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Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Buzz Marketing Resources

Books and Articles

Building a Buzz: Libraries and Word-of-mouth Marketing, Peggy Barber and Linda Wallace, American Library Association, 2009.
It doesn't get much better than a book specifically about buzz marketing for libraries. It also features case studies from our LSTA grant project.

Buzz Marketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff, Mark Hughes, Penguin Group, 2005.
Read this overview, enjoy lots of great examples and think about them, because this is the world we live in. Libraries can't be above it or out of it.

How to Harness the Awesome Power of Word-of-mouth Marketing, www.mnav.com/H2HarnWOM.htm
An excellent introduction to WOM by George Silverman and the basis for his book, The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. Direct Marketing Magazine (Nov. 1997)

Libraries, Mission & Marketing: Writing Mission Statements That Work, Linda K. Wallace, American Library Association, 2004.
This book is dedicated to the proposition that your mission statement is your library’s ultimate message. It should say what you mean—and you should do what you say. Lots of sample statements.

The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, George Silverman, American Management Association, 2001.
Silverman says traditional advertising doesn’t have the impact it once did, and makes a great case for an organized, strategic approach to word of mouth. This is good news for libraries since we couldn’t advertising anyway.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Andy Sernovitz, Kaplan Publishing, 2006.
Another good, basic introduction to WOM by the CEO of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

Websites

Wabash & Lake
This Chicago consulting firm is dedicated to creating "customer evangelists." Their offerings include free podcasts, a tremendous blog and newsletter with good ideas and case histories. Explore the site to find their book “Testify!” that you can download for free.

Word of Mouth Marketing Association
Word-of-mouth has its own association. Sign up for the excellent newsletter. Check out “The Womnibus” for good ideas.