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  • One more time: Online vs. Offline

    Posted on November 10th, 2009 by Spike and currently 28 commenting.

    So tell me this: Which do you think is more powerful?

    This:

    Or this:

    Are all of your efforts being focused on your “online strategy” right now? Look, I get it. It’s important. But we can’t stress enough that your online has to drive your offline and your offline has to drive your online. You want online to be powerful? Then use it as a tool that enables face-to-face. Remember, 90% of word of mouth happens OFFLINE.

    Oh, you’ll have bragging rights if you have 100,000 followers or friends or fans (only SM fanboys will be impressed), but if it doesn’t drive offline, then what is it really good for? Integration is the key. And if you can’t see the difference between the two images, then you’re blind. Which group do you think has the more powerful stories? Which group do you think has stronger emotional connections? It’s one thing to sit at a desk and type – almost a kind of passive participation. But to get up from behind the computer screen, get out of your house and go be a part something – to literally participate shoulder-to-shoulder – that’s powerful.

    So, yes, online is important. But offline – that’s where the real stories are created. It’s where they live and breathe because that’s where we live and breathe. Know it. Believe it. And live it.

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  • http://www.carolinamarketer.com Casey Bolt

    I completely agree. While I do think social media is important and is growing in followers, we can’t soley rely on that to spread our messages and maintain interest in our companies. I recently took a class at Clemson that was about social movements and NOT ONCE was anything about the internet mentioned. You would think that at least a chapter or lecture would be based around the internet and blogging, but nothing. What we did talking about was taking action. Getting out there and facing situations head on to get the mssage heard. Starting rallies, giving speeches, not tweeting or blogging. While those things can spark interest, they can only spark so much and only maintain the same amount. There are much bigger things people can do to get themselves noticed and better yet, remembered.

  • http://thefastgrowthblog.com Doug Davidoff

    I’d take it one step further. We need to stop thinking about online and offline – it’s an artificial structure created by marketing consultants (not just SM ones). We need to think in terms of connections, impacts and results – for both our followers and us.

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  • Me

    “Remember, 90% of word of mouth happens OFFLINE. ” prove it.

  • http://brainsonfire.com Spike

    Hello “Me,”

    I got that information from the widely-respected WOM research company, Keller-Fay Group. In fact they won a “Grand Innovation Award of the Advertising Research Foundation for the development of Keller Fay’s TalkTrack(R), the first continuous measurement system for all word of mouth, including the 90% of WOM which occurs offline.”

    You’re welcome to read all about them here: http://kellerfay.com/

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  • http://www.hillmulikin.com/blog jami mullikin

    Amen brutha. Online should service relationships that exist offline.

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  • Laura Dellinger

    I Heart Brains on Fire!

  • http://www.brandlessons.com Kevin Williams (@brandlessons)

    Offline is where the relationship can begin, but offline is where the relationship lasts a lifetime. Great post!

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  • http://www.cloudraker.com Isabelle Quevilly

    Great post thank you!

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  • http://psstmarketing.wordpress.com Jeff Stephens

    Spike, thanks for writing this post. In the weird little playground my company plays in (credit unions and banks), there’s become a big lack of understanding out the relationship between WOM and social media. Social media has become such a fad that most of them seem to think having a Twitter account EQUALS having a word of mouth program (either that or those ridiculous $25 refer-a-friend cards nobody uses). Your post gives me some good fodder to help make my point much more clear, that social media is just one of the many facets of word of mouth that they should be focused on.

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  • http://twitter.com/marcbinkley Marc Binkley

    I love the images you choose to illustrate your point.  Since reading your book, I’ve been making a point to try and meet up for coffee or pints with local followers from my social platforms.  I’m so glad I decided to try this as I’ve met some really incredible people with an amazing array of talents.  Thanks for helping me realize that people & their stories are what is important in all this.