I received a call recently from a long-time colleague who now does marketing for a major global brand. He had heard we were doing a lot of work in the “new media” arena. The company had done traditional public relations with great success, but his bosses were wondering if there were opportunities in the social media arena that could help further their business objectives. Among those objectives was the need to push products that they don’t invest in through other marketing channels. Read: Could word-of-mouth present a low-cost option to sell products that don’t get exposure elsewhere? Cost-effectiveness can be the PR practice’s blessing and curse. It can certainly sustain us during an economic downturn, like the one we’re facing now. But, while I am obviously a big believer in injecting the power of third-party credibility into the marketing mix, PR and word-of-mouth should not be the disciplines of choice for products that aren’t worth advertising dollars. PR is wholly dependent on winning over influencers — be they journalists, bloggers or trendsetters. The reason something becomes viral and makes a huge impact is because people get passionate and feel compelled to share. When a product or service is exceptional and the company that sells it is genuine in how it engages, influencers may decide to talk about it, online and off. Companies should consider word-of-mouth only for their best products and services. And, once an influencer believes in the merits of a product, they may be more willing to take a look at other products made by the same brand. It’s the old halo effect, which is tough to create if you don’t lead with your best material. For the rules of the road, we recommend “Word of Mouth Marketing” by Andy Sernovitz (disclosure: we promoted the book when it was new).
