I had the pleasure of meeting an author on the forefront of social media innovation that has inspired my own methods on more than one occasion, Andy Sernovitz. 
His work,Word Of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, makes leveraging the viral marketing potential of online and offline communities as simple as making it easier for happy customers to share their passion with others. Thanking customers that say supportive things, and seeking out opportunities to make make right past customer service wrongs, remind me of how simple the process of social media engagement really is.
Andy wrote a short article provoking the question of whether companies are encouraging emergent word of mouth agents, from any number of unexpected environments, using my own experience as an example.
I responded with the following comment:
I took a lesson from Tom Kelley in my approach. He prescribes a new face of business – that of the anthropologist. Embedded within vocal communities, I have found that using the emergent tools of the environment to spark discussion through collaborative new product development (otherwise known as “hacking”) generates a great deal of positive feedback. The result is a spike in consumer generated marketing, and a steady stream of collaborative ideation that gives consumers a voice in the direction of ‘their’ company.
Conversations are the objective. I encourage others still hesitant to join in the discussions to break away from checklists and short-term goals that are designed to be measurable. [ex. Email 15 "talkers" -> check] The real value of open customer engagement is long term. Every example of remarkable customer service and interactivity that is open to search engine traffic becomes a footprint in the history of one’s brand identity. Weave inspiring narratives throughout the net that will compel future customers to fall in love with your own unique customer experience.
Through persistent, genuine interaction, passionate customers convert from “talkers” into “teachers,” thereby amplifying the voices of every new community they encounter.
I encourage anyone interested to check out Andy’s blog,
“Damn! I Wish I’d Thought Of That!”
He consistently manages to discover examples of companies doing small things that impact business in a big way.
