[Welcome back to our Word of Mouth Marketing Lessons newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using this handy form.]
Word of mouth is lazy. Your talkers aren’t going to work hard to spread the word about you. That’s why it’s your job to do the work for them. Here’s what you can do to help:
1. Give them the exact words
2. Make them a hero
3. Make it catchy
1. Give them the exact words
If you’ve read a Forbes.com article recently, you may have noticed the blue Twitter logo popping up mid-paragraph after a compelling quote or sentence. That’s no accident. It’s a button that gives you the exact words to tweet straight from the article. How many times have you wanted to share an article, but didn’t know how to articulate why it’s worth reading (especially in 140 characters)? With this tool, Forbes does it for you.
2. Make them a hero
Car2Go holds a MemberFest every year, inviting their members to a party with live music, food, and drinks. The best part: If you bring a non-member friend, they’ll get a complimentary membership and a Drive Time credit to their account. Asking your customers to recommend you to a friend is much easier when you throw them a huge party and make them look like a hero.
3. Make it catchy
When Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain tweeted about his trip to Belize, the country’s tourism board saw a big opportunity. Why? Because “Don’t Stop Believin'” sounds a whole lot like Belize’s favorite overused pun, “Don’t Stop Belizein’.” To capitalize on the moment, Belize Tourism Board recorded their version of the Journey song with a local band and released it on SoundCloud. It’s not just about being opportunistic, it’s about sharing something that’s easy to pass along, easy to talk about, and could quite possibly get stuck in your head for days.
