This document provides guidance on using word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing strategies for social enterprises. It defines social enterprises as organizations that apply business strategies to improve social and environmental well-being rather than maximize profits. The document outlines that WOM is a natural fit for social enterprises because it allows a focus on collective benefit rather than individual benefits. It then provides lessons and tools for an effective WOM strategy, including listening to audiences, sharing stories, and tracking conversations. The overall message is that social enterprises should trust and share the stories of those helped and invest in conversations to generate true value.

1. HeadsUp:
WOM for Social
Enterprises
March 2014
1000heads HeadsUp series
#headsupsocial

2. PROMISE
To demonstrate that for socially
driven enterprises, WOM is both
efficient and natural fit for the
spreading key messages
To articulate a basic WOM strategy
toolkit for social enterprises.
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stethoscope.png

3. ABOUT SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES AND
WORD OF MOUTH
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desire_lips.jpg

4. WHAT IS A
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISE?
“A social enterprise is an organization
that applies commercial strategies to
maximize improvements in human and
environmental well-being, rather than
maximizing profits for external
shareholders. Social enterprises can be
structured as a for-profit or non-profit,
and may take the form of a co-
operative, mutual organization, a
disregarded entity, a social business, or
a charity organization.”
Source: Ridley-Duff, R. J. and Bull, M.
(2011) Understanding Social Enterprise: Theory and
Practice, London: Sage Publications.
Image sources:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polar_bears.jpg,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_the_green,_old_forest_(59
87640157).jpg

5. MARKETING
IDEAS:
WOM4SOCIAL
Marketing for social enterprises is
distinct from traditional marketing
because we‟re selling ideas and
services rather than goods.
Focus must shift from individual benefit
to collective benefit, from brand recall to
brand purpose, from passive
consumption to active participation.
Fortunately, Word of Mouth (WOM) is
ideally placed to support this shift.
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/suburbanbloke/381634787/sizes/l/

6. EXTENDED
MARKETING
MIX
WOM has the capacity to meet the
focus of the extended marketing mix:
people, process, physical evidence (of
change).
Stories are the focal point of social
marketing, both in terms of experience
of services, and in changes to service
delivery, cultural responses, effects on
the environment and opportunities for
new discoveries.
Image source: http://www.digitangle.co.uk/blog/7ps-mobile-marketing-went-
right-british-airways/

7. HOW TO USE
WOM FOR
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
WOM activities can be broken down
into:
• Listening culture (rather than posting
culture)
• Story telling
• Creating contexts for sharing stories
• Using social tools to amplify sharing
activities
• Promotion of network stars
• Tracking of conversations
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whisper_In_My_Ear_(4936520119).jpg

8. CHANGING
CONSUMER
BEHAVIOURS
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mobile_Phone_image..png

9. WHAT IS SHARED
AUSTRALIAN USE
OF SOCIAL MEDIA
ACTIVE „PRODUSERS‟
Trends in online sharing
What networks we use and how
frequently
How to mobilise audiences to
become active contributors to
the cause

10. WHAT DO
PEOPLE SHARE
ONLINE?
Jonah Berger in Contagious identifies
principles to drive people to share:
1. Social currency
2. Triggers
3. Emotion
4. Public
5. Practical value
6. Stories
See:
Contagious, Why Things Catch On
Image source: http://mediacause.org/viral-marketing-nonprofits-applying-jonah-
bergers-6-stepps/

11. WHAT DO
PEOPLE SHARE
ONLINE?
Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs has been
UTTERLY DEBUNKED*.
Don‟t use it. Ever. No really.
However, there are studies that have
identified why people share content,
such as the NYT Psychology of Sharing
Study http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/
* People still believe it, but it has not basis in science.
See for instance, this article.

12. Why do people share online?
To bring valuable and entertaining content to one another.
A significant 94% of respondents carefully consider how the information they share
will be of use to other people
To define themselves to others.
68% of respondents said they share to give others a better sense of who they are
and what they care about.
To grow and nourish our relationships.
78% of respondents said they share information online because it enables them to
stay connected to people they may not otherwise stay in touch with
For self-fulfilment.
69% said they share information because it allows them to feel more involved in the
world.
To get the word out about causes they care about.
84% of respondents share because it is a good way to support causes or issues
they care about.

13. WHAT DO
PEOPLE SHARE
ONLINE?
This matters:
84% of respondents share because it
is a good way to support causes or
issues they care about.
People want to share useful content that
addresses social causes.
You don‟t have to struggle to make
people want to share. It‟s a matter of
making content easily shareable – for
instance, using hashtags.
Image source: http://marketingland.com/mobile-hashtag-survey-finds-users-
more-likely-to-explore-content-using-hashtags-if-offered-discounts-37778

14. Australians are active users of social media
Australian Use of Social Media
TWITTER:
2.5 MILLION
FACEBOOK:
13 MILLION
LINKEDIN:
3.7 MILLION
INSTAGRAM:
1.6 MILLION
SOURCE: http://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-february-2014/

15. CASE STUDIES OF
WOM & SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mobile_Phone_image..png

16. GOVERNMENT:
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
ONLINE
Some of the best case studies in
government use of WOM are associated
with problem solving and community
engagement on policy development.
The best government social projects are
those that are built around ease of
access to resources.
UK.Gov using tight-knit hacker community to use open
data for new understanding of urban spaces, new
products, growing tech industry
Vancouver has a
„tweet my rubbish
collection day‟
service
US Govt run a
competition to find
ways to improve
efficiency in govt

17. CHARITIES:
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
ONLINE
In the charities sector, a whole series of
factors affect the catchment areas for
charitable projects, and the primary
driver for the business is fundraising –
an imperative that is hard to support in
period of economic instability.
The best charity WOM strategies are
highly layered, using a range of tools,
reflecting the location of their
targets.
Darling of the twitter age, Charity Water makes it easy for
people to raise money by taking away the inhibitors to
becoming involved. They also use recommendation
engines like Outbrain to promote campaigns. They are
highly sophisticated in WOM.
Greenpeace globally
uses video, imagery
and passionate
supporters to spread
the word on all
platforms.
Unicef uses powerful
imagery on a range of
platforms to raise
awareness and
conversation
Amnesty NZ used a
calculator to spread the
word on unfair trials

18. NON-PROFIT:
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
ONLINE
In the non-profit sector, there is more of
a focus on economic activity and proof
of value of activities. As such, the best
case studies of use of WOM in non-
profits is associated with pledges to act,
support and spread messages for
causes.
WOM is best facilitated by strong
engagement with the community. This
is a high time investment, but can be
made possible through effective
management
A collective of coders, business execs and educators set up
a club teaching young children how to program using web-
based Scratch. The programme has helped changed
curriculum in the UK
#nokidhungry
Project strongly
engages
community
involved in
providing free
breakfasts for
children in the
US
UK National Trust
consistently run
hashtag campaigns for
volunteer involvement
and awareness
raising.

19. AUSTRALIA:
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
ONLINE
THE BAD NEWS
Australian social enterprises mimics
corporate sector in being several years
behind the rest of the Western world in
use and understanding of WOM.
This presents an opportunity to stand
out for social enterprises that are
working well online. The best Australian
case studies are thus potentially more
successful than they deserve to be.
Programme still focused primarily on offline WOM.
Negative media publicity impacting on adoption

20. AUSTRALIA:
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
ONLINE
THE GOOD NEWS
Things are changing. But too much
focus is still being paid to the
technologies rather than the strategy.
Thinking about the way people interact
and share content produces the best
campaigns… even if the outcome is
fairly lame.
Activities that are easy
to share, but which still
tap in to the desire to
share will be successful
in Oz.
Strategies that
focus on the
tribal component
of participation
receive best
results

21. LESSONS
Hopefully not absolutes, but probably still painful
for traditional marketers

22. LESSON 1:
MOBILISE
WOM is a dynamic act. It doesn‟t sit on a website.
A website might become the focal point of a
campaign but the actual WOM doesn‟t happen
there. Optimise for mobile, social, local comms
Image source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/takethemoneyandrun/97897802/sizes/l/

23. LESSON 2:
LOCATE
Continuing on the notion of finding your audiences,
it‟s best to use the platform where they feel
comfortable. Don‟t force them to a place they
don‟t want to go.
Image source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/takethemoneyandrun/97897802/sizes/l/

24. LESSON 3:
CONVERSE
Don‟t broadcast.
WOM is reciprocal. To ensure the continuing
development of a community, it‟s vital to ensure
that you thank people for contributions on the
channel they are shared.
Image source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/takethemoneyandrun/97897802/sizes/l/

25. WOM TOOLKIT FOR
SOCIAL
ENTERPRISES
Not a checklist

26. WOM TOOLKIT:
LISTENING
The best listening strategies will be
focused on passion groups, not by
mentions of a brand.
There are listening tools out there, but a
subscription to an insights service will
provide the best kind of social command
centre for accessing audiences in a
timely and engaging manner.
Thought leadership is great. But you
need to listen before you start creating a
response to what is being said.
Image source: http://sapountz.is/2012/02/so-you-want-to-build-a-social-media-
command-center/

27. WOM TOOLKIT:
STORIES
Google Hangout is your friend. Stories
can easily be captured in live hangouts
with inspiring individuals and these
videos can then be uploaded to
YouTube following the session.
But stories can also be made from
engagements in other channels (eg:
Storify) and from basic email exchanges
with people who are providing help, as
well as people who are recipients of
help.
Stories are the engine of WOM.
Image source: http://vator.tv/news/2011-07-01-facebook-striking-back-at-google-with-
video-chat

28. WOM TOOLKIT:
TRACKING
Don‟t assume that your monitoring of
mentions, brands and keywords is
sufficient. A series of tools exist to help
you find words being used on social
media platforms: use them to find new
audiences and access different passion
groups.
YouTube keyword search
Hashtags keyword search
Twitter search
Facebook graph search
What‟s my SERP?
Keyword Spy

29. Social enterprises need to trust
in the stories that can be told be
recipients of services, and
make them accessible and
shareable. Then investment in
conversations around those
languages generates true value
for social businesses.
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96383944@N08/10113988426/sizes/o/

30. PROMISE: REVISITED
To demonstrate that for socially driven
enterprises, WOM is both efficient and
natural fit for the spreading key
messages
To articulate a basic WOM strategy
toolkit for social enterprises.



31. Thank you 
Any questions, let me know!
Joanne Jacobs, COO
t: +61 2 9251 0492
m: 0419 131 077
e: joanne.jacobs@1000heads.com