As my call with the tech support department of my ISP rolled over the one-hour mark last night, and I recounted my issue to a third support person, it became clear that there would not be a resolution.
Recurring on a monthly basis, almost like clockwork, my ability to connect to the internet just vanishes. It usually takes at least one 1-hour call to support to resolve. As a result, my ISP sent a technician out to ‘repair’ the issue less than a month ago. Alas, here we are again. When I was connected to support person #3, after recounting my issues, I realized I would have to be transferred to a 4th person, as this one had a poor connection.
Placed on hold – again, and listening to an instrumental version of Turned Down For What (totally true), I felt my inner rage bubbling to a fever pitch. Somewhere in that last hour with ISP tech rep #4, I hit a wall. My inner rage had smoldered into resolve; a resolve to get even.
“Every minute that ticked by was another minute exploring the ways that I could let the world know just how horrible this encounter – this company has been.”
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Social Influence – in one of its many forms. How important is it to leverage social influence in your social and marketing strategies? You tell me. How important would a scathing review, including a detailed account of my experience with my ISP be to potential new customers? How valuable is the recommendation from a friend, to try a service? What do you consider most when looking for pizza in an unfamiliar city: a Papa John’s commercial or Yelp? Social influence has been around for decades, but only recently did we start identifying it and certain individuals by the buzz word “Social Influencers.” Word of mouth has always been the best means of promotion. But now, having identified certain components of this (i.e. Social Influencers) – how can you leverage this in your social strategy and overall marketing strategy?
Best Practices in Social Marketing is a great guide from act-on that was shared with me. It describes the four main activities of Influencer Marketing as well as three core metrics to track performance.
