Despite the wholesale move to join the online word of mouth cacophony, many marketers are still approaching social media from a flawed mindset. Thinking in terms of exposure, and reach they seek out big names like getting featured on Tech Crunch,  End Gadget or being reviewed by high profile bloggers like Pim Techamuanvivit and Susie Lau.

While I’d be ecstatic to have my product receive a glowing mention from a rock star in my specific niche, it’s not something I strive for with a single minded focus, and neither should you. A-list bloggers are showered with gifts, and products from marketers hoping for a review. Odds are you won’t be one of them. The fact is, I’d rather reach 500 low and medium level influencers in my niche than 0 stars.

The reality of plugging into word of mouth in the physical world, and on the web is recognizing it’s not the number of connections that matter, but how enthusiastic a person is toward a product or service. People who have a genuine interest possess the greatest influence, fortunately social media makes it easy to find them.

Photo credit inju

The majority of time I spent riding the lifts with my friends from the Snow ski shop. However, a few times that sunny thursday morning I took the chance to sit with the local skiers at Labrador mountain.

In particular one gent and what he had to say has stuck in my memory. Like any avid skier with a seasons pass and bright morning smiling on him, Dave took the day off from work to feed his Rossignol B2’s. Besides exchanging the usual pleasantries, Dave expressed his dissapointment at the ski reps refusing him the chance to demo any of their skis.

From the manufacturer reps perspective I can understand why they refused Dave the opportunity, after all this event was specifically for ski shop employees. But in my opinion it wasted a chance to generate additional word of mouth for the killer equipment due out this coming season.

Sure I am going to preach to my circle of contacts, and customers which skis I thought rocked. My friends will likely act on the advice, my customers to a much lesser extent because of what they rightly or wrongly perceive to be my ulterior motives.

Dave on the other hand is the best brand evangelist you can get. Give him the unexpected surprise of testing your skis to his hearts content. Tell him how that Rossignol Z15 is a better ski, exactly how it will make him a better skier. Take down his information, ask Dave if you may contact him over the summer to keep him in the loop and the relationship alive. Do that and the people who Dave tells about his awesome experience will think of your brand first when deciding to purchase their new skis for the coming season.

Have you seen a missed chance to generate word of mouth?