[This blog is one in a series of reviews on technologies that support brand advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing concepts. Our goal is to research a specific technology, application, or company and inform ourselves, our clients, and user base about it. We often get asked how Fancorps compares to different companies in the space. This is our way of answering those questions, while educating ourselves and our audience as a whole.]

"We Power Referral Programs.  The End-To-End Referral Solution."

Ambassador is a brand new site that's starting to cause a splash in the social ambassador pool.  While I haven't seen a huge push to promote joining just yet, the website provides the information that a client would need to understand what this platform offers. 

Upon first glance, I was intrigued and excited with the boasting of mentions in some major publications and the ability to easily integrate with "your favorite web applications," such as Sales Force, Send Grid, Mail Chimp, Paypal and Dwolla.  While I only recognized a few of their current clients, the list was still impressive.  

 

I decided to join as an Ambassador and see what's expected from a member side.  After "Reserving" your Ambassador username, you're able to access your account.  My assumption is that this site is still very much in Beta testing as there was nothing for me to do or earn or even click on within my Ambassador profile.

 

 I am told that if I refer a new company, I will "get rewarded 50% off their first payment and 10% of each recurring payment."  Since the pricing models are public, I could potentially make $750 just for a company signing up and $150 a month thereafter.  A very clever way to get your members to recruit new companies for you! 

  Members are able to track the number of clicks and sales through the links they post and are paid based on those numbers.  While this is great for tracking clicks and sales, I didn't see anywhere that members can recommend a product or store to their friends, outside of simply sharing that they're on the platform.  

I would love to play around with the platform more, once it's officially launched, to really get a feel for it's purpose. I think it is a very valuable tool for companies looking to track sales through affiliate links and their customers. 

Stay tuned for next week's review by @colterhall on @SocialToaster! 

Last week, Tech Cocktail, a Chicago based resource for start ups and entrepreneurs hosted its first ever event in Dallas at the Techwildcatters headquarters near downtown. The turn out from the local startup community was fantastic, as more than 200 people attended to network and check out out the showcasing companies.

According to their site...

Tech Cocktail is a literal “cocktail” of emerging technology and startup events, news, resources and reports for the entrepreneurial minded, tech enthusiast.

We were excited to participate in the event as a showcasing startup (along with 12 others) and be written up on their site the same day. Other locals such as CherryPick, Qwiqq, Clubster were also present demoing their latest apps and products. It was a great opportunity to meet and greet with other Dallas based entrepreneurs and learn more about each other along the way.

Click here to check out the article.

This month I had the pleasure of attending the Word of Mouth Crash Course put on by Andy Sernovitz and the amazing crew over at WordofMouth.org.  First of all, if you haven't heard of WordofMouth.org, you should check it out.  WordofMouth.org is the place for word of mouth thought leaders to share their passion, ideas, and insight and is the sister site to SocialMedia.org, which represents 215 billion-dollar brands. In their own words, they're not a content/editorial site, not a trade association, not a community or membership organization. Their mission is to create a great publication and to promote the word of mouth movement.

The Word of Mouth Crash Course was the third event of its kind and the first with that name; all in all, it was an amazing event. It was by far, one of the most professional, informative conferences that I've ever been to! On top of that, the food was killer and they had a house band playing during all the breaks!

Check out the day's full agenda HERE or check out some of the live blogging that took place from the event HERE thanks to Connie Reece, Eric Highland, James Dalman, Joseph Holguin, Wesley Faulkner, and Yola Blake.

Here's a quick recap from the sessions I attended.

Love or Marketing? How Word of Mouth Will Save Your Brand
Andy Sernovitz
CEO at SocialMedia.org & WordofMouth.org

Kurt Vanderah from Socialmedia.org kicked off the day by firing up the crowd, high-school football coach style! Very Inspiring! From there, Andy launched right into the importance of Word of Mouth Marketing, stating that it's impervious to changes in online communication platforms.  So how do you start? Making people happy is what starts the conversation.  He cited Red Envelope & Zappos. They excel in cultivating relationships with their customers & give people a reason to talk about their stuff.

Next he went into how an idea or product that organically spreads from person to person through word of mouth is:
1. Portable
2. Repeatable
3. Emotional

Andy wrapped up his intro by asking the question: Why do people talk about your brand? You have to solve what he called "The Chocolate Problem." Chocolate has been around for centuries and people don't call up their friends to tell them they're eating chocolate unless there's is something amazing to share about it.

"Being good isn’t good enough. You have to be remarkable.” You have to give them a reason to talk about your company.

How to Talk to Influential Talkers
Jake McKee
Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer at Ant's Eye View

Jake started things off with the simple question: What the Hell is an influencer?
1. Someone who gets something from you
2. Is part of a select group
3. Is encouraged to share
4. Amplifies the brand's message

Here are Jake's 11 things that determine an influential program:
1. Determine Your Mission
    What are you trying to achieve. Your objectives.
2. Start Early
    Engage your influencers throughout the creative process
3. Understand the Motivation of your Target Audience
    Research, research, research.
4. Value Every Effort
    People engage differently.  find them and take part in the conversation
5. Set & Live by Expectations
    A good program takes time and required a lot of conversation & follow-up
6. & 7. Spend the Time
    "A good program takes time!"
8. Be Careful with your Rules
    Craft them carefully & stick to them
9. Provide a Means to Connect
    Be transparent & make it easy for people to contact you
10. Conduct After Action Review
      Solicit feedback and post your finding to the community
11. Retain the Momentum
      Plan it in advance, keep it going.

How To Create A Fan Community
Spike Jones
Group Director of Engagement at WCG

One of my favorite quotes of the day was: "A community is not just a Facebook page."  Spike went on to elaborate that there's a huge difference between being neighbors & being neighborly.  We must cultivate a community atmosphere.

Five Truths about Building a Fan Community:
1. It's not, nor will it ever be about your product.  It's about what your product does.
A great example are the Fiskateers, the brand ambassadors for Fiskars Scissors.  It's not about the scissors, it's about what people create with those scissors.
2. Don't seek out influence, create it.  Influence can be created, passion can't
3. Your community is not for everybody. Make it elite. Create barriers to entry.
4. Find your rallying cry.
"Remember the Alamo!!!"
5. Think about Content Differently
Content is NOT king, relationships are. Content can also be experiences. Content is shared offline as well, don't forget that.

Some other nuggets of wisdom that I took away from Spike are:
1. Build your community like it's going to live forever & that the money is going to run out tomorrow.
2. Get feedback from community members on what they need & want from your brand.

How to Measure Word of Mouth
David Rabjohns
CEO at MotiveQuest

"94% of marketers say that they are not getting actionable responses for their efforts." David went on to explain that we're in a new world and we need a new set of metrics. Which leads us right into my second favorite quote of the day, "Advocacy is the one metric that matters most!"  He backed up the statement by citing Mini Cooper, Johnnie Walker & Dodge as companies that have successfully correlated advocacy with sales.

In the world of word of mouth you need to find what people are passionate about and attach your brand to it. Axe didn't talk about sweaty armpits, they sold sex.  Prius didn't talk about saving gas, but about saving the planet.

To create successful Word of Mouth Marketing you have to "Measure Advocates and Lasso Passion."

How to Stay Ethical & Out of Trouble
Andy Sernovitz
CEO at SocialMedia.org & WordofMouth.org

This is a session that I had seen Andy present before at Blogwell in Dallas, TX, but it's always important to stay on top FTC regulations and ethical practices when it comes to dealing with brand advocates.

The gist of Andy's session is based on three guidelines to safe social media outreach:
1. Require disclosure & truthfulness
2. Monitor conversations & correct misstatements
3. Create social media policies & training programs

Andy goes on to preach that you should never "pay" or reward advocates.  That is where he and I differ in opinion.  I don't think there's anything wrong with rewarding your passionate consumers for playing the role as brand advocates as long as you identify those consumers first and foremost as passionate about your product or service.  This doesn't mean go out and just reward anyone and everyone for spreading your brand message.  Here at Fancorps, we provide our clients with the means to first build a brand advocate community, then allow them to more deeply engage with the brand by spreading the message. Only then are they eligible for a reward from the brand.

One of the most important take-aways that I received from Andy's presentation was: "The more you ask advocates to disclose, the more status you give them."

Keynote Presentation: Lead with LUV
Colleen Barrett
President Emeritus at Southwest Airlines

In the late 60's, people flew for business, not for pleasure. There was no fun in flying. There were three airline carriers based in Texas and none of them were focused on customer service. Southwest set out with $198 in the bank to change all of that and become the LUV Airlines!  3 attributes that they led with were: Spirit, Servant’s Heart, and a Fun-Loving Attitude. They built an entire company culture around those points and pushed forward with the belief that no matter what business you're in, you're in the customer service business.

What's importnat to SW Airlines: 1. Employees 2. Customers 3. Shareholders.  If you treat your employees well, they'll treat other employees well and will naturally pass that on to the customers! They've created an atmosphere where employees are encouraged to have fun and be themselves; this philosophy continues to make them one of the most enjoyable, laid-back, fun and LUV-filled airlines in the country!

Author Discussion: Brand Advocates...
Rob Fuggetta
Founder & CEO at Zuberance

There were 6 Author sessions to choose from & I chose to sit in on Rob's session because Zuberance is another powerful player in the brand advocate world.  He spent very little time talking about the book but touched on the main idea that brand advocates can be a hugely powerful marketing force. Rob & Zuberance definitely align with Andy Sernovitz's policy that advocates should never be paid.  Again, I think this is a pretty optimistic view about the motivations of consumers.  I think we'd all like to believe that consumers will be so passionate about a brand that they will continue to spread the overall message and take part in various campaigns, but this isn't always the reality. In my opinion, at some point, we should give back to our consumers and show them that we appreciate their involvement and value their voice.

Case Study: Maker's Mark
Todd Spencer
President & CEO at Doe-Anderson

Now this is a presentation that I was definitely looking forward to.  Not only because I love Maker's Mark, but because I very much respect and admire what the brand has done to engage with their consumers & build up an amazing brand ambassador community.  For starters, it was amazing to see one of Maker's Mark's first advertising cartoons that read “If you really like it, you’ll tell others.” Since 1954, the brand has always had honest & transparent advertising, from inviting the Wall Street Journal to come down and visit the distillery first hand, to running full page ads that simply answered customer questions. Todd summed it up by saying "You will always do the right thing if you treat your customer like a friend."

The Maker's Mark Brand Ambassador program takes the same honest approach.  The concept is simple.  You sign up and are asked to tell your friends, family and anyone you know about how much you love the brand.  In return, you get a sneak peak into the inner workings of Maker's Mark, and of course a couple very cool perks like the ability to print your own ambassador business cards, invitations to VIP tasting events, special offers, great swag, and exclusive gift shop access.  But the true reward for these ambassadors comes in the form of your name engraved on an actual barrel and the ability to purchase a bottle from that barrel.  The key is to provide their consumers with ways to truly feel ownership in the brand.  "It's not our Whisky, it's their Whisky"

And of course the beauty of the program is that it takes 6-71/2 years to age each barrel.  Plenty of time to grow that relationship with the consumer!

Case Study: Movember
Kory Klem
Digital Strategist for Movember

The Movember movement is one that has taken the world by storm over the last 8 years, so I was very interested to see how they've achieved such great success and become the largest non-goverment funder of prostate cancer research! Movember's tagline is simply: "Changing the Face of Men's Health" both literally & figuratively! In 2004 a group of friends in Australia thought it would be fun to grow to grow mustaches in the name of charity! That first year they raised $54k. In 2011, they raised $130 million!

Some key factors that have made this organization & campaign such a huge success:
1. Vocal, dedicated & influential group
2. Meaningful & Relevant message
3. Good mix of in-person & online word of mouth promotions
4. Brotherhood
5. Supportive Mo Sistas
6. Extreme Extroverts

Another very interesting point that Kory made was that the cause is always on the mind of those participating and quite literally on their face.  A Mo wakes up each morning and grooms, they walk around knowing it's out there for all the world to see. They're always looking for ways to talk about the cause and the reason for their fantastic 'staches!

To further the cause Movember is always trying to expand the on-line community of fellow Mo Bros & Sistas, giving them the tools they need to spread the word. They make it an exciting and fun experience for everyone involved & always say thank you.  Their efforts have not gone unnoticed and they now have an overall reach of 1.9 Billion from the 850k supporters, who in 2011 uploaded 667k photos and garnered 3.2 million individual donations!

I've already got a mustache & beard, but I may just have to shave it all and start from scratch this November!

Case Study: Louisville Slugger
Mark McKinney
Chief Strategy Officer at imc2

Now this was one of the most fun sessions of the day, mostly because I walked out of the room with a limited edition WordofMouth.org Lousville Slugger... but more on that in a minute.

Mark appropriately broke down their efforts with the brand in baseball terms using the Wind-Up & the Pitch.

The Wind-Up
imc2 worked with Louisville Slugger to create the Sweetest spot campaign.  The goal was to determine what factors come into play when High School & College players choose their bat. By creating a community on Facebook they determined that peers, parents & athletes are the biggest influence on the decision making process, so they helped facilitate the sharing of information, while informing consumers of new BBCOR standards for approved bats, which essentially make bats less springy and safer for the audience.

The Pitch
To take their awareness to the next level, imc2 & Louisville Slugger hid 45 commemorative bats in the winning city of the 2011 World Series on the morning after the final game (Shoulda been Texas!!!).  They had just 12 hours to build momentum and before they knew it, news stations, web-sites, blogs and fans were talking about the promotion and sharing the link to the details.  Clues were given via social media (Facebook & Twitter) throughout the morning and things got a little crazy a couple times, but all in all it was a hugely successful promotion for the brand.

The Result: A Homerun!!!
On average each post got 23 likes & 20 comments per message
Their Facebook likes increased by 143%
Their Tweets increased by 161%

All in one morning!

And now for the bat story:  imc2 & Louisville Slugger hid one commemorative WordofMouth.org bat at the conference and yours truly solved the clue to find it!  Score!

Thanks again to Andy Sernovitz and everyone at WordofMouth.org & SocialMedia.org for putting on an amazing event that was professional, fun &extremely informative!

~ @tonyfancorps

 

 

 

 

Dallas Social Media Breakfast

May 31, 2012

Word of Mouth Marketing: Past, Present & Future

With the advent of social media, consumer engagement & word of mouth marketing are now more important than ever. Companies must engage their consumers in unique ways to increase loyalty and spark ever expanding conversations about the brand. But how can companies properly monitor the conversations that are happening on the internet & more importantly how can they affect them?

Join us for answers to these and many other questions:

• What is a Brand Advocate?
• What’s the best way to really engage and reward advocate?
• Does it take away from the organic nature of posts by rewarding advocates?
• How do you track the effectiveness of an advocate community

 

Presented by:

Tony Edwards & GI Sanders, Founders of Fancorps

http://fancorps.com

RSVP HERE

 

Where:
Offices of Freeman+Leonard / BravoTECH
Heritage Square I 4835 LBJ Freeway, 10th floor, Dallas, TX

When:
Thursday, May 31, 7:15 am to 9:00 am

Agenda:
Coffee & Networking from 7:15 am to 7:45 am
Presentation and Discussion from 7:45 to 8:45
Closing and Wrap Up from 8:45 to 9:00

 

 

Dallas Social Media Breakfast brings together people interested in teaching, sharing and learning about trends, case studies and best practices in social media.

Dallas SMB meets the last Thursday of each month.  Have a topic you would like to present or share?  Please contact the event hosts at an upcoming meeting.

Follow, Join, Discuss with Dallas SMB…

Twitter              SMBDallas

LinkedIn           Social Media Breakfast Dallas

Facebook         Social Media Breakfast - Dallas

 

Many different types of brands and organizations have utilized our technology to date. From artists and record labels, non-profits, start up clothing companies, and on to consumer brands such as Chilis and 7-Eleven.

Yesterday marked a first for us at Fancorps as an entirely new vertical opened up with the exciting launch of the first ever Fancorps community for an author!

We're happy to announce that it's not just any author. Rather, New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. Heard of him? Thought so.

Dean has written hundreds of novels and short fiction books in the suspense, horror, and science fiction genres, many of which have been adapted into screen plays and/or ended up on the New York Times Bestseller list.

The immediate reaction to the launch of his Fancorps community has been overwhelmingly positive, with over one thousand fans joining within the first 24 hours, and several hundred members engaging with countless different Orders to spread the word about Dean's current activities. The community was launched via a status update from Dean's official Facebook page to a rousing applause, generating over 1,500 Likes and nearly 100 comments thus far.

Members of the community have the opportunity to earn exclusive limited/signed editions of Dean's novels, iPhone Skins, Keychains and much more for sharing content and information with their friends. It's a great way for fans to get more involved and share their passion for an author they love.

We couldn't be more excited about how it's started out, and are already looking forward to numerous other author based communities launching in the near future through our partnership with Random House Publishing. Stay tuned...

 

@gisanders

 

Last week, 7-Eleven launched their Coffee Mug Heads Community!    

If you're a 7-Eleven Coffee fan then this is the place for you. With the endless amount of flavors, toppings and add ins, it's no secret that the coffee bars in 7-Elevens across the nation are proving to be the preference over other pricier cups. The Coffee Mug Heads Community provides a unique experience for all 7-Eleven fans to get more involved and rewarded for their love of the perfect cup!

Everyone at 7-Eleven has been a blast to work with during setup and it's given us a clearer look into how corporations handle brand advocacy programs. I absolutely love working with each client, as they're all unique, and I learn so much with each new launch. I am looking forward to watching these Mug Heads grow into yet another successful Fancorps community! 

Love coffee? Join today! http://7-Eleven.fancorps.com

@francesgulick

 

 

Here at Fancorps, we know that making a good first impression is extremely important. For this reason, we've recently implemented a feature which will allows Community Managers to add an accompanying email notification to their New Member Mass Message. In the past, our platform allowed for customizable messages to be delivered to a Community member's inbox within Fancorps. But what if they forgot their login information, can't remember the url, or are just too busy to log in to the Community and start spreading the word right away?

As of Today, on the Edit Profile page of your Admin tab, you'll notice the option to send this message directly to the members' email address they provided upon signup.

This provides crucial follow-up to their decision to join the Community, and can be a great place to include coupons, contesting details, or urgent calls to action. The text is fully customizable, meaning graphics and links are encouraged! Check out some examples of how our clients Chili's and Bowling For Soup are utilizing this feature.

Chili's has incorporated their own branded Community logo into the email as seen above, providing further customization options. Bowling For Soup, on the other hand, is utilizing their new signup email notification to alert members as to the details of a current promotion taking place in the Orders section.

For help creating your custom New Member Message, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.
 
 
~@colterfancorps

[This blog is one in a series of reviews on technologies that support brand advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing concepts. Our goal is to research a specific technology, application, or company and inform ourselves, our clients, and user base about it. We often get asked how Fancorps compares to different companies in the space. This is our way of answering those questions, while educating ourselves and our audience as a whole.]

Calyp is a Dallas-based mobile advertising platform that, according to them, allows clients the ability to "unleash the power of customer relationships throughout mobile and social media communities. Calyp connects your brand and marketing content directly to your passionate customers to amplify advocacy."  Similar to the models from CrowdTap & BzzAgent, Calyp is night and day different from the Fancorps platform.  Before I dive into some of the inner workings, check out their new promo video:

Calyp is a mobile only platform that lets consumers opt into the Calyp community and "Endorse" or share campaigns from a variety of clients ranging from Cheerios to Vogue to Adidas.  Endorsers receive actual money (around $.25 - $.50) per share for posting to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, Text Messages or E-mails.  In addition, they can level up to one of four "Endorser Levels" to trigger additional campaigns, VIP benefits & perks.

To get started, consumers download the iOS or Droid app, then create a profile by filling out some brief information about themselves like gender, age, income, education and then check off a list of interests.  From there, Endorsers are displayed campaigns from various companies. Within each campaign, the Endorser has the ability to learn more about the product (via a link to the client web page), purchase on Amazon or Like & Follow the brand on FB & TW.  But most importantly, they can rate the campaign and "endorse" it.  By endorsing it, the member opts to share it on various social networks & blogs or via text message & e-mail.  They can add a photo or video to their post and personalize their endorsement with a message.

From a client's point of view, you're able to send out campaigns demographically or based on consumer interests and offer these consumers two types of perks; General Perks & Awarded Perks.  For each campaign you provide a perk for all four Endorser levels. The more active and influential the Endorser the better the perk. General Perks are available in Calyp to all Endorsers who may be interested in your brand. Awarded Perks are perks earned by endorsing and sharing specific campaigns.

To bring it all full circle, Calyp has partnered with another local company, Mutual mind, to track the "Endorsements" from users and monitor the overall conversations of the brands they work with.

All in all, Calyp provides clients with a great way to specifically target a built in community of consumers and reward them for those "Endorsements." It's a great solution for clients looking for another advertising avenue or for clients with little or no existing consumer base, but offers little in the way of brand loyalty. 

Calyp's tag line is "Don't be an advocate, be an Endorser" and perfectly describes this unique mobile advertising platform.

Check back next week as @colterfancorps will be posting Brand Advocacy Tech Review #04 on Fanzy!

@tonyfancorps

 

Brand Advocacy Tech Review Series

Brand Advocacy Tech Review #01 - BzzAgent

Brand Advocacy Tech Review #o2 - CrowdTap

 

 

This was the question asked last night at the first Big Data Dallas Meetup hosted by John Margaglione and Hank Pearson. I have been asking myself this question for a while and was glad to have an opportunity to explore it deeper.

The group last night was presented with multiple scenarios and discussed which "Big Data" solution would best solve the problem. Being new to "Big Data" I found this approach very helpful. I'm now more familiar with the best uses for NoSQL over Relational Databases, something that we at Fancorps are researching.

Big Data can mean many things. To one person Big Data is 50gb's of log files that need daily processing, to another it's multi-peta bytes of DNA sequencing data and to others it may mean you ran out of processing power and need a better want to handle that.

By the end of the evening I came to understand the meaning of "Big Data", as with many technology solutions, is relative. There are many "Big Data" solutions available and depending on your Company's specific needs, more than one option could "work" for your specific data set.

I will definitely be attending next Month's Meetup to learn more.

More Info: http://www.meetup.com/bigdatainbigd/

~@thejayemiller