“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

It is easy to see why there is a strong desire to storm the bastions of Geekdom. Its citizens tend to be young, savvy, earn a good crust, and, vitally, are curious enough to buy ground-breaking new gizmos.

The geek was the person with the brick masquerading as a mobile phone; the one happy to splash the cash on a HD-ready TV years before there was anything to show on it.

The geek’s cupboards are littered with devices that never quite made it; the Betamax recorder, the minidisc, the Cross Convergence Pen. The geek doesn’t wait around to see how the market will react to these new products and doesn’t really care about the high price to be paid for getting in ahead of mass production. Obsolescence is collateral damage.

Rather than staring alone into their Gameboys circa 1989 while the rest of the lads were out kicking a ball around, Richard Delevan of McConnellsintegrated argues that technology had the effect of transforming geeks into attractive people to hang out with.

“These were the people who really knew what was going on and what the future held. These were the people who were ahead of the pack and everyone else wanted to be in the know,” he says.

Delevan also argues that with the ubiquity of the Internet, this has now transcended into a wider role as key influencers – to such an extent that they must become core to any marketing campaign.

“Geeks are nodes of influence in a social network and become the main attraction because of their knowledge of the latest software, for example,” he says. “These are the guys you absolutely need to have onside.”

An influential geek can now decide the success or failure of a product. Companies can throw vast amounts of marketing money at a launch but if Geekdom gives a product the thumbs down it could be game over.

American Dick Carlson, a self-confessed e-learning geek says: “Social media now lets you build a following online where you can share (and sell) the stuff that’s in your head. Through social media, you can connect directly with your audience – no agents, publishers, editors or gatekeepers – and gain immediate feedback. With low start-up costs, you can affordably create your own little knowledge factory online.”

The rise of geek chic

In the 1970s, The Fonz dismissed them as squares on Happy Days and how we laughed. Ten years on the geeks fought back when movies such as Hackers and War Games showed tech-savvy loners unafraid to battle the status quo.

Simultaneously, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were developing Microsoft and Apple while George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were playing around with science fiction sagas, special effects and animation.

Geeks were starting to make good money playing to their strengths – computer programming in the wee small hours, attention to detail and facilitating fledgling communication online.  They may have lived on Pot Noodle and quadruple espressos but boy could they take a business into a whole brave new world! Now, countless millions of geeks earn a living from jobs that didn’t exist a few years ago.

So, how to reach the geek?

Like other groups in society, geeks tend to congregate around certain interests. TV series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica and, of course, the geekiest of them all, Star Trek, all attract a cult following.

But it would be a huge mistake to pigeonhole the geek or, even worse, to patronise. It would be equally wrong to assume that because someone is willing to pay a lot of money to own a new device makes them an easy marketing touch.

Kathy Sierra, a founder of the community website javaranch.com, argues that geeks are not anti-marketing but they do hate being insulted – just like most people, really.

“Geeks hate being treated as though they’re too stupid to recognise when you’re lying, so don’t bullshit. But if you go out of your way to make something sexy, there’s no reason you should be afraid to flaunt it. It’s not hype if it’s true.”

So, in other words, marketing to geeks is not rocket science. You have to appeal to their interests but under the anorak they are just human beings like the rest of us.

The truth is out there.

Margaret E. Ward is managing director of Clear Ink and a self-confessed communications geek.

Flamers. Lurkers. Trolls. They’re not the best houseguests. Often they leave a frightful mess – scorch marks on your swivel chair, egg on your face and hatred in your heart. It’s enough to put anyone off.

If you’ve ever written publicly – online, in print, on a social media site or discussion board – it’s likely you’ve had an unwelcome visit from one of these nasty triplets.

For those lucky enough to avoid the experience so far here is a quick guide: Flamers are those who strongly disagree with someone’s point of view online. They criticise opinions but fail to add anything constructive to the conversation.

If a flamer personally attacks someone, or purposely offends, they are called a troll. (When this happens I’m not sure if their hair turns orange and stands on end or if and the flamer-turned-troll shrinks to half their normal size. You see, no one actually sees a troll because they hide behind their keyboard or username).

Lurkers just hang around staring at stuff on message and discussion boards. They’re usually mute and fairly harmless. If quiet people annoy you then so will a lurker. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Contribute or go away!” Eavesdroppers and lurkers swim in the same genetic pool.

Fair comment

Now, don’t let the trolls put you off. Thanks to new technologies, comment is for everyone. We are all publishers. Whether it’s posting on a blog, uploading a photo or video from your mobile phone to Facebook or reporting events live on Twitter we are all eyewitnesses. This is sometimes called citizen journalism.

Journalists are not generally very happy about bloggers who think they’re journalists. Bloggers don’t tend to embrace journalists who become bloggers. It’s a complicated ethical argument that I won’t get in to here. But golly gee, can’t we all just get along?

We are all entitled to fair comment. It’s part of a healthy democracy. Journalists are supposed to act as a check and balance on the government, judiciary, business and society. Serious journalists write to inform readers about issues that may be relevant to them and highlight – through comment and opinion –  items those that may need more analysis.

Black holes

The weird thing about journalists (except local reporters) is that we are strangely removed from our audience. News and feature writers largely scribble, write or broadcast into a black hole. The process is: research, interview, confirm, fact-check, write, sub-edit, and send to multiple editors who check and then publish or broadcast the information.

Hacks rarely, if ever, hear from readers directly. Sure, you might see a letter to the editor with your name on it, answer a few emails and maybe even field a few calls from your usual stalkers, but generally your writing is met with silence.

We expect criticism or praise but we rarely get either. We’re used to being ignored and, when you report on news, that’s how it should be. The news is the news, not the person writing it.

Perhaps that explains why this new fangled social media – with all its this interactivity and collaboration – is kinda creepy. Traditional journalists are fairly solitary and competitive creatures so all this hugging and sharing makes us really uncomfortable.

Interaction

Bloggers are at the opposite end of this spectrum. In their world, it’s all about sharing information and getting an immediate reaction. Some bloggers are emotional documentarians – they write what they feel when they feel it. Most mommybloggers and daddydoers fall into this category:  “Exhausted. Weetabix cemented to forehead. Calling 999 for latest removal method.”

Others are industry experts who also act as editorialists in areas as diverse as Japanese haikus and microbiology to classic cars and weird weddings. “Sally and Sam spent their honeymoon bouncing on pogo-sticks from Costa Rica to Peru.” Bloggers, they invite and thrive on comment.

Get over it

Many journalists find this kind of thing dangerous. I don’t understand why. Bloggers do not claim to be the BBC, The New York Times or RTE Radio One. They are simply contributing their views and, as those who are trained to observe our society, we should really be listening. Blogging is a conversation; just people talking. When most people chat they do not have fact-sheets or statistics to hand. They speak off the cuff.

Of course, some bloggers do cross the line and claim that their opinions are facts when they are not.  But let’s be honest here: there are also some journalists who do the same thing.

My advice to journalists and bloggers?: Get over yourselves.  Social media, discussion and interaction are here to stay. It’s time to so embrace the technologies and figure out how  you can use them to best inform or service your audience – the reader.

Margaret E. Ward is a business columnist with The Irish Times, a blogger margaretward.ie and managing director of Clear Ink.

Whinging and whining 2.0

Complaints sure aren’t what they used to be. Whining about a service or product was an almost religious experience. We knew what to expect – call, hold, whinge, hold, end – and were comforted by the routine.
Our criticisms were also heard in the dark, anonymous confessional of help line phone calls and emails. It was entirely predictable: fumble to the phone or computer while full of rage and humiliation. Then stay on hold (or in the pew/ queue) until you can bitch to a so-bored-they-are-drooling customer service representative.

Next, listen for a response to your words or emotions. Nothing. The blank wall of silence is a metal grate between you and the “brand priest”. You feel terrible. Is anyone listening?

Slowly, you hear rustlings of human activity down the phone: they twiddle their pens, lean back, move papers around and shoot rubber bands at the wall. You imagine their eyelids are permanently shuttered over eyeballs tattooed by the flickering computer screen. The verdict is eventually revealed and you obediently do your penance: post or photocopy them something or feel guilty for losing your temper.

Customer service line worship is over, people. That darned social media lark has gotten in the way! Thanks to blogs, citizen journalists, Twitter, Facebook and Linked In we’re all doomed to actually talking to real people when we complain. It’s quite shocking really.

A crime against bloody cooking

Complaints are now made publicly on the Internet – for all to see – and feature photos, video and audio. Living, breathing people produce these missives to state their case for complaint.

Virgin Atlantic is one high profile victim of this new complaint system. In December, Oliver Beale took a flight from Mumbai to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. The result is probably one of the funniest complaint letters ever written.

Poor Mr. Beale was disgusted by the strangely coloured, textured goo that was served as food during his flight. He called it a “crime against bloody cooking,” took photos of each meal and sent a letter to the company.

Here is an excerpt: “Dear Mr Branson, I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit…Let’s peel back the tin-foil on the main dish and see what’s on offer

I’ll try and explain how this felt. Imagine being a twelve-year-old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you’re sat there with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. It’s that Goodman’s stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.

Only you open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this. [Photo of another gelatinous mess here.]

… As I said at the start I love your brand, I really do. It’s just a shame such a simple thing could bring it crashing to it’s knees and begging for sustenance.” (For a laugh read the full letter.

Did it work? Well, Richard Branson personally called Beale to say thanks and invited him to come visit and choose the company’s in-flight catering meals.

Genuine consumers got genuine answers
Consumers are claiming back their voice. If you don’t like a service don’t bother with customer care – simply post your experience on YouTube. A videographer recently filmed rats in Taco Bell, an Amercian fast-food restaurant chain, and publicly shamed the entire franchise for the sins of one outlet. The action sent a powerful brand message.

After ignoring, and abusing, customer for years brands now want to talk to us directly. Last month, Bord Gais Energy gave the Irish blogging community some respect. The energy supplier announced their new consumer electricity offering to bloggers before the press. They asked them for opinions and answered questions. According to top Irish blogger Damien Mulley: “Genuine consumers got genuine answers in a nice relaxed atmosphere.”

The smoothie company Innocent Drinks has a Twitter account where they casually “fly” new ideas and answer complaints – using a human voice. Who needs a customer service survey when you have direct access to customers through social media?

Some companies are taking a different approach. Maybe they are visionaries? Ryanair and Eircom don’t have customer complaint email addresses on their websites. This April, United Airlines plans to ditch a customer complaints phone line. They must be preparing for the social media complaint revolution, or maybe not.

Margaret E. Ward is an Irish Times business columnist and managing director of Clear Ink, the Clear English specialists. margaret@clearink.ie