Archive for September, 2007

PRODUCT REVIEWS-GLOSSARY DEFINITION

As the world’s view of credibility shifts, everyone is regarded as an expert. If you’ve experienced a product or service, you have something to share. Whether it’s a glowing recommendation or a strong warning, your personal recommendation is worth more than a multi-million dollar celebrity endorsement in today’s consumer landscape.

There are millions of consumer-generated product review sites that allow customers to rate, review and read people’s thoughts and experiences on a bevy of products, services and programs. To see MGH-recommended product review sites, click on this blog entry.

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Published by mghwom
September 30th, 2007 in Marteting Terms
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CATCH THE BLOG AND PONY SHOW

wom u logo final CATCH THE BLOG AND PONY SHOW

We know the agency world is usually pretty tight-lipped when it comes to furnishing clients and random in-house marketing departments with detailed insights on tactics, tools and strategies. I suppose that philosophy is rooted in the old adage, “Who’s gonna buy the cow when the milk’s free?”

MGH thinks that’s a load of bull.

We aren’t big fans of information hoarding. We don’t speak jargon-ese. And we refuse to hog all the knowledge for ourselves. We believe that word of mouth should be a part of every marketing plan, and we know you’d think so too if only you felt comfortable with the new mediums, consumer-focused programs and unique philosophy behind WOM.

And so, we’ve built WOM U to help get you there.

I particularly like the name of this educational campaign because it’s simple…like us. Our mini womiversity is chock-full of tools that can help improve your WOM IQ, and like this blog, are free. What could be better?

We suggest you start with the Blog and Pony Show. It’s a one-and-a-half-hour presentation designed to launch your entire marketing team into the WOMosphere.

The in-person presentation includes:
WOM basics
Tools introduction
Idea-starters
Interactive self-audit
Group brainstorm activity

All in all, it’s a full-on womarama that demystifies word of mouth and prepares your team to launch a variety of WOM campaigns. We know the more you understand, the more our ideas will ignite your imagination. We truly believe in smarter, solutions-based marketing for all, so this is just one of the ways MGH is helping the world market better, one Blog and Pony Show at a time.

In addition to our renowned show, we’ve also built a hot-looking, easy-to-read Client Education Book that provides case studies, unique philosophies and quick WOM references to all who own it. A mini-presentation using the Client Education Book can be delivered for those with shorter attention spans.

We’ll be adding several other courses and tools to our WOM U curriculum this fall. For now, you can register for the Blog and Pony Show, the Client Education Book or simply subscribe to this blog at your leisure.

Contact me to schedule a presentation or request information.

Oh, and if you want to buy the cow, that’s cool too.

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Published by mghwom
September 27th, 2007 in MGH Random
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COMMUNITIES- GLOSSARY DEFINITION

A loosely defined term regarding any place people convene and/or consider themselves a part of a group. This can refer to more tangible neighborhoods or organizations but also to online communities like social networking sites, blogs and forums where people participate as their role in the community.

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Published by mghwom
September 24th, 2007 in Marteting Terms
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ONLINE TOOLS AND TIPS

I figured it was time for a personal Internet intervention after I spent two hours sifting through my unruly live bookmarks folder only to discover that article on Flip Video Cameras was lost forever amidst the piles of digital clutter I’ve collected. I read so much online I can’t keep Pink is the New Blog separate from my Facebook page or my online news clips. It all seems to blend into one staggering mound of info requiring a pitchfork search just to unearth a simple article or blog entry.

Life is tough, but it doesn’t have to be. They may not have invented the skull-embedded online consumption microchip just yet, but MGH’s two-hour Internet Intervention can help put the universe back in order until they do.

Try these easy organizational steps to improve your online efficiency and change your life.

STEP ONE: Bookmarking self-improvement with Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is called a social bookmarking tool because all of your bookmarks can be shared with others since they live on the net instead of in your browser window. Just because it can do a lot doesn’t mean it’s complicated to use. Aside from sharing bookmarks, Del.icio.us helps you organize all of your favorite links as a centralized, easy-to-identify bookmark list that can be accessed from anywhere (not just your local desktop). You get to tag each bookmark with key terms that are personally intuitive making it easier to sift through your piles of bookmarks when you need something.

HOW TO USE Del.icio.us (in our words):

  1. Register and download Del.icio.us to your browser.
  2. Build your own profile.
  3. Install the Del.icio.us tagging buttons onto your browser window.
  4. Surf online. Anything you’d like to tag can be added to your bookmarks list by simply clicking on the TAG icon in your toolbar.
  5. Manage all of your bookmarks and blog subscriptions by clicking on the Del.icio.us TAG symbol in your tool bar.

Click here for the official getting-started guide: http://del.icio.us/help/getstarted.

STEP TWO: Blog better with Google Reader and Technorati

If you have more than three blogs you read regularly, you’ll love some Google Reader action. Easy to set up and even more user-friendly than you’d imagine, Google Reader allows you to get RSS subscriptions, organize those blogs into readable files, and scan through daily updates on your igoogle home page without ever having to navigate around the web. Try it immediately, you’ll thank us later.

HOW TO USE GOOGLE READER (in our words):

  1. Register or log onto your Google account.
  2. Click on Google Reader to being adding favorite blogs.
  3. Visit daily to scan your favorite blogs, and add more anytime you like.

If you are always searching for new blogs to read and review, use Technorati. It will allow you to claim your own blog, search others and keep blogs on your watchlist. Click here to sign up now.

STEP THREE: Discover new sites without searching using StumbleUpon

We are completely addicted to StumbleUpon’s unique I-know-what-you-like automated web search tool. StumbleUpon will generate unlimited sites for you to review and give thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings based on your preferences. You can find everything from cool, new online tools to travel or entertainment sites that will knock your socks off. It’s a great way to get ideas, uncover new informational resources and broaden your online, savvy without exerting yourself. It’s one of the most incredibly inspiring tools online and it’s free!

HOW TO USE STUMBLEUPON (in our words):

  1. Sign up.
  2. Install the convenient button into your browser’s toolbar.
  3. Click the stumble button to get a new site pre-selected for you.
  4. Rate it, bookmark it into del.icio.us or keep moving.
  5. Find yourself spending an entire lunch break sifting through sites you’ve never heard of
  6. Share them with other users.

Click here for the official getting-started guide: http://www.stumbleupon.com/sign_up.php.

STEP FOUR: Get your online world under control with MashableWhat the heck doesn’t Mashable do? It’s an online social networking news site with an incredibly insightful blog, a social networking platform that supports friends from every other community, a resource for MySpace applications and layouts, a place to cross-link to your own blog/website, a marketplace, and a way to keep all your networks organized from one central location. You can’t find a cooler place to organize your life and get the most up-to-date social network news.

HOW TO USE MASHABLE (in our words):

  1. Build a profile.
  2. Import all your current blogs, social networking pages, news and bookmarking links, etc.
  3. Make friends or do whatever the heck you want.
  4. Use the Infinite options that now await you.

Your Internet Intervention is now complete.

Remember, there are so many more options these tools can offer but MGH recommends walking before you fly. Get organized first, load up on content from there.

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Published by mghwom
September 20th, 2007 in Marketing Tips
12 Comments

CONSUMERS GONE WILD

When my grandpa buys a product he hates, he has one of two choices:

  1. Send a hand-written letter to the company asking them for an acceptable compromise.
  2. Write a letter to Consumer Reports and hope that enough sad saps have been duped into the same crap-tastic purchase.

If I were a betting kind of gal, I’d call my grandpa a losing horse. Thank goodness the WWW has helped make our odds much better.

In today’s marketplace, social issues are instantly globalized with the help of consumer-generated forums, blogs and social networking sites. If you want to put the smack down on a shady product you can write a comprehensive product review at one of the countless consumer-opinion and shopping sites like Epinions. If you want to put HSBC bank in time-out over uncool interest rate hikes, launch a Facebook protest. If you want to beat the passport system fair and square, launch a digital letter-writing campaign to crash your congressman’s system (one of my personal favorites).

So, listen up corporate world, there are literally infinite ways consumers can hunt you down and publicly flog you for shady behavior. So, quit being shady.

We’ve talked about the power of consumer opinion before, but we think it’s time to give you MGH’s top tips on how to clear the air and make friends with the very consumers whose power you revere.

Learn the difference between “consumer reviews” and “testimonials“

Everyone loves a good pat-on-the-back testimonial, but consumers prefer a balanced consumer review from self-selected sources. Recent articles like this one from August’s Wall Street Journal outline what happens when a slightly negative consumer review is rejected by a corporate site that only posts testimonials. Instead of quelling the consumer’s desire to post, the company forced the customer to post to an independent site losing the opportunity to address the product review in a straightforward, non-shady way. Shady business dealings don’t get swept under the rug these days, they get projected faster and more furiously than ever before.

TIP: Make a corporate decision to do one of the following:

  1. Host all consumer reviews in a constructive, open-minded format on your home site.
  2. Create a community of active talkers who can provide you with regular online feedback in private to help eliminate some of the brand concerns before they arise.
  3. Elect not to host testimonials or consumer reviews on your site, but become an active participant on outside consumer review sites making yourself accessible and helpful.

Once you’ve decided, stick to it. Don’t call yourself a consumer review site if you’re not accepting anything but testimonials.

Become accessible

We all know the importance of communicating with our customers, but how much emphasis do we place on telling them something verses listening to what they have to say? Being accessible means more than just pushing out a monthly email newsletter to opt-in recipients.

TIP: Carefully define a list of ways consumers can reach you. Do you provide them with ample communication lines and attentive responses to their concerns and are you active in seeking customer opinions on your site or others? If you’ve answered “no” to all three, you’re at risk of being deemed shady.

In this new consumer-is-king age it might seem there are one million ways for companies and brands to screw up. But there are also one million ways to be respected for your commitment to non-shady, consumer-considerate marketing. MGH can help you find them.

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Published by mghwom
September 17th, 2007 in Brand Management
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SOCIAL NETWORKS- GLOSSARY DEFINITION

Online communities designed to bring people together. MySpace, Facebook and Second Life are just three of many sites that are currently incorporating some social or sharing aspect to their sites. Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and Flickr are great examples of share-based social networks.

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Published by mghwom
September 15th, 2007 in Marteting Terms
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VIRAL VIDEOS

You’re so vain, I guess you think this commercial’s about you, don’t you?

This catchy little Carly Simon remake seems to be the new theme song for the increasingly popular customizable online video experience. It seems many savvy marketers are discovering the truth about a common consumer mantra, “ask not what you can do for the brand, but what the brand can do for you.”

The online marketplace has become a breeding ground for egocentric personalized videos that target one immutable consumer flaw-vanity. The amazing truth is, they work. Not only do we laugh at sub-par comedy, get baffled by magical incorporations of our personal information and feign surprise when our name shows up in lights…but we pass them along to our co-workers, friends and family without hesitation. After all, we know our unsuspecting boss will be thrilled to see his name pop up on some digi-model’s breast.

But what is it about personalized video commercials that can coax busy Americans to hit “send to a friend” after viewing a digital homage to consumerism? I suppose the best answer is to click on these links and test your own “pass-reaction” to the content. Would you pass this to everyone you know? Why?

When you’re done, come back and hear the MGH analysis of why customizable video goes viral.

Heineken Draught Party- Fan Club Movie

Criss Angel MindFreak- Awesome pass-along

Pepsi Max UK- Strange but funny way to joke your friends
Finished?

MGH thinks these videos are so clever because:

1. Most of them have nothing to do with the actual product. This makes them pure entertainment and less in-your-face advertising, which is cool in the land of consumer opinion.

2. This customizable technology (while not brand spanking new) is certainly still “cool-new” enough to make people say “wow,” which is pretty hard, but also fickle in the land of consumer opinion.

3. Many of these videos have a built-in friend component that requires an additional person to truly make the joke or mystery work. By their very nature, these personalized videos will get passed around, but will people remember the brand when all is said and done? Finding the compromise is always the difficult part, which is the double-edged sword in the land of consumer opinion.

4. Finally, most personalized videos are well-made so they appear legitimate. We’ve all seen a few “viral video schemes” with a bargain basement look that relegated them to a life of recycle bin-hood, which means “nice try” in the land of consumer opinion.

So, there you have it. Three great personalized videos that went viral and our own personalized reasons why. P.S., please don’t send me the Pepsi one, I’ve already gotten three today!

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Published by mghwom
September 11th, 2007 in Viral Marketing
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ONE GREAT BIG WIKI WORLD

Say the word “wiki” ten times fast…

Aside from sounding like a bad beat-boxer from 1984, you’ve just listed the number of Wikimedia Foundation projects changing the landscape of daily global information sharing. The projects aren’t new, just brilliant enough to inspire a blog entry with some thoughtful winks on how you might make better use of the world wiki web.

The principle is simple, to develop and maintain open content, wiki-based projects and to provide the full contents of those projects to the public free of charge.

Wiki, in it’s truest form is ” a collaborative website which can be directly edited by anyone with access to it.” One of the coolest features of wiki-style sites is the inter-linkability that allows users to dig deeper with simple hot-linked words throughout the text.

Just about everyone online has used a wiki resource in some form or another. Wikipedia’s unique open content encyclopedia is the most popular and best example of a wiki site. So whether you’ve stumbled onto a Wikipedia page through its highly ranked status in an organic Google search, or have gotten lost in Wikipedia’s inter-linked content for hours on end, Wikipedia has truly become a trusted and credible resource for the world.

With so many Wikipedia fans out there, you’d think more people would be up to speed on the Wikimedia Foundation’s other projects. Hopefully this quickie overview will get you thinking…

WikimediaCommons: a database of 1,858,010 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute. These include images, sound files and so much more.

Wikinews: 10,000 user-submitted articles available.

Wikiquote: a fantastic experiment with thousands of movie, historical and proverb quotations.

Wiktionary: an incredible complement to Wikipedia, Wiktionary is an open content dictionary with easy-to-use and multilingual definitions.

Wikisource: One look at Wikisource and you’ll wish you had this in school. Wikisource is an open content library with everything from Woodrow Wilson’s Fifth State of the Union Address to the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. It’s still growing, but we love it so much we want to encourage contributions from everyone.

Wikibooks: an open content collection of textbooks in a variety of subjects. The site even includes a Staff lounge.

Wikiversity: is a really cool concept currently growing into what promises to be an amazing resource for free learning materials and activities. Collaborative learning projects, unique activities for educators and so much more are available for all at Wikiversity. I know, I’m gushing again, but it’s definitely a great start for a free learning environment.

Wikidpecies: and if you’re crazy for science, WikiSpecies lets you explore every species known to contributors in one easy-to-use wiki format.

Meta-Wiki: is the Foundation’s home site, dedicated to coordinating all the magic on their project sites.

The Wikimedia Foundation is user-supported with donations, grants and fundraisers sponsoring project development. The organization is classified as a 501(c)(3) with a stated vision of “bringing a free and accurate encyclopedia to every single person on the planet.” I don’t know about you, but we’ve seen a lot of online resources with less humble motives.

Our last order of wiki business is to address all the talk about how marketers can make use of wiki sites. Lately there’s been a lot of buzz about corporations getting burned by a series of websites including a new website that allows you to track the credibility of Wikipedia editors and things like Wikipedia Watch or Wikipedia Scanner that allow readers to track changes made to Wikipedia entries.

But, at the end of the day, wiki entries done right can educate the world and yield major click-throughs. This means avoiding shameless self-promotion in favor of wiki-ing for the greater good. If you’re a corporation, a school, a product, a service or a destination, MGH’s word of mouth services can help you find a great way to wiki without worry.

 

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Published by mghwom
September 6th, 2007 in Online Tools
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