Word of Mouth, The Farmers Market & Social Media

What do the farmers market, word of mouth, social media and business marketing have in common? Read on:

So, last Saturday I took my good friend Jami to the Traverse City Farmer's Market for her very 1st time (you're welcome Jami).

As soon as we got there I told her that I needed to make sure we stopped by the booth that the Amish people had because they have the best home made granola you have ever tasted! As we continued through the market I was  building up the anticipation of the visit to their booth...and now she wanted some granola too!

So, we finally make it to the booth and there were about 10 people in line. I start talking to the people around me about the granola and quickly engaged with everyone in line about how good this stuff is and how I make sure to buy the biggest bag of it so it can last until I get back to the market. No biggie right......Well check this out:

EVERY person in the line bought a bag of granola on my recommendation! Ye ole "word of mouth advertising" at it's finest. Would they have bought it anyways if I wasn't there? Maybe some of them would but, because I spoke up, they all took action.

Now, let's shift this theory to using Social Media for Business Marketing...the hottest topic since Clinton's cigar :)

• People listen when someone speaks out...I just demonstrated that
• Statistics show that the trust factor online is 3 times that of face to face interaction
• Social Media has now taken over the #1 spot as far as activity on the internet...it just beat out porn &
• By 2010 Gen Y'ers will outnumber Baby Boomers .....96% of them are on a Social Network (Hint: they are your customers)

Those 4 points alone should give you a pretty good idea that it's definitely time to explore the world of Social Media marketing. With Social Media, "word of mouth" becomes "world of mouth" and your opportunities becomes infinite!

Things change, trends evolve and businesses must adapt. As businesses gravitate towards this type of "world of mouth" advertising it will become very apparent that the first one's in each industry will quickly rise to the top as #1 in their markets. What are people saying about your brand online?

So, get there and get there fast because this little secret is leaking out all over the place. Right now is when you need to begin, why put it off another day?

Michelle Cortegiano

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