Is there a difference between paying someone to tweet about your brand and paying a celebrity to endorse your product?
Marketers are taking this concept and running with it. They are so quick to reach out to consumers and build relationships in the social networking world that they are going back to their old habits: to “spend money to generate impression” and keeping tight control of their message.
We all know that in social media, a positive personal customer experience is the key to an effective word-of-mouth marketing. However, what if they do not have a clue about your brand, and how your product differentiate from the rest. Would their feedback be two-faced and fake?
We all had at least one job in our lifetime where we felt like kicking the boss’s ass. However, you still show up every day just to look forward for payday. Get my point! Remember, you are transparent on social media!
Having It Both Ways
Well, can you have it both ways? Can you pay someone who is passionate about your brand? One of my favorite books is, “Personality not included” by Rohit Bhargava. Rohit talks about the different types of deliberate spokespeople. One I should mention is the “enthusiast”, like Jared from Subway. Jared is real and his story was compelling. Ok, the Subway diet did not work for me, due to the carb count, but it worked for Jared. His situation demonstrated real passion and offered an “authentic credible opinion”. Now, would you pay someone like Jared to tweet your brand? Uhmmm!
Either way, we are living in the time when people do not trust big companies. Why? These blood-sucking tyrants who oversees a slave ship of employees are totally fake. Whether paid or free, the true power of word-of-mouth comes from passion and natural authenticity.
Resources: Advertising Age: Paid Tweets Just as Healthy As Organic Word-of-Mouth?
"Personality not included" by Rohit Bhargava
