Socialmediaworx

Okay, so I really want to come back this morning’s keynote, but it’s time for the next session - looking at generating WOM on college campuses - something we’re trying to figure out at BestSemester. From alumni ambassador programs to mobile strategies, we need to do a better job providing our students the tools to share and amplify their story.

Gary Colen of Amp, is presenting his work with introducing Helio to college students.

No surprise here, but WOM is the most trusted form of marketing on campus, with 57% reporting it as being most influential to their purchase decisions.

Amp introduced Helio by developing a WOM campus influencer program by deploying brand experts on 21 campuses, who had received extensive training about Helio and the wireless industry.

The program utilized four components: product seeding, product events, grassroots mareketing and product modeling. Nothing outside the ordinary here, but I like how they weaved it into music and “memory making” events.

Colen’s suggestions for campus campaigns:

1. Identify highly-targeted consumer base
2. Accessible information
3. Easy pass-along mechanism
4. Relevant messaging
   1. Emotional, Topical, Entertaining, Accessible, Authentic
5. Use the right tools:
   1. Give freedom to the influencers, once engaged, to propagate the message through their social network
   2. Online/Wireless/Offline: enable for customization
   3. Rewards: make immediately accessible and of true value
   4. Measurement: track activities and feedback through surveys and online communications