Who is REALLY in control...the answer might surprise you

This is an interesting question I get asked quite often from CEOs and business leaders when they are wondering what they should do about social media.  The question comes up as to which group could benefit the most and in larger organizations, who is in "control" of social media.  And especially for CEOs, who live their lives being in control, this is a very interesting and common question.

Let me first start with a basic thought for every group.  The term "own" is one that is very scary in the world of social media.  If you get right down to it, the company or organization doesn't "own" the customer any longer, the customer "owns" the company.  Think of it this way, with social media, EVERY CUSTOMER has a microphone today when they use social media.  That in and of itself is a scary thought.

When you think about it, it is really true and really important to understand this concept.  The social networks and social media tools make it incredibly easy for anyone with a computer, phone or simple internet connection to get their voice in the airwaves.  And people are listening...

When you see numbers like 14% of the audience believes advertising and 78% believes the opinion of others talking about you and your products/services, you realize you are no longer in control.  So what can you control?  First, lose the word "control" from your vocabulary of social media.  Replace it with the word "influence" or "advocacy" or "guide" instead of control and you will be closer to reality.  These words best describe what we are really experiencing with social media today.

My recommendation is to start thinking of conversations you can "start" and "contribute" to that relate to your customer experiences and you will be much closer to tapping the power of social media for your organization. If you want "word-of-mouth on steroids" then talk about, showcase, highlight these experiences and the customers engaged in them.  You will find significantly more opportunity for your message to go "viral" and spread through the social media airwaves.  But most of all, lose the idea you are in "control".

WOM drives Value - McKinsey agrees...

There is a "perfect storm" building out there and it is called Word-of-Mouth Marketing.  While most marketers shun the idea of Word-of-Mouth as a legitimate and measurable form of marketing, the advent of social media and the tools behind it are changing that world rapidly.

McKinsey and Company, an internationally recognized strategy and management consulting firm, talked about "word-of-mouth equity" in their article, "A New Way to Measure Word-of-Mouth Marketing", and how it is something companies should be taking more note of than they are today.  While we have been saying this for years, McKinsey is looking to put some more metrics around this so that it has more legitimacy in the market.  What I find very interesting is that it might just take the likes of a McKinsey to create enough "buzz" about word-of-mouth to actually get through to the top executives of most corporations.

Whether you are a small, middle-market or Fortune 100 company, Word-of-Mouth is still the most powerful form of marketing - it just isn't accepted as such - YET.  Today it is far easier to measure "clicks" from a traditional marketing campaign than to build the internal processes, systems, and measurements for word-of-mouth.  And the ad agencies haven't supported it because it could potentially cannibalize their revenue streams from traditional advertising.

Let me share a few quotes from the McKinsey article, just to illustrate some key points. 

• "Indeed, word of mouth¹ is the primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions."
• "...what we call “word-of-mouth equity”—an index of a brand’s power to generate messages that influence the consumer’s decision to purchase."
• "This tectonic power shift toward consumers reflects the way people now make purchasing decisions."
• "It’s also the most disruptive factor. Word of mouth can prompt a consumer to consider a brand or product in a way that incremental advertising spending simply cannot."
• "The second critical driver is the identity of the person who sends a message: the word-of-mouth receiver must trust the sender and believe that he or she really knows the product or service in question."
• "While marketers have always known that the impact can be significant, they may be surprised to learn just how powerful it really is."
• "Marketers have always been aware of the effect of word of mouth, and there is clearly an art to effective word-of-mouth campaigning. Yet the science behind word-of-mouth equity helps reveal how to hone and deploy that art."

We couldn't agree more than with the last quote - there is an "art" and a "science" to creating effective Word-of-Mouth.  And there is even a greater art and science using social media to create "Word-of-Mouth on Steroids."  That is the real magic to Word-of-Mouth Marketing...

"Social Washing" - Are you guilty?

We all know people and companies who fit in the category of "wannabe's", "me-too's", "posers", and "lemmings".  They all have the same thing in common - wanting to follow the crowd and be recognized for their participation.  These terms have taken on extended meanings over the past several years and have been applied to a variety of areas and initiatives - the biggest of which is "being green" or "being a sustainable organization".

If you were considered to be "green", it was "cool" to say you were helping the environment.  It was also pretty good for trying to pump up sales or create some level of differentiation or increase your "hype factor".  But then things started to unravel.  People got educated - they actually started to understand more about what "being green" meant and started challenging organizations to prove it or demonstrate it beyond the "headline" or "slogan" they were using.  This caused them to either fish or cut bait - be green or stop saying they were green.

Welcome to Social Media in 2010 - the new "green washing" that is taking place. Companies and organizations everywhere are jumping on the "Social Washing" bandwagon.  They are putting up all the cool "shiny objects" called "Social Media Buttons" to make it appear they are using Social Media.  But when you click on them to see what they are saying or doing, this is where the air goes out of the balloon rapidly.

It reminds me when you visit the sets in Hollywood, where you can walk down the street and see all these great store fronts and buildings, only to find out they are just the front of the building and there isn't actually anything behind it.  This is the same as "Social Washing" today.

Ask yourself as an organization the key question, "Are we really using social media in a way that is designed to build interaction, engagement, dialog and advocacy or are we just putting up some "shiny objects" to make it appear we are using Social Media?"  Be honest with yourself and if the answer is NO, then pull them off your site until you are ready to use it the way it was intended.  Don't get caught "Social Washing" or you will end up in the same place as the "green washers" - embarrassed and eroding your brand value.

Win With Washington...WINS

Today Clay and I had the opportunity to speak to a packed house of women business owners and executives at the Win With Washington  monthly luncheon.  There were around 100 vivacious, energized and passionate women (and a few men) excited to hear our message of how Social Media and Word-of-Mouth Marketing could change their businesses.  What a great group of people...

We speak to thousands of CEOs, business owners and top executives every year - but no group has been more excited and full of energy than this one.  They soaked up our message about how important starting with a solid Social Media Strategy is to critical to the success of making it work for your business.  We talked about avoiding "shiny objects" (the tools) that most consultants steer people to and helped them understand that without a business strategy, their brand is at significant risk of erosion.  They got it...

But what was most enjoyable were there questions - lots of them - too many to answer in the hour we had to talk.  They asked about how to really use it attract the right audience, how to use or not use facebook, what twitter was all about, our recommendations for the best tools and approach to social media, how to turn this into truly viral marketing, etc., etc., etc.  Great questions - we applaud the group for their thoughtfulness on the topic.

I could go on and on about what a great group this is - but instead I would highly recommend any woman owned business or top executive join immediately.  Membership is free - yes I said free - and you get a ton of knowledge and networking and interaction with other great business owners.  To give you some idea of some of the people you would be associated with, here are just a few people we met at the event today.  There was Dr. Julie Miller of Business Writing That Counts; Kathy Clayton of Kathy Clayton Coaching; Karen Howlett of McSweeney Steel; Lisa Keeney of Keeney Office Supplies; Melinda Martirosian of Manson Construction Company; Janet McNaughton of Lasting Impressions; Heidi Miller of Midcom Recruiting; Bonnie Olson of Emerging Design Consulting; Laurie Simon of Ombrella; and Debora Webber of Key Bank.  Just to name a few...

My recommendation - JOIN NOW - you will be thoroughly energized by the group!