Don't get bogged down under the pressure of WOM

Spread the News: Word of Mouth Worth $1 Billion
AdAge.com
Arguably World's Oldest Form of Marketing Is on the Rise as Advertisers Pour More Into Discipline. What's consumer word-of-mouth advocacy worth to marketers? Try $1 billion.

That doesn't mean put all your money into WOM
I love it when the Trade News writes articles like "Everybody seems to spending on print" or "TV spending down 507,000%, no one is using it, so don't spend on TV".
It's almost as if Marketers dance some little Pied Piper dance and the surge of what everyone else appears to be doing causes the rest of the marketing population to do the same.
It reminds me of people who say "this fashion is 'in' this winter" and it kind of really annoys me. Why do you want to look like everyone else?? Don't you want to find what suits you best, dance to the beat of your own drum and not to mention not wear a uniform that everyone else is wearing??
I thought brands are meant to differentiate themselves on principle? And act in the media spaces that suits them best and delivers the most effectiveness...

WOM is great. However, that doesn't mean you have to be in Blogs and social networks or chat boards. Or even use obvious, blatant seeding which adds no impact. Individuals don't 'live' in online spaces, they only interact with them. Consequently, what WOM means is that you can do things which cause others to be inspired to talk about you.
Cool huh? I thought so too.

This post was written whilst listening to this. Press play if you care to relive the moment.