Surprisingly, it’s not hiring Jennifer Lopez to pose next to your car, or spending millions on a Super Bowl commercial.

No. In fact, it’s simply one person recommending a product to another person.

That, my friends, is called Word of Mouth.

Over the past decade, the Internet and social media have completely changed how Word of Mouth works.

And in one quick update called “Search, Plus Your World”, Google made Word of Mouth and social media marketing 100 times more essential.

But before we get to that, let’s take a walk back in time, to one hundred years ago, when we all lived on farms.

Frank, a local farmer, recently purchased a new rifle. Ted, his neighbor, stops by to admire the rifle.

“How’s the new rifle?” Ted asks Frank.

“Probably the best there is,” Frank replies. “I’ve had 20 rifles in my life, and this by far is the best.”

Ted’s been thinking about buying a new rifle, but couldn’t decide which to get. But because of Frank’s recommendation, Ted buys that rifle.

Word of Mouth advertising.

Flash forward to 2010. Beth and Sarah are high school friends. They’ve moved to opposite sides of the country to attend college, but kept in touch through Facebook.

Beth will be spending Spring Break in a beautiful hotel in New York City. She wants to show her friends where she’ll be staying, so she goes to the hotel’s Facebook page and shares some of the photos on her own Facebook page. “Look where I’ll be staying!” she exclaims in the photo captions.

Ashley wants to visit New York as well, but hadn’t decided where to stay. She spots the pictures Beth shared and visits the hotel’s website. She loves the look and decides to make a reservation.

Now here’s the magic of social media that differs from what it was 100 years ago: not only did Ashley see Beth’s post, but so did Beth’s 700 other friends.

Instead of a one to one recommendation, it’s now one to 700.

Word of Mouth advertising and Social Media Marketing.

And finally, let’s flash forward to the present day, with Google’s latest update: Search, Plus Your World. Now, when you search on Google, you will not only see the search results you’re used to seeing, but you will also see what YOUR friends have said and shared about what you are searching for.

Let’s look at an example:

Mary is looking for information on a dish detergent. So she does a search on Google.

As always, she sees a bunch of search results for dish detergents. But mixed in there are stories from her friends: one friend has posted before and after pictures of clothing she used a new detergent on. Another wrote a quick post saying how happy she was with that same detergent.

And finally, a third friend has shared something special: a coupon that the same dish detergent company posted on it’s profile.

Mary trusts her friends’ recommendations. She downloads the coupon and goes to the store to purchase the dish detergent.

Word of Mouth advertising and social media marketing, revolutionized.

Top companies are now engaging in social media marketing as a way to spur Word of Mouth advertising through social networks. And not surprising, it’s been working.

But now, with Google’s new update, social media marketing MUST be an ESSENTIAL part of your overall marketing and advertising plan.

Because if you’re not doing it, your competitors will be…and they’ll be stealing your sales.

Image Credit: Some rights reserved by Sean MacEntee

Believe it or not, there was a time before television. Radio was the broadcast media, and audiences found live radio ads just as ear-catching as the programs they sponsored. When TV programs started around 1940, most advertisers took what they knew from successful radio creative and tried like the devil to paste it into TV ads. Oops.

It took a few years for technology to align with creativity, but alas we finally saw the last of singing Texaco gas station attendants and Old Gold dancing cigarette boxes. Agencies and brand managers finally realized TV viewers wanted something completely different in a television ad. Good radio creative required theater of the mind, but good TV creative required doing the mental work for the viewer.

Fast forward to 2015. Here’s what you’ll probably read…

Believe it or not, there was a time before the internet when broadcast TV ruled media, and audiences found good TV ad as enjoyable as the programs they sponsored. When digital advertising was launched around 1990, most advertisers took what they knew from successful TV creative and tried like the devil to paste it into online ads. Oops.

It took a few years for technology to align with creativity, but alas we finally saw the last of the :30 second one-way interaction commercials that had been cut and paste from TV to online. Advertising agencies and their clients finally realized online viewers wanted something completely different in an online ad. Good TV required doing the mental work for the viewer, but good online creative required involving the viewer. (Think World of Warcraft)

Check back in five years and see if we were right.

Following is a post we wrote in January of this year, predicting Social Media would end up looking very different at the end of 2011, mainly due to the change in interest from quantity of online relationships to the quality of them. Were we right? Read the post below and let us know what you think:

JANUARY 2011:

So, the new year is just about here and you’re putting some last minute adjustments on your 2011 marketing strategy. Looking back on 2010′s social media efforts, you realize you spent a lot of time trying to gain significant Twitter followers, Facebook fans, 5-Star Yelp Reviews and Foursquare Mayors. Well? What did it do for you? Can you show it brought you more business? Did your brand awareness significantly increase? Chances are, probably not.

For what it’s worth, you’re not alone. This whole social media thing is in its infancy. Just like the marketers who were trying to figure out the best ROI for television advertising in the early 1950′s, we’re trying to figure out how social media will help us sell more thingamajigs.

That being said, we doubt as much emphasis will be put on quantity in 2011 as it will be on quality. The assumption that 10,000+ Facebook fans is an automatic  opportunity for marketing success is already an old-hat. More Facebook users are “hiding” irrelevant content on their own Facebook feeds than ever before. When asked why, over 90% say it’s due to too much irrelevant content coming at them.

The next twelve months will be a fascinating time of watching (and helping) marketers fine-tune their online brand connections to the qualitative associations that will have a positive impact on bottom lines. Having the biggest number of potential customers will be replaced by having the most reliable number of quality customers. It’s an age old process of marketing substantiation. The only thing that changes is the communication tool. Yesterday it was TV. Today it’s Facebook and friends. Tomorrow? Who knows – stay tuned. It’s right around the corner.

But for now…

The idea of hiring college interns or fresh, young twenty-somethings to manage social media is a hot topic these days. And a crazy one if you ask us. It’s like hiring someone to manage your TV advertising because he watches 3 times as many shows as you do. Oh, and he knows how to do everything with just one remote control. What the heck does that have to do with marketing?

Here’s what we’re hearing a lot these days…

Boss to employee: “We’ve got to get going with this Facebook and Twitter stuff. Do you have any idea where to start?”

Employee: “I’ve got no idea. Heh, unless you want to hire my wife. She’s hooked on Facebook these days. But my kids don’t even tweeter.”

Boss: “What about Cindy down in HR? She’s young. I’ll bet she tweeters. Maybe we could give it to her. She could do it a few minutes every week.”

Employee: “Yeh. She’s got a little free time. I see her on Facebook.”

Boss: “At work!?!”

Employee: “Oh yeh. All the time. But what about getting a college kid? We could hire him as an intern and wouldn’t have to pay.”

Boss: “Hmmm. Good idea. Who wants to pay someone just to do Facebook. Why don’t you check into that.”

So, let’s see.  The average business today has what is, probably, the most powerful opportunity in years to properly position and market their brand to a highly targeted and relevant audience, and they want to hand that responsibility off to a youthful, untrained kid. CAN YOU SAY CRAZY?

Oh sure, Brandtailers has interns. Great ones, hand picked from the best colleges with the best advertising and PR programs (ala Chapman University). But we don’t entrust our client’s brands to them! Yes, we get some of them involved with our clients online efforts – but only after 60 hours of training and testing and only with constant supervision, guidance and ongoing webinars to improve their talents. Even then, they’re often doing the background work, i.e. gathering research and info for interesting posts on Facebook. We do not leave a client’s online brand in the hands of anyone who doesn’t completely understand the full marketing strategy, goals and objectives of a client’s brand. The online world is not a separate place from all other brand messages – it’s  another place. A new one that has more potential to grow your brand than any other media has since television’s hay days.

If you’re a business leader reading this, please take our advice. DON’T “Just Do It”. Read a few case studies about businesses who understand the place Social Media has in marketing, and the powerful part it can play in the 21st century businesses’ success, or failure.

What equity do you offer members of your brand?

It’s all about the story.

We are symbol using (misusing) creatures- we crave meaning and how it relates to our perception of reality. Think of any memory or funny story you tell at parties- we take our perceptions of reality and share it as a narrative, with characters that have desires, who need to overcome/accomplish something in order to discover purpose or satisfaction. The stories we tell are symbols of a reality we are absorbed into and share passionately- it is innately designed within our humanity.

Communication at it’s core is symbolic. We search for the symbolic message and how it relates to the story. The cycle of “social media”-really human behavior-  longs for depth and breadth- action, momentum, a real connection.

Walter Fisher explains this in his theory of Narrative Paradigm that all meaningful communication is a form of storytelling.

We experience and comprehend life as a series of ongoing narratives (stories), each with their own plot, Fisher argues that “the way in which people explain and/or justify their behavior, whether past or future, has more to do with telling a credible story than it does with producing evidence or constructing.”

I see a direct correlation with the power of story-narrative & the adoption of YOUR brand becoming THEIR community.

When we build our communities on the credibility (ethos) of our brand with emotion (pathos) and logic/truth (logos)- it’s not only sustainable, it’s SHAREABLE.

The better the content/story- the more the members can interact and engage with media. As we continue to generate quality stories, the tribe begins to refine the community and defines the brand’s story. Each person plays a key character to the plot. The future of “membership” will become increasingly more responsible and responsive, refining the vision and demanding better stories as the community develops.

Community happens beyond the surface of transactions. Beyond the hype of gimmicks. It’s the AH HA moment when your brand becomes REAL. HUMAN. RELEVANT.

Community and the communal sharing of the message creates a story worth telling and builds the symbolic legacy- the shareable narrative.

How are you building a shareable community? How are you sharing the STORY online throughout media? What are you doing to invite characters along the plot to help write the rest of the story? When you connect the dots of the micro-blogs, tagged pictures, hash-tags, images, and campaigns- where do those breadcrumbs leave us?

The key contributor is YOU. The person managing the day to day, the logistics, the consistency. Maybe you are a supporting character or a part of a background ensemble- regardless, your role is critical and vital to the human story being told- one that resonates in the souls of your readers, followers, friends, connections, “likes”, reblogs, retweets… all are an echo of the larger narrative.

What story are you going to tell today?

Here at Brandtailers, we value Social Media which is why we asked Justin Brackett, Chief Weather Maker at SocialVillage.net and Co-founder of DevelopSocially.com,  to contribute his voice.

Story. Each of us has one to tell- especially your organization: who you are, what you do and where you are going. Nobody can tell your story better than you, it is in your DNA, culture and inside of you. And with the age of digital media, you now have, more than ever, the opportunity to tell the world about your business or organization.

Digital media is key in telling your story, yet so many organizations are now saying: “We have digital media; what now?”

These five simple steps will help guide you in curating the relevant and timely message for your organization:

Step 1: Go where your audience is.

It’s important to identify the digital platforms your target audience gravitates toward so you can meet them there. Go where your tribe aggregates. Contrary to what you may think, digital media is not just the latest craze for high school and college kids. Those 25 and over account for 84 percent of Twitter users, and the fastest-growing demographic for Facebook is people over 35. More than 5 billion pieces of content, such as videos, blog posts and outside links, are shared on Facebook every week. So take the time to do your research, listen and find out which digital media platforms your target audience uses the most. Then build your marketing plan and strategy around the best way to share your story on those platforms.

Step 2: Dialog with your audience.

If your organization wants to successfully utilize digital media, you have to create a dialog. Don’t just use digital media to inform people about what is new, what is next or what discount is now available- that can be one sided and bland. Add content that your target audience will value, whether it’s links to other sites, informative videos or encouraging blogs. Ask thought-provoking questions and solicit opinions about your posts. And always, always respond to any and all comments your fans leave on your organization’s Web sites. The more your fans feel connected to you, the more they’ll tell others about what you’re doing! Never leave any comment, @reply or feedback be unnoticed or unanswered.

Step 3: Start a groundswell.

Your organization has a built-in, ready-to-go fan base and tribe—your digital media fans and followers. People become loyal digital fans when they or their kids have had a positive experience with you. Empower these people to talk about your organization and what makes you unique. Ask them to guest blog for you, post about you on their Facebook wall and Tweet about you. This will add valuable content to your search engine results, as well as exposing your organization to people who will listen to your fans but not you.

Step 4: Enlist and Empower your staff.

Seventy-five percent of your staff already has their own Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Four Square accounts, and many of them are actively blogging. Ask them to spread the word about the events, offerings, philosophy and culture of your organization. But set up guidelines to encourage your staff to be conscientious of what they are posting and how it reflects on your organization. Help them understand what’s acceptable to post and the damage that could come from a careless comment or photo posting.

Step 5: Look ahead.

Build on your current marketing strategy. Move ahead of the conversation by listening for new opportunities to meet your digital media fans’ desires and requests. Supplement conventional forms of media like print and traditional events like home shows, open houses or conventions, with social media. By combining traditional and digital media, you’ll get a better return on your marketing money with deeper ROI and connected relationships.

That’s why the new buzz terms are desired relevance and quality engagement. Larry Page always said his dream was to develop the “perfect search”, meaning someone would type in a couple of keywords and only one Google search result would appear because it was exactly what that person was looking for. That’s a great example of relevance and quality engagement, isn’t it? Hopefully that’s what they’re trying to accomplish with Google+, the 10,000 pound gorilla’s latest attempt to overpower Facebook. Watch a demo and see how one of Google+’s core benefits is focusing in on quality over quantity engagement. Google understands how quickly we have become fed up with TMI (too much information), and it appears they’re trying to offer an alternative that at least moves information overload into smaller buckets. We say good luck with that Google, but hey, at least they’re trying.

Yet the biggest challenge with achieving quality over quantity experiences is how the powers of the online world will most likely get there. We want relevance, so they need to know more about us. This is why search engines and websites are developing even creepier Big Brother tools to watch and respond to our every move. The more apparent this becomes, the more we complain. The powers that be say we’re spoiled; that we want to have our cake and eat it to. We say there’s got to be a better way. While that battle will take some time before it’s resolved, the average individual’s impatience with information overload is ready to explode.  Which is why we at Brandtailers foresee the next group of genius geeks will be those who can take a person’s way-too-big to be useful anymore world, and hone it back down into something meaningful, useful and, most of all, enjoyable.

And yet Twitter seems to get the most social media attention second to Facebook, right? Why?

Surprisingly it’s not because Lady Gaga tweets about her sex life, or because Coby posts pre-game comments. It’s because of what happened during the election in Iran, the earthquake in Haiti, the Tsunami in Japan, the killing of Bin Laden and, most recently, the many tornado warnings tweeted across the south. It’s because Twitter’s powerful ability to instantly deliver important information anywhere in the world is undeniable. And people are catching on. In fact, Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday on March 21 and announced that “While it took about 18 months to sign up the first 500,000 accounts, we now see close to 500,000 accounts created every day.”

How many of these new accounts will be made up of active users? Here are some recent new statistics:

1. Most new active Twitter users are 25-49, well educated, affluent, early adopters and tech savvy.

2. Most new active users engage in the environment daily, and are considered influential within their online world.

3. Most new active users follow companies and brands to learn about products and services and to offer advice, input and recommendations regarding them.

4. Most new active users (79% to be exact) are more likely to recommend brands they follow.

5. More new active users are conducting B2B business than B2C business.

Let’s focus on that last one. Why is B2B so popular in this environment? Maybe because tweets can be very targeted and relevant, creating reputations of knowledge and influence. Think of a tweet as a potentially powerful blog in 140 characters or less. Then think of how easily it can be spread (aka re-tweeted) as a recommendation. Worthwhile messages can go from one influential person’s following of 500 people to 500,000+ potential customers in a matter of minutes. Try getting those engagement numbers from a direct mail piece! And to top off Twitter’s B2B strength, remember that the more relevant the 140 characters are to a potential customer’s keyword searches, the higher the tweet post will show up in organic search results. This message content can enhance a business’ overall SEO. Not bad for a free communication tool, eh?

Twitter will most likely continue to morph into something no other social media resource can offer. It’s live search capabilities, along with its increasing credibility as something more than celebrity stalking, will no doubt add millions of new active users over the next year or so. With massive numbers of active Twitter users, you find untapped potential.

Time will tell. What do you think?

¹Stats from Hypebot

In 2009, Chris Brogan came up with a great line in his book, Trust Agents, authored with Julien Smith, stating that Human is the new black. What a great way to explain that vulnerability, truthfulness and humility are what today’s consumers look for first when choosing a brand.  Yet the majority of marketers are still fearful of communication messages that embrace transparency, simplicity and telling emotional, human stories.

The Likeonomics concept is one more example of how people trust the opinions of strangers more than messages from well-known brands. Rohit Bhargava says it best in his book, “Wikipedia is only the most visible example of a revolution in trust that has meant that people are going online and trusting the opinions and expertise of people who they don’t know.  Content creation, aggregation and now … content curation are all new forms of microinfluence and they are shifting everything we know about trust.”

The potentially great outcome of this could result in marketers finally embracing the fact that truth sells. Advertising efforts will no longer be based on who has the biggest budgets and delivers the most jaw dropping creative. Instead it will be about who delivers the most believable message. This can level the playing field for the underdogs to have their shot at market share.  All we can say is, it’s about time. Bring it on.

But TED’s founder, Chris Anderson, never meant for TED to become an elitist venue. That’s one of the biggest reasons why he developed TEDx. Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

As the CEO and owner of an agency that has the highest regard for good branding, I also appreciate the strict brand guidelines  TEDx organizers must adhere to. Everything we have created for our venue must pass TED’s brand police approval process. This way every TEDx event around the world will maintain the spirit, appeal and rich content TED is so well known for. I really appreciate this.

But what’s up with Orange County? Most of us think of OC as something a bit more than reality TV, right? Perhaps it is So Cal’s little Silicon Valley? I would bet, if you ask the average person in Silicon Valley about TED, they would launch into their favorite TED talk. Yet what I’ve discovered in Orange County is quite different. In fact, I’m down right surprised at TED’s much smaller brand awareness here. My reason for co-organizing TEDxOrangeCoast is to change this.

Orange County is the perfect breeding ground for “ideas worth spreading”. There is so much brilliance and innovation occurring around us every day, but it’s too quiet. We’re a little too laid back. We need a jolt. That’s also the reason for our TEDxOrangeCoast theme, “Innovation Without Borders”. Our local area is bursting at the seams with powerful stories of local people who are not only innovative, but inspirational in the ways they’ve broken through cultural, physical, economical, geographical and political borders to achieve their goals.

Our speaker line-up is off the charts. 24 innovators from all walks of life, some whose names you already know, and some who – once you hear them – you’ll never forget. But the speakers are only part of what TEDx events are about. They participate (pro bono, by the way) to initiate and stimulate conversations within the audience. Most TED and TEDx venue attendees say they learned the most from conversations with fellow attendees during the breaks and afterward. That’s our plan, too.

If you still don’t quite understand what TED is, I encourage you to spend just a few minutes on their site. Look at the topics of the talks, the quality of the speakers and the massive interaction occurring worldwide thanks to this organization. Then look around you. You’ll probably see what I see. A wonderful opportunity for Orange County to embrace TED and share our own ideas worth spreading. I hope you’ll join me.