Ten Viral Marketing Best Practices
Ten Viral Marketing Best Practices
If you're plotting the next Subservient Chicken or Liberal Leadership on eBay, here are 10 best practices to keep in mind:
1. First and foremost, think high concept: The viral 'thing,' whatever shape or form it takes, has to be highly provocative in some way. This, of course, is easier said than done, otherwise we'd all be drowning in these things. (And thank God we're not.)
2. Work backwards from the headline: Think about what the headline of the blog entry - or the subject line of the email - about your viral marketing concept would be. Hint: if it won't make a concise headline or subject line, then it probably won't make a good viral marketing concept.
3. Keep it simple: You have to hook people fast, so don't overburden your concept with too many elements or distractions. (Yes, sometimes you can be TOO clever.) Your concept should be able to work when plugged into the following fill-in-the-blank sentence, "Hey, did you hear _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____?" For instance, "Hey, did you hear that Canadian Websites now need to be licensed?"
4. Humour Sells: Nothing says viral better than a good belly laugh. If you can have people laughing in their cubicles (admittedly not an easy task, even for comedy writing experts), you are well on your way to viral fame.
5. Sex Sells: But that's way too easy and probably not appropriate for what you, sophisticated Internet marketer, are trying to promote. Leave the 'naughty hotties in a hot tub' concept for the beer company ad agencies.
6. Big Names Sell: A viral marketing concept that leverages a well-known person, place, or thing may work better because less explanation is required to understand what the concept is about, and the association with the known entity will strike a common chord with many people. Get legal advice before you use a Big Name, though. Or not, depending on your appetite for lawsuits.
7. Topicality Sells: A viral marketing concept that is 'torn from today's headlines' can have a leg up over the competition. Since everyone is already talking about the topic in the first place, the communication pump is already primed. The trick here is that it can sometimes take a while to come up with a killer concept, and by then it may no longer be a topical subject.
8. Don't Try Too Hard: If you ask, or beg, for viral pass-along status, chances are people will see right through you. A really compelling viral concept will stand on its own and people will want to share it with others without being prodded by the folks behind it.
9. Reality Sells: People are overwhelmed and usually unimpressed by what they perceive to be 'corporate' advertising; what often works best in the viral space is unvarnished content by real people, or at least made to look that way.
10. Mystery Sells: Everyone loves a good mystery, so a viral marketing concept that keeps people guessing will only contribute to the buzz factor. At some point in time, however, there must be a payoff, otherwise you'll really piss people off. Unless that's the point in the first place. Off you go.
Have fun. I'm going to watch the Honda "Cog" commercial again...
Ten Viral Marketing Best Practices - To learn more about this author, visit Bill Sweetman's Website.
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A colleague of mine recently asked me if I had a list of viral marketing best practices. I guess I do - in my head - so it's about time I jotted them down to share with others. And before I forget.
If you're plotting the next Subservient Chicken or Liberal Leadership on eBay, here are 10 best practices to keep in mind:
1. First and foremost, think high concept: The viral 'thing,' whatever shape or form it takes, has to be highly provocative in some way. This, of course, is easier said than done, otherwise we'd all be drowning in these things. (And thank God we're not.)
2. Work backwards from the headline: Think about what the headline of the blog entry - or the subject line of the email - about your viral marketing concept would be. Hint: if it won't make a concise headline or subject line, then it probably won't make a good viral marketing concept.
3. Keep it simple: You have to hook people fast, so don't overburden your concept with too many elements or distractions. (Yes, sometimes you can be TOO clever.) Your concept should be able to work when plugged into the following fill-in-the-blank sentence, "Hey, did you hear _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____?" For instance, "Hey, did you hear that Canadian Websites now need to be licensed?"
4. Humour Sells: Nothing says viral better than a good belly laugh. If you can have people laughing in their cubicles (admittedly not an easy task, even for comedy writing experts), you are well on your way to viral fame.
5. Sex Sells: But that's way too easy and probably not appropriate for what you, sophisticated Internet marketer, are trying to promote. Leave the 'naughty hotties in a hot tub' concept for the beer company ad agencies.
6. Big Names Sell: A viral marketing concept that leverages a well-known person, place, or thing may work better because less explanation is required to understand what the concept is about, and the association with the known entity will strike a common chord with many people. Get legal advice before you use a Big Name, though. Or not, depending on your appetite for lawsuits.
7. Topicality Sells: A viral marketing concept that is 'torn from today's headlines' can have a leg up over the competition. Since everyone is already talking about the topic in the first place, the communication pump is already primed. The trick here is that it can sometimes take a while to come up with a killer concept, and by then it may no longer be a topical subject.
8. Don't Try Too Hard: If you ask, or beg, for viral pass-along status, chances are people will see right through you. A really compelling viral concept will stand on its own and people will want to share it with others without being prodded by the folks behind it.
9. Reality Sells: People are overwhelmed and usually unimpressed by what they perceive to be 'corporate' advertising; what often works best in the viral space is unvarnished content by real people, or at least made to look that way.
10. Mystery Sells: Everyone loves a good mystery, so a viral marketing concept that keeps people guessing will only contribute to the buzz factor. At some point in time, however, there must be a payoff, otherwise you'll really piss people off. Unless that's the point in the first place. Off you go.
Have fun. I'm going to watch the Honda "Cog" commercial again...
Ten Viral Marketing Best Practices - To learn more about this author, visit Bill Sweetman's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
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