How Big Brands Employ Social Media Marketing

I recently interviewed Andy Sernovitz, founder of the Social Media Business Council, an organization that includes many of the world’s largest brands such as Cisco, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble and Wells Fargo, just to mention a few.

Andy is also author of the book Word of Mouth Marketing and founder of GasPedal, a group that advises big brands such as TiVo, Dell, Sprint and Kimberly-Clark.

During this interview, you’ll gain insight into how large corporations are employing social media and you’ll also gain Andy’s insight into word-of-mouth marketing.

Word of Mouth Marketing & Social Media

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Are You Using Social Media as Social Proof?

Did you know you can use social media to influence website visitors to stick around, read your content, become a subscriber or even tell their network about you or your business?

You can, and social media can be more effective than other forms of influence, as you’ll see in a minute.

First, let’s talk about the phenomenon I’m referring to. Influencing people you don’t know (in this case, new web visitors) by using information is known as social proof.

The Growth of Social Proof

Social proof isn’t a new concept, or one that only applies to social media. It’s a psychological phenomenon.

Marketers have used social proof as a fundamental principle for years. Blogs have used it recently by displaying the number of RSS subscribers prominently (usually through FeedBurner). Then, when new visitors stop by, they think,

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5 Ways to Get the Support of Social Media Influencers

to endorse and promote what you’re doing.

Recently, my company managed to inspire 60 such influencers to participate in our event, called The Influencer Project, and they even took it upon themselves to help spread the word.

People like Social Media Examiner’s own Michael Stelzner, Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, Gary Vaynerchuk, David Meerman Scott, and others all signed on. We were grateful beyond belief.

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