, savvy opinion
leaders
Research and Insight
Lay the Foundation Monitoring, feedback, analysis,
L Develop the platform, R adjustment and action
forum and tentacles for content
and activity
Expansion
Deliver an Experience Fuel larger geography, portfolio,
D Online, cause-related, event, E activity, features and/or scope
incentive or VIP experience

102. Never Forget – Humans are Hard
Wired Social and Influential Animals
They crave things that are
awesome, social, authentic and customer-driven to
talk about…
Some among us will talk a lot more than others…
147

103. Let’s Start The
Conversation…
Inquire: sean (at) wiki-brands.com
smoffitt (at) agentwildfire.com
Phone: 416-458-2818
URL: www.wiki-brands.com
Blogs: http://BuzzCanuck.typepad.com/
Explore: The Buzz Report (e-newsletter)
Signup at www.AgentWildfire.com
Learn: Executive Seminars