Geno Church: How to get people talking offline

10:15 — Kurt Vanderah introduces Brains On Fire‘s Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer, Geno Church. And, he has awesome glasses.

10:16 — Geno Church takes the stage with spectacles that are ON POINT. I love a good pair of glasses. He starts his session grabbing at the heart of a Word Of Mouth Marketing: “As marketers our job is to put out ideas that are worth talking about.” It starts with the eyes and ears, but the important part to focus on is the gut: You want brand advocates.

10: 18 — He tells a story about his experience buying a Mini-Cooper and his car salesman – Lindsay. She hadn’t sold cars before a few months prior. At the time, she was a waitress looking for a new job. She walked into a Mini Cooper dealership, met with the management and raved about how much she loved her Mini Cooper. She was hired on the spot. Lindsay was more than a salesperson; she was a genuine advocate. Her genuine enthusiasm makes all the difference. She speaks from the heart, and she makes a personal connection with her customers.

10:23 — He makes a very candid confession: “I am a social media agnostic.” – A light gasp from the crowd (not really, but I can envision the collective mental air intake from the room).

10:25 — “Social media is sexy.” Social tools are not enough. There is a person living an breathing inside, who is responsible for making people happy. It takes a two-way relationship to inspire a potential brand advocate.

10:29 — Online channels are used to express uniqueness and provoke emotions from people. Excitement and emotion drive conversations offline.

10:31 — He talks about Wonderopolis and how it is a genuine offline community of students, teachers and parents. The online community supports and bolsters the offline community.

10:34 — Q&A Time! The first question is from Elizabeth Quintanilla: “Expand on you quote, ‘Be famous for the people who love you for the way you love them.'”

To be something to and evoke emotion from someone, you have to show that you love them. Start with the love first. Love them first. We have to trust each other and to build it.

Question from Kurt Vanderah: “Do you often hear the same kind of feedback from employees and from customers?”

You would think that you would, but often you don’t. Your goal is to make it happen, but you have to open the line of communication and adjust to make them synonymous.

This concludes session 2 of Track 1. Great stuff from Geno Church, and next up is Jason Duty with how to join conversations about your brand.

About Yola Blake

Yola Blake is the lead social strategist at Get Page One, a search-marketing agency in Austin. Her current role includes full-service community management, corporate and small business social strategy, social profile optimization for SEO and editorial project management. Yola is also a contributing author for the Social Media Club's global editorial team and the Austin chapter’s web chair.

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