Gossip-powered product endorsement is a marketer’s dream but, if you don’t want your product to be the subject of neighbourhood tittle-tattle, then forget about relying on word of mouth promotion says Margaret E. Ward.

“Do you have an iPhone?” and “Have you seen this cool new app?” are phrases that have the relentless pester power of the childhood mantra “Are we there yet?” That kind of ongoing consumer validation is a marketer’s dream, but it comes at a price. A product that has as much power for a love-in, also has that same opportunity to become a target of downright hatred.

Many iPhone users are positively evangelical in their praise of the phone. Haven’t you heard through the grapevine and news reports that this brand of mobile phone can save your life, help when you’re lost, make you laugh and communicate all of life’s most important events?

When a happy slappy iPhone user takes out their iPhone to show their latest app I roll my eyes, sigh and watch the parental glee in their eyes. I feel like screaming but I’m also tempted to go buy one because apparently, iPhone-a-phobes like me are really bad people.

Saving lives one app at a time
American filmmaker Dan Woolley claims that an iPhone medical app saved his life after the Haitian earthquake disaster. He was in the country shooting a documentary about Haitian poverty. When the quake struck, he was buried in rubble. Luckily, the iPhone first-aid app he’d downloaded showed him how to make a tourniquet for this leg and stop the bleeding from his head. It also led him to a safe place and allowed rescuers find him.

For some, it’s love at first sight. There’s a guy on twitter who uses the @iphone moniker and says he’s just “a dude with an iPhone who likes stuff from Apple”. What have they put into this phone that makes people become slaves to its charms?

Some people can’t stand touchscreen functionality. My non-touchscreen business phone and I are really quite happy together. It’s easy to use for phone calls, email and internet access. It doesn’t demand that I caress its screen or zoom in to view photos of other people’s babies. I never use the music or camera functions and I’m quite happy with my uncomplicated relationship.

But now that iPhone app save lives my stance is a bit like despising Lassie and Florence Nightingale. In word of mouth marketing though there’s always a place for the haters and, on the flipside, you can read Twitter postings from @ihateiphone.

This seminal phone from Apple has also been targeted for satire. American comedy site landlinetv.com has a spoof ad claiming Google released a new f*** you iPhone app that drives iPhone users crazy.

No matter where you fall in this debate, the recently-released Vitrue Social Media Index 2009, the iPhone was the most talked-about brand on the social web last year.

The internet has revolutionised word of mouth. Not only can brands benefit from positive buzz online – Daft.ie became one of the most visited sites in Ireland despite spending almost nothing on advertising and marketing – but they can also produce viral media, such as videos or Flash games, that is specifically designed to get people talking on email, Facebook, Twitter and so on.

But it can take a brave brand to push word-of-mouth marketing. Viral campaigns and customer-generated reviews can work wonders for a brand, but they’re risky. Recent research by information management firm Convergys found that a negative review or comment on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube can lose companies as many as 30 other customers.

And that could be an under-estimate. When Sacha Baron Cohen’s film Bruno opened in July 2009, it made $14.2m on its first night, but ticket sales fell drastically the following day, leaving overall sales for its first weekend as much as $20m down on expectations. What happened? Negative word of mouth. Time magazine said the following week, “Bruno could be the first movie defeated by the Twitter effect”.

Be credible, not clumsy
So you want to use social media to generate word-of-mouth marketing? Use social media first. Understand it. Do your research. It’s not enough to jump in, pushing a company’s product or services. That’s just annoying and intrusive to other users.

You have to be properly involved, discussing relevant issues, making special offers and helping customers. The tone must also be right. It must be honest and credible, not patronising or “sales-y”.

Notoriously, Habitat got Twitter very wrong. It began to tweet last year, but instead of using relevant hashtags (words preceded by a ‘#’ to help users track topics on Twitter) such as #furnituresale or #homefurnishings , it used popular hashtags, such as #iranelection and #iphone. Twitter users were outraged and much negative press followed, leaving the company to apologise profusely and reassess its social media use.

Using social media is a high-risk strategy. If you get it wrong, the online world can quickly turn on your brand, heaping scorn upon it and ripping it to shreds. Almost worse, it might just ignore you.

Success comes from engagement
You can encourage it and facilitate positive word of mouth. Give customers something good to talk about , listen to what they have to say and engage with them. In the US, blue-chip companies like Ford and Coca-Cola have teams that monitor what is being said about them online and, crucially, respond personally to that feedback. As Andy Sernowitz, recognised as the leading American word-of-mouth guru , says:  “People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation.”

Haiti survivor praises iPhone app:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/haiti-survivor-iphone/

“Google” releases new f u iPhone app: http://landlinetv.com/?p=189

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