At the recent Wine Wednesday networking event NST hosted with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, we asked attendees to tell us their burning social media questions.  Now, as a regular feature on our blog, we are going to answer these questions, in addition to any other social media related questions that get thrown our way.  Got a question for us?  Feel free to leave it in the comments below, send us an email or post it on our Facebook wall. Be sure to check back soon, because your question could be the next one to be answered.

Our first question comes from Kari: Do you recommend a customized welcome tab for Facebook Pages?

Answer: Yes, we recommend not only creating a customized welcome tab, but also creating other customized tabs and content for a brand or organization’s Facebook page.  With more than 800 million active users on Facebook, a customized tab will encourage people to “like” your brand’s page and help you stand out among the other pages.  A customized tab also allows you to highlight new promotions or activities (such as a contest), and gives your Facebook fans another reason to visit your page.  Think of customized tabs as a way to showcase your brand’s elevator speech online and have some fun in the process.

Here are some examples of customized tabs created by NST:

WD-40

Space Bag

Ocean Mist Farms

Plans for Aug. 24? We hope you join us at Proper Gastro Pub, where we will be hanging out on the Sports Deck from 5:30 – 8 p.m. for the first San Diego Wine Wednesday.  NST is hosting this event in conjunction with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (or WOMMA for short), and it will be an evening of networking and conversation centered around the role social media and word-of-mouth marketing plays in industries of all types and sizes.

As you may recall, NST hosts the San Diego Social Media Symposium, and we see Wine Wednesday as a way to continue the conversations that were started there.  What better way to do this than to discuss the latest social media and word-of-mouth marketing trends, technologies and concepts over tasty appetizers and wine at one of the coolest outdoor patios in San Diego?

Come prepared to chat about the all things social media and word of mouth. What’s working? What’s not? And, where is social media and word of mouth headed?

Wine Wednesday is free to attend, but registration is required. Plus, the first round of drinks and tasty appetizers are on us!  To register, visit www.sdwinewednesday.com.

We hope to see you there!

“There is a fundamental shift in the way people communicate with people and organizations … the world is changing … those organizations that understand word of mouth are at a distinct competitive advantage.”

Paul Rand, president of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, at the WOMMA Summit in November 2010.

As a member of Worldcom Public Relations group, Nuffer, Smith, Tucker recently joined the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), an organization with which NST has long advocated and participated in via conferences and workshops.  Last month, Bill Trumpfheller and I attended the WOMMA Summit, and while there were certainly good takeaways, case studies and a network of social media contacts, the event served as affirmation that NST is on top of its game when it comes to social media. While we’ve long stated that nobody is an “expert” at social media, the NST team makes staying up to date on the latest trends and technologies a priority; the conference was a reminder of that. Here are some key nuggets from the three-day event, taken from a variety of speakers and panelists:

• The role/future of social media — People struggle with where social media fits into the marketing mix – it’s at the center of it all; content is currency; 2011 will be the year of measuring value.

• The art of storytelling — Authentic stories are powerful; stories beget stories; people love something “secret;” funny is good, but heart is better.

• Social media strategy — Be strategic, not just experimental. Don’t use social media the way “other brands” use it; use it the way your fans want you to use it. Post like a friend, not a brand.  For low-interest categories, examine what your audience is talking about and authentically plug into that conversation.

• Getting buy-in for social media — You must have commitment and investment in social media to be successful. Set up a shared learning model. Drive adoption through education, resources and tools, then evangelize efforts to learn from one another.

• ROI and key performance indicators (KPIs) – When measuring ROI, look beyond reach/frequency. With experiential tactics, it’s important not only to look at cost versus reach, but also cost versus impact. Also, what is the customer lifetime value or referral value? KPIs may include: volume, stickiness, the echo factor and – most importantly – action.

• Social media is testing the bounds of the law profession — New challenges continue to exist in social media. Get legal involved early, but remember, it’s about more than making your legal team happy. It’s about preserving and protecting your brand. Act with transparency, accuracy, honesty and respect, and don’t take shortcuts related to the FTC guidelines.

• Customer service is the new PR – Canned messaging is a “no, no” – and that’s not just in social media; it should apply to the phones as well. If you do a good job and your customers are your advocates, that means you will have a 24/7 response team – your fans. (NOTE: I recently wrote about this for the Union-Tribune. Check out the article).

• Many brands are experienced by the people – If your people are your greatest asset, leverage that. Lead with your employees; they can create brand impressions. Employee-generated brand interactions are growing.

• Sponsored tweets/conversations – Prior to the updated FTC guidelines, it wasn’t that “sponsored” conversations weren’t happening – they were happening in the back room. The FTC changed that.  The key is not to look at these conversations as “earned media.” Sponsored conversations should be treated more like advertising, and more education is needed (among agencies, brands and publishers) about how to effectively use these tools.

• Beyond the “like” button – As a brand, if all you are concerned about is the “like” button, you are wasting your time. There is way more opportunity with Facebook. Not only are brands talking to consumers through Facebook, but consumers are also talking back. This is the kind of thing that could never happen in a banner ad. People want to have authentic connections to brands.

• People want to advance their social currency through doing good – Look for easy, not overwhelming, ways for people to get involved with a philanthropic effort. Think of your company as a marketing initiative for the nonprofit organization or cause versus a donation.

For more information on WOMMA, visit the organization’s website.

It’s no secret that social media is being used everywhere – from people updating their Facebook profiles from their smart phones to companies creating social media campaigns and engaging with consumers on Twitter.  That’s why at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, we’re lucky to have Teresa Siles on our team, our firm’s director of social media and recent recipient of the word-of-mouth marketing certificate from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

The Word of Mouth and Social Media Marketing Certificate Program is a six-week Webinar curriculum with courses such as “Word of Mouth & Ethics” and “Requirements for Successful Social Media Tools & What Not To Do.”  All instructors are social media and marketing industry leaders who have become influencers due to their success in the arena – a feat Teresa has truly achieved since joining NST in 2001 as an intern.  Teresa is not only a two-time graduate of WOMM-U or “Word of Mouth Marketing University,” but she has also helped lead our firm’s interactive and social media efforts for many clients.  By incorporating new strategies and best practices that she has learned as part of the certificate program into future campaigns, Teresa will continue to drive NST’s social media capabilities, which range from social media monitoring to strategic outreach on sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

To learn more about Teresa’s “lessons learned” in social media, check out her past posts on the certificate program, including topics on social media strategy, Web design for Web 2.0,  blogger outreach and the effectiveness of social media.

How many bloggers should you be reaching with your social media outreach? Hundreds? Thousands? Not quite, according to the folks at Ivy Worldwide who led a recent WOM-COMM course. Thirty seems to be the “magic number,” according to the firm. But that doesn’t mean any old 30 bloggers will do. It’s about finding the “right” 30 (or so) that have influence to help carry your message.

It’s important that brands do their homework to listen in and find out who the influencers really are. Identifying bloggers can be done simply with a Google search, or you can use more advanced social media monitoring tools to listen in. The blog search engine Technorati, which is free to use, will help you determine the popularity and influence of certain blogs as well. No matter what tools you use, learning who is talking about your brand/issue/etc. is key. By finding the right people who are truly influential, they can help carry your message – if you have a word of mouth-worthy story to tell.

Don’t go overboard trying to find and outreach to every person who ever wrote about your product or service. Find the right people, and make sure you know the rules of the road when it comes to blogger outreach.  This white paper on blogs has some information that may be helpful. Since it was written, there have been important changes to the FTC guidelines that impact how brands work with bloggers. It’s important to be familiar with these guidelines, or risk the consequences.

WOM-COMM is a certificate program by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

In trying to describe word-of-mouth marketing and social media as a tool to achieve that means to clients, friends and family alike, I often use the 1970s Faberge shampoo commercial as an example – “they tell two friends, and so on . . .”

Besides giving away my age, people seem to understand the word-of-mouth concept of consumers delivering advice on products, brands or issues on to other consumers.  Back in the day, those peer-to-peer endorsements were shared over dinner, at the office water cooler or coffee pot, the front porch or Little League. When the Smiths down the corner thought the Italian bakery on Center Street was a slice of Italy, they told their two friends, and so on, and word spread gradually – days, weeks, maybe even months.  The same thing would happen when the Fitzgeralds felt they got the sham on their oil change at the local gas station.

What the Smiths and Fitzgeralds (I grew up in an old Irish neighborhood) shared was an experience, something they felt compelled to share with others – no other motivation than to give someone close to them some great advice and to forewarn.

Today, with the Internet and all its social media outlets, we’re talking a matter of hours and even minutes, and not just with the families in the row houses on your block.  An elated Mrs. Smith and PO’d Mr. Fitzgerald can reach entire communities locally and globally.  The bakery can sell out of cannolis overnight; the gas station can become vacant.

It’s precisely what John Moore, WOMMA’s chief evangelist, implored upon the audience at our inaugural San Diego Social Media Symposium: Give consumers a great experience, and they’ll share it with others.  Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?  But how many brands or organizations realize that? And how many others make the effort to look deep inside at the experience they’re giving consumers?  Moreover, how many are willing to change when they discover the experience they thought they were providing wasn’t what consumers were receiving?

By experience, Moore points out, look at how Howard Schultz at Starbucks views it: It’s an emotional connection built on human connections, connecting with consumers who will drive future growth.  Moore also talks about Southwest Airlines and all its quirky behaviors from flight attendants to the pilots – and the no-fee baggage message is off the charts.  Consumers identify with it and share the experience with others.

Don’t buy the experience platform?  Here’s some valuable data from Moore:

•    76 percent of US consumers don’t believe companies are truthful in advertising.
•    78 percent (globally) trust recommendations from other consumers.

That notion alone should freak out every CEO and board chairman and force them into what Moore calls “Becoming a Talkable Brand” – the inside-out approach from which consumers talk about your brands, products, services in a genuine manner.  But don’t expect consumers to quickly and easily become your champion.  Spend time listening to them.  You may find you have to reinvent yourself on their terms.  When you do, you might discover you have evangelists creating the buzz you crave so much.

More to come this week on the symposium.  Meanwhile, download the tweets transcript (pdf) at http://bit.ly/SDSMStweets.

Update, Oct. 29, 2009: Check out the panelist videos and read “Social Media is About Staying Relevant” for more insight from the symposium.