Andy’s Answers: The 3 characteristics of a great word of mouth topic

By Andy Sernovitz on June 30, 2009 | Comments

Your topics are what fuel you word of mouth. A great one isn’t a slogan or a generic brand message — it’s something simple that spreads easily among friends. And remember, if your topic works well in a traditional press release, it’s probably a bad one.

What to look for:

  • Emotional. People share things that make them happy — the funny, surprising, and remarkable elements of products and experiences.
  • Portable. A portable topic is something that can be slapped in a blog post, an e-mail signature, or a T-shirt. If it’s too complicated or needs explaining, nobody will repeat it.
  • Repeatable. If someone has to make an effort to remember what to say, they won’t say anything.

Related posts:

  1. Andy’s Answers: What makes a great word-of-mouth topic
  2. Andy’s Answers: Characteristics of a true word-of-mouth marketer
  3. Andy’s Answers: 3 ways to create business-to-business word of mouth

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  • Thanks for the great response on this. Some folks asked for examples -- here are some of the classics:

    Krisy Kreme: Hot Donuts!
    VW Bug: Flower vase on dashboard
    Zappos: 365 day returns
    Duct Tape: StuckAtProm.Com
    Dry cleaner who cleans suits free if you have a job interview
    Restaurant that gives free samples while you wait in line
    Seth Godin's Purple Cow book that shipped in a milk carton
    Container Store has free valet parking on weekends
    Freshbooks.com held a pankake breakfast outside SXSW
  • Great advice Andy. We are emotional beings who seek happiness; we'll always note something which makes us happy before anything else. Ryan
  • great post! I'm going to forward it to clients!
  • I love the idea as it ties in with Appreciation Marketing and building long term relationships.

    YourCardGuy
  • LOVE THESE 3 WORDS ... Thanks!
  • Hi Andy - how about a couple of examples for each?
  • Hi Andy, Sound advice. I'd add to the emotional bullet... also people share what makes them angry. However your post made me happy, so I have shared this with my team. :-)
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