Word of Mouth is King
You may not have noticed, but your club thrives on word of mouth. What is word of mouth? Word of mouth is the phenomenon that takes place when key people relate key messages to people they know about something your club is doing (let’s say an event in this case), which creates a chain reaction of decisions that produces positive results ( a great turnout for this example).
What do we mean by key people? Have you noticed that among various groups of friends, there are always one or two members who usually make the effort to get people out to something? This person might not be the leader of the group, but he/she is known for taking the initiatives to call, IM, text, or email people because he/she thinks it would be fun for the whole group. Convincing this one key person to come to your event may be the same as convincing 10 people all on your own - a very good deal for you. Think about the people on campus and the people on your board, and see if you can make a short list of such key persons.
(using key messages, carrying out the plan, and additional resources, after the jump!)
Once you identify the key people, you need to convince them with key messages. Why should they come to your event? What’s so great about it? Did they come to a previous event that was successful? Will this new event be better? Be sure to articulate your reasons in a clear and honest manner. Word of mouth is all about sincere information exchange, and key people will be quick to distinguish worthwhile information from spam-like junk.
Communicating with key people can be something as simple as a passing conversation on your college walkway. It can also be something indirect, like an interesting flyer or a well-written description in your e-newsletter. If it catches the attention of a key person, you can be sure that this person will share it with others and get people talking. This is what people mean when they talk about “buzz” and “viral” marketing. But the result you always want to achieve is word of mouth: reach the key people, convince them, and let them do the rest. Of course, you’ll need to make good on your promises of a great event if you want those key people to help again.
Think back to your past events and try to remember when word of mouth was strong or when it wasn’t. Did your club have a party at a new venue that caught the attention of some key people and therefore led to a great turnout? Was your culture show lacking in attendance because on that same night, some key people had other plans and took their friends with them? Think about Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) and how it’s caught on around campuses since 2004: key people believed in its message and began to mobilize, convincing their friends and amassing a nationwide network. Whether it’s a general meeting where you serve pizza or a huge multi-KSA sporting event, word of mouth can be a factor in each.
There are several great resources on the power of word of mouth as a publicity tool. Here are two we recommend:
- The Word on Word of Mouth by Dave Balter: a concise 13-slide presentation that should clear up the basics on word of mouth. Available for free download here.
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: this critically-acclaimed book on how ideas become popular provides great insight into word of mouth. Buy the book.
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