Monday, October 3, 2011

Let's Get Fired UP!

While being studious and looking through notes for my social media exam tomorrow, I came across the beginning section of "Groundswell" about energizing. When I first read through the energizing notes and via the book, I really didn't understand how just word of mouth could be such a powerful source. I was obviously misunderstanding the importance of word or mouth because 83% trust work of mouth and 50% trust online reviews from strangers. 

The point to energizing is to tap into the power of word of mouth. This can be done through connecting with your most committed customers. This can be done through special coupons and offers given directly to them for recommending the company to a friend, or maybe even suggesting someone "like" the company's page on Facebook. There are so many ways a company is able to utilize the customers they already have hooked to reel in more reliable and consistent buyers. 

Why does energizing work so well? Energizing is a lot of what buyers look for in products and companies. It's believable! A perfect example would be an infomercial. The company has testimonials about how great the product or service worked and how it is 100% worth your (the person lying in bed/ getting ready for work) time. If the company is lucky enough to get picked up by a blogger or by an influential person, then the beginning is usually history is the product gets good reviews. 

Basically, energizing in the "Groundswell”’s view is just like a pep rally in the high school cheerleader's view: enthusiastic, gets customers (or students) geared and excited towards the product (or game), participation in and energizing online communities (or the stands) of your brands (or teams) enthusiast. Taking something that a corporate office may do and comparing to a high school football cheerleader may be a stretch, but it really is a similar situation and outcome. You put in enthusiasm, have a group of people backing you up, and then sway others to join you're side and give in to whatever is being offered. Overall, energizing is a simple strategy with a lot of end benefits if utilized to its full potential.  


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