Silence Marketing, Bold Marketing

The new iPhone is scheduled for release on July 11 and WOM marketing surrounding it is about to shift into high gear. Apple is such a dynamic company when it comes to marketing their products, or lack there of. I have to assume they know what they are doing, but perhaps they really are so brilliant they don’t even know it.

Here is what I mean. Prior to the launch of the generation 1 iPhone, Apple made one announcement; it was coming in the summer (about six months prior) and then went into hibernation. They didn’t answer any questions and let the speculation build the buzz; quite a risky, but amazing PR camping. A few ads were made and ran on national television programming, but the driving force behind the buzz was the blogs and speculation sites. There were sites solely dedicated to what the public thought the phone would look like, the capabilities it would have and what aftermarket products would accompany it.

This buzz continued up until the release date nearly a year ago. Apple even went as far as to not give its employees (Apple Store employees) any information. Consumers were calling stores to find out how many phones they would sell just to be denied the answer. People lined up to buy it and the rest is history.

Well now they are at it again. Amid months of speculation, Apple finally announced the release of the generation 2 iPhone, iPhone 3G. It releases in a month and the blogs are going crazy. Apple made a commercial, that is really great, but I think that will be it. Apple will let the consumer use conversation to generate the proper buzz to sell the most iPhones ever.  You really have to applaud the courage to not over promote this thing. I guess they have either the cheapest or most expensive PR budget in the history of corporate America.

This is the power of word-of-mouth marketing at its finest. See where a little buzz and a great product can get you?

Response, cool and controlled...

Responding in cyberspace offers an organization the opportunity to put forth a controlled message that will be interpreted exactly how it was intended.

Response. Here are just a few questions. When it comes to organizations responding, what does that really mean, Are they responding to allegations, bad pub, good pub, etc? Why are they responding? Probably because they have to.

Public relations is about the response and what a better way to respond than WOM marketing. It offers companies a chance to respond in a way that they choose fit and can't be taken out of context by a scandal-seeking reporter. NO, it is the opportunity to put the company’s opinion on display in the most controlled ways. PR pros and execs are always looking for a way to control the message and now they need look no further. Imagine a crisis that could be responded to in a sincere and thoughtful way on the CEOs blog. This is a way for the consumer to understand where the organization is coming from. It is not necessary to formulate some spin response any more. This is the forum for honesty and there is nothing the consumer appreciates more than honesty.

Another advantage to two-way communications, as it pertains to response oriented PR, is the ability to let the customer help. Perhaps you have a great product, but falls just a bit short of what it can really do. Your customer can make suggestions that are seen by millions and those millions can see your organization actually listen to its constituents. WOW, how would that look in the public eye?

Take the iPhone. The first iPhone was pretty amazing, but talk to any of the owners and you will hear the same thing: “I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I could use a few more features.” They are referring to 3G, push mail and exchange capabilities. Well, thanks to Apple listening to its customers, her comes the 2.0 upgrade and shortly there after the iPhone 2. And get this; the world will see Apple’s response.

This is how you build brand loyalty. Marketers are looking for ways to get consumers to only purchase their product, well, make a better product and listen to current customers on how to improve current products.

It is no longer a time of fear, get out there and tell people that you are listening and will gladly respond to any situation, good or bad…

Social Communication

In the talk of social communication, part of the argument is about consumer to consumer communication or C2C marketing. This is where you [as a business] get your customers to talk about your products in a positive way. I understand the reasons why many CEOs are reluctant to dive into the pool of two-way communication but come on people, let’s get into the game. This is where public relations, advertising and marketing are headed. Five years down the road we will all be talking about social marketing and how it is made our products better. 

C2C marketing has been around for centuries. People have always talked about how much they like the things they have purchased. For instance: when your friend purchases a new car. What is the first thing they say? They are looking to justify to you why they have made that purchase. They want you to go out and make the same buy. They want you to have what they have. We all know this as word of mouth. Well, now that the Internet is in full swing, C2C can flourish!!!!!

What a better vehicle than the Internet to spread the word. CEOs are afraid that the communication will be negative. Sometimes that is not a bad thing. When customers talk about the flaws in a product, this is the opportunity to make your product better and turn a higher profit. There is your ROI! It is time to take the leap, because the cost of not getting involved is too great. Lets get this thing going and let people talk about how much they love their gadget, service, product or experience. There are so many industries that could benefit from just allowing their customers to tell their story. Don't be afraid to embrace...

WIKIs

So it has been a while since I have been able to contribute to my own blog. This needs to change. Today I want to talk about wikis. I think this might the wave of the future in job hunting. I am preparing to rebuild my resume and cover letter in my search for another job. I have come across free wiki sites and think that might be another way to do this thing. At the bottom on my cover letter I will place a link to my wiki. This will have a better look into who I am and what i am looking for, along with writing samples, published works, this blog and what not. It will also have my thesis, only because it shouldn't be that long and boring. I agree that this is a little progressive but I am trying to break into a progressive industry and this is yet another way to practice what I preach. Let's see how it goes...

word-of-mouth

Upon graduation, again, I will be in the job hunt again. Not a time i am looking forward to. My last one was not as successful as once thought, but who's first job is the best? With all my experience I had after graduation from undergrad, it was very hard to find a job in the pr industry without serious contacts. Typical, not what but who hits again. Well as I approach this again, I find myself with the same story different day. I have some contacts, but their are all in traditional pr and after two years of grad work, I have found that the future of "old school" pr is in jeopardy but executives and veterans aren't quite willing to give it up.

So I find myself looking to the future to pick my next career. Social media is where I am going to go. I believe that i have the skills to add traditional pr to the next steps in social media marketing and thanks to a thesis/project coming up this summer I might be marketable to a firm that is progressive enough to keep me happy. I think the big agencies are now looking at how to get into this conversation but need to find the ROI to do it, because its all about pleasing the client. The only problem is measuring this stuff isn't the easiest to do. 

Is it measured in amount of hits, outside posts or what? That is what I plan to find out, then look out for the new kid on the block, me (or at least I hope so). Guess we will see. This is an industry that is always looking for the next best thing and i think we have found it. Blogs, wikis, video and Internet buzz is where the future has taken us as professionals. So don't be scared to take the plunge. It is going to be a fun swim in cyberspace. Who's ready?