I mentioned yesterday that I would dig deeper into the 7 Timeless Marketing Rules and so here we go with #1:

  1. People like it when you talk to them. Better yet, talk with them, not at them. If your advertising is yelling, shouting, screaming, or simply annoying, stop it and get real with people.

The best marketing is word of mouth.  But that is also slow and uncontrollable. So you pay money to advertise. Your advertising outreach can mimic and emulate word of mouthbs

In the radio world I work in, live endorsements by trusted air personalities are often the most powerful way to use your 60 seconds of advertising time.  I saw this was an excellent way for ads to stand out when I worked in music radio.

With our news/talk format on WOWO radio, it’s even more impactful. This is word of mouth with a bigger mouth because instead of reaching one person at a time, there are thousands who are hearing about you and your business by people they trust.  And it is done in a no-hype, conversational manner.

With WOWO we also offer some exclusives for those advertising partners that are buying testimonial style ads.  Charly and Pat will only endorse one business in each business category.  Not every business automatically qualifies, Charly or Pat have final say on whether or not they will do live endorsements.  It’s their reputation on the line along with WOWO’s reputation.

Another way to use word of mouth marketing is in business networking groups.  Not all are created equal.  I recently rejoined BNI.  I was a member for three years between 2004 and 2006 and then was a regular sub for that BNI chapter. My only reason for leaving was my position changed and I was not available to meet every week.

But I saw the value and when I was invited to join a local BNI chapter this summer again, I signed up and made the investment.  Our chapter is larger than any of the others in Fort Wayne with over 35 members which is about double the number of members other local chapters have.  BNI offers category exclusivity and has high standards that members must meet.  BNI is a true word of mouth business networking organization.  Interested?  Contact me and  you can be my guest at our next meeting and see it in action.

Word of Mouth also works on social media but not in the way that companies like Facebook are trying to push.  Facebook earns it’s money from advertising. That’s why we see ads in our timeline.  But there is also a more trusted form of word of mouth that occurs organically on Facebook.  Just update your status with a request for a recommendation for something you need.  I saw this in action several years ago when my friend Heather was looking for a dentist. Over 25 of her friends responded with recommendations of who to use and who to avoid.

Back to the concept of talking and not yelling, shouting or screaming in your advertising.  There are lots of businesses that will continue to yell, shout, and scream in their radio and tv ads, so when you present a more human, relationship friendly message, it will get attention and stand out.  Want help? Contact me.  More on this series tomorrow.