Word of Mouth
and Advertising
A marriage made in Hell.
sxsw ‘08

Who should care?
Marketers
Can screw it up faster than you can say
“our PR agency was not authorized to do
that”
Content destinations, community
platforms
Can lose credibility for not understanding
your own audience.
Who got blamed. Facebook or
Overstock.com?

Why care now?
50% negative anonymous written
reviews can be competitors.
But even the experts don’t care.
Mediapost: March 10, 2008

Why care now?
Meanwhile, Social Media roadkill
brings up “ethics” and “moral” issues:
Sony misleads being teen gamers
Walmart misleads being enthusiasts
McDonald’s misleads user-gen contest
entries
Facebook’s Beacon invades privacy

Why do we care?
Nielsen says that
“Consumer opinions
posted online”
IS NOT the same as
“Recommendations
from consumers.”
Wow.

Why this isn’t word of mouth.

The new user review.
It’s personal.

The new user review.
It’s personal.

Word of Mouth didn’t go through
it’s internet revolution
Trusted
Salesman
Friends
Known
Amateur Family
“Experts”
Co-worker
Previous Sources of
Word-of-Mouth
1:1

The Social Web
has extended “trusted” sources
Knowledgeable
Salesman
Friends
Known
Amateur Family
“Experts”
Co-worker
New Sources of
Word-of-Mouth
1:1, 1:1000

Feeling out the threshold
of word of mouth…
1. Friend telling you about a new camera she
says she bought and absolutely loves.
2. A blogger you follow is paid by an
advertiser to write about their products and
he absolutely loves them.
3. A colleague who got a free camera from
the manufacturer tells you that she
absolutely loves it.
4. Online review by “TechGuy3492” about the
new camera he says he bought and
absolutely loves.

SXSW Audience Participation
“Attributes of WOM”
Friend
Unbiased
You spent money: skin in game
Unpaid
Motive Know them
Why you’re doing
If incentive obligates the reviewer
Disclosure
Trust Pay for positive review
Authentic
Perspective of the hearer
Balance

The People’s Definition of WOM
Paid
Word of Mouth Advertising
How well do you know
the actual reviewer?
Is there incentive to be
biased
Is there an open
platform to hear from
someone else?
Level of disclosure of
potential bias
Test against these attributes
where your audience expects you to be

So where can you screw it up?
1. Be transparent on all these
dimensions. A lot of forgiveness lies
in not lying.
2. Know where the line is for your users
on these dimensions. Know your
users.
3. Only take advertisers who will play
within those guidelines. Accepting
others will endanger the life of your
site.

Where can advertisers screw it up
1. Make sure the site you’re working
with knows their audience.
2. Listen more than talk. Change your
metrics to encourage new behavior
from your staff and your audience.
3. Be brave. Change requires courage.