User Generated Marketing
Who do you pay more attention to these days when you’re searching for information about a product or service? The well produced corporate communications campaign or an actual consumer with first hand experience but perhaps a slightly unpolished presentation?
If that consumer comes across as genuine and knowledgeable, then for me it seems that more and more my somewhat subjective scales of credibility will tip in their direction. Research suggests that chances are you may share this view as well.
Which leads to the question…
Is there a more effective evangelist today than the articulate and motivated consumer?
Granted, the influence of the actual consumer on the buying behavior of the potential consumer has been a force in the marketplace since Adam Smith thought writing a book might be a good idea. But the change we’ve all been observing over recent years is the actual consumer’s ability to more easily attract an audience of potential consumers to share their experience with.
The mouth in word of mouth is getting bigger by the day and is learning to speak new languages.
But as the barriers to distribution so gloriously get stripped away and the tools to create become easier and more affordable, I sometimes wonder if I’ve fully grasped the concept that the motivated consumer may now have something even more valuable to share than simply their opinion, online rating point, inbound link or referral.
Is it possible that the organic spark of a true believer can capture and communicate the authentic you better than anyone?
After all, advertising is content. And as User Generated Content continues to dominate the headlines for so many reasons, discounting its value in your marketing mix increases the odds of suffering that sad consequence known as missed opportunity.
I think most of us get that now. But how do we take that first step?
If you’re looking for ideas on how to tap into the higher powers of the passionate consumer, the Firefox Flicks contest from earlier this year is not a bad place to start. I thought the winner did a nice job of conveying the Firefox attitude of openness and freedom in this traditional :30 second spot.
Or if your customers for some reason currently lack the will to join the fight then you may find creating passionate users to be a great place to get inspired. Many do.
As you chart your own path, the biggest challenge may be remembering that the mission here is not to manufacture or create but rather to discover and unlock the magic that can only occur when customers enthusiastically join the team.
The catch of course is that your customer may take you someplace you never imagined you’d be going.
Enjoy the ride.
Content Developer Comments
Comment on Open Source SMS Text Messaging Application by Creg FieldingTxtWire has a web service that will return the cell phone carrier. Just pass it a phone number and it will tell you who the carrier is even if the phone number is ported from one carrier to another. Our database is updated daily so even numbers that are ported today report correctly tomorrow. If you would like a demo account call. We have several large corporations and online software vendors using the service. cfielding@txtwire.com http://www.txtwire.com Comment on Open Source SMS Text Messaging Application by Kyle2008
Great post DC. Very interesting approach to sending SMS. Is the source code for this actually available anywhere? Thanks! Comment on Open Source SMS Text Messaging Application by JustUs1776
Great post. I'm a LAMP Developer and I was wondering if anyone has been able to build their own GSM server. That is, a server that can utilize a GSM modem to send direct, local messages to cell or IP phones. I'm working for a not-for-profit health care organization and have a suite of applications that I'd like to improve communication turn around time by sending SMS messages our nurses IP phones and our Physician's cell phones. I've found a ton of services that are all cost prohibitive and was hoping for an open source solution. Comment on Open Source SMS Text Messaging Application by Roy
My son's teacher would like to be able to send short text messages to students. I'm looking for a simple solution that would allow him to broadcast to 20-40 students a "reminder" about class info. This article looks very promising, but It appears to be server based. Can this type of program be modified to run run stand-a-lone, ie flash drive, desktop...? comment feed...