Is Word of Mouth (AKA Referral Marketing) Worth the Effort?

Courtesy of flickr.com

By Hector Cisneros

I have been directly engaged in word of mouth marketing (AKA Referral Marketing or Social Networking) for more than 35 years. I often hear business owners say that they tried networking at Chamber of Commerce events and even hard contact networks (exclusive membership organizations), and they felt that the return on investment was poor or nonexistent! Well, this statement can be true and false at the same time. It has been my experience that, for the most part, you can only get back a return based on the time and effort you put into any endeavor.  In this episode of Working The Web to Win, we will take a hard look at organized word of mouth marketing, to see if high returns are real, luck, or just fancifully marketing on the parts of the referral organization's marketing department. So get ready to learn my firsthand experiences as to whether referral marketing works and if so, what makes it work and how can the reader minimize the investment in time, money, and energy to get the maximum return for their marketing dollars. 

15 Ways Social Media Can Build Your Business and Credibility

Courtesy of  pixy.org

By Hector Cisneros 

Social Networks are the fastest evolving media in the world. In less than a dozen years, it has gone from relative obscurity to internet dominance. Today, any business that ignores social media does so at its own peril.  Social networking and Social media have become integral to internet marketing, business and social communications. Most importantly, it has changed the dynamic of what advertisers can say, do and get away with. No longer can businesses get away with touting poor products as the latest and greatest. Businesses can’t continue to provide poor customer service and expect to keep it under wraps. Today social networks allow consumers to spread good or bad news at the speed of the internet. Businesses have to be proactive using social networks to stay ahead of the competition and any bad news that may escape into the social “network-sphere”. This article will provide 15 reasons why every business needs to proactively be using social media to win the hearts and minds of the consuming public. They will be listed in descending order of importance (as chosen by me) to help you see the big picture. So let the countdown begin.