Viral Marketing, Let's See How it Works
Viral Marketing, Let's See How it Works
The biggest problem most websites have is that they are instantly forgettable. They sell or say the same thing as hundreds or thousands of other sites; to an audience that is so quick to click-away that a large percentage of their traffic never appreciates why they should buy anything or listen to what's being said.
In order for a website or ad campaign to be interesting enough for visitors to stick-around, or clever enough to be viral, it must be compelling enough to prompt viewers to stay, absorb, and pass it onto friends and colleagues. This does not mean that the media presented has to be salacious or somehow socially inappropriate.
Common viral videos of silly people doing sophomoric things on fuzzy video maybe viral for people with too much time on their hands but it's viral without marketing or branding purpose.
Purposeful viral video websites and campaigns present meaningful theme-based messages within the context of an entertaining experience that is worth repeating and distributing. In other words, it must have both substance and style.
The 7 Viral Video Campaign Elements
1. Engage: Grab Attention.
2. Enlighten: Provide Substance.
3. Stylize: Create An Experience.
4. Focus: Be Consistent.
5. Entertain: Be Memorable.
6. Resonate: Hit A Nerve.
7. Excite: Compel Action.
Corollary: Actionable Ideas Prompt Brand Awareness and Leads.
Deconstructing The Case of Cache Closed
For some it's a giant leap of faith to accept the idea that something can be entertaining and meaningful at the same time. Apple Computer is one company that gets the concept, and whether it's their Macintosh or iPod campaign, each demonstrates all seven elements of a viral advertising initiative. And these videos work as well and maybe better on the Web as they do on television.
To turn a viral marketing concept into an effective campaign beyond a single one-off video you need vision, guts, and great creative. In order to demonstrate to clients how such a campaign works, we developed something called 'Cache Closed.'
The campaign is comprised of a website that contains a series of two-minute videos that do nothing but present ideas and concepts meant to help clients with their marketing and branding. No sales pitches. No asking for orders, newsletter sign-ups or anything else, just ideas presented in an offbeat, some would say bizarre, entertaining manner.
Is it for everyone; absolutely not, but we have plenty of text-based material on our sites that people and search engines can read or index. But this campaign is aimed at more creatively enlightened business and marketing executives looking to turn advertising into content, not content into advertising.
Creating The Brand Hero and Back-Story
Marshall McLuhan described television as a 'cold medium' and if that is true, the Web is a frozen glacier. But even the most barren landscape seems able to sustain some form of life, and video and audio provides that life force to the otherwise digital Internet void.
Isn't it time we put aside the bulleted-point slide shows, over-used royalty-free media, self-promoting ego presentations, hackneyed, dumb-downed messages, and insulting con-artist approaches with the classic 'but wait there's more ...' copy.
Whether it's a website, a marketing campaign or both, you need to start with a concept. In the case of 'Cache Closed' the concept is simple, the media is the message, and video delivered by a real person, presents your marketing story better than any other presentation format. So in order to tell the story effectively, we needed to create a storyteller: enter our hero, 'Cache Closed.'
Who Is Cache Closed?
No matter what medium you work in, what engages an audience most is human contact, and the closest you can get to human contact on the Web is video of a real person. In this instance our professional actor actually portrays a binary creation, but by using a real person instead of an animation or avatar, we were able to instill some humanity and engage the audience on an emotional level.
Before we wrote the scripts we needed to invent the character. Below is the character back-story that was originally written as a voice-over introduction that was later eliminated, but the back-story informed the nature of the character as well as the press releases that were sent out when the campaign was introduced.
The Cache Closed Back-story
"Meet Cache Closed, a digital construct, fabricated from the binary remains of lost and discarded data found in the ditch beside the information highway.
Do not be fooled by the manic manner and bizarre behaviour of this cyber wack-a-do, as he lacks the formal niceties and erudite-etiquette of his digitally-deficient disciples; but he does have the benefit of the accumulated knowledge gained from the free-flow of information passed-over and forgotten by surfer addicted Web-junkies and their associates.
Listen closely, because behind the mad ravings of this slightly out-of-phase demented pixelated-paranoid is the wisdom that will put you on the path to Web-marketing success."
How The 7 Viral Elements Informed The Campaign
Engage The Audience
Grab Attention. If you start with the idea that Web traffic is an audience, you stand a better chance of grabbing their attention and making a connection that will get them to stick around long enough to listen to your message.
Cache was portrayed by actor Shawn Kaufmann, who has a great comic flair and during videoing we encouraged him to ad lib which resulted in a great line of dialogue that we decided to use in the opening introduction sequence to the campaign website, www.cacheclosed.com.
Upon entering the site visitors are presented with dramatic music and a series of warnings concerning the dangers of Internet viruses. The warnings are interrupted by an abrupt change of pace interjection by our hero with the line, "So, now I've invaded your hard drive. You heard of viral marketing, now let's see how it works." We grab our audience's attention, peak their interest, inform them of the content, and demonstrate the concept, all in forty-five seconds.
Enlighten And Inform
Provide Substance. Despite all the non sequitur dialogue and oddball presentation techniques, each of the nine videos that comprise the website have a specific marketing or branding point.
We understand that not everyone is going to get all the references, but for those who do, the target audience, will be truly engaged by the presentation and informed by the content.
Cache Closed shows just how far you can push the concept of a talking head - they don't have to be boring. For Cache Closed the medium is as much the message as the actual information. It informs and enlightens for those open to making viral marketing both contagious and meaningful.
Stylize The Experience
Create An Experience. Of course we could have presented the same basic content with a straightforward presentation in a clear and concise manner, but it would have been uninspiring and instantly forgettable. We've written many articles including this one about how to market your products and brand your company on the Web, but we know 70% of even interested people won't read it.
Every day I receive audio and video presentations done by companies both professionally and DYI, and as good as the actual information maybe, the presentation of it is undistinguished. In marketing, being forgettable is the first deadly sin. If you're not creating an experience for your audience you will never be remembered no matter how important, or potentially useful, your information.
The Cache Closed concept was a risk, but without risk there's no reward, and the reward in viral marketing is being remembered.
Focus
Be Consistent. Marketing executives know that companies can't be all things to all people, but hammering away at the same message in the same manner can create a scenario where the audience feels they've heard it all before. The challenge is to keep your campaigns fresh and new while at the same time delivering a focused, consistent message. Don't change the message; just present it in new and exciting ways.
As bizarre as the Cache Closed campaign is, it is still firmly grounded in what we do and why. Whether we are developing campaigns for clients or ourselves, we always focus on the core concept that separates the client or ourselves from the competition.
Entertain
Be Memorable. Be Bold. What Cache delivers is meaningful, marketing concepts that are worth the audience's time and attention because they inform and entertain at the same time: a simple idea that relies on creative implementation to make it memorable.
Anybody can shoot a video and put it up on their website, but how many can turn advertising into memorable content? That's the challenge.
For the Web to be an effective marketing environment it must be more than a digital corkboard where millions of businesses pushpin their flyers. The Web is a communication environment and effective communication must be entertaining and enlightening.
Resonate
Hit A Nerve. The flip side of entertaining is the necessity to connect to your audience. Your message and your style must hit a nerve and a light bulb must go off in your audience's head that says, 'I get it.'
It is not an accident that we used the light bulb metaphor to open each video segment. What makes the Web such a powerful marketing and branding tool is it's ability to communicate on a verbal, non-verbal, and metaphoric level. If your marketing presentations aren't communicating on all three levels then your missing opportunities to resonate and connect with your audience, and that means lost opportunity and business.
Excite
Compel Action. We all understand the need for a call to action but how can you expect people to pick up the phone, email, or fill-in your contact form if they aren't turned-on by your presentation.
In recent years, Cadillac has lost much of it's luxury status to foreign imports, but its recent commercial featuring Kate Walsh driving a cherry red Caddy with the punch-line, "When you turn your car on, does it return the favour?" says it all, much more than the preceding list of features she recites. The commercial delivers both style and substance with hypnotically entertaining cross-gender appeal. Unfortunately GM presented this commercial as a one-off. No series, no follow-up, no campaign based on a terrific focused, differentiating concept.
The Web unlike television offers businesses both large and small the opportunity to create meaningful marketing campaigns that excite, entertain, and enlighten an audience looking for more. And that is what Cache Closed attempts to do.
Viral Marketing Lets See How it Works - To learn more about this author, visit Jerry Bader's Website.
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The 7 Elements of a Viral Video Campaign
The biggest problem most websites have is that they are instantly forgettable. They sell or say the same thing as hundreds or thousands of other sites; to an audience that is so quick to click-away that a large percentage of their traffic never appreciates why they should buy anything or listen to what's being said.
In order for a website or ad campaign to be interesting enough for visitors to stick-around, or clever enough to be viral, it must be compelling enough to prompt viewers to stay, absorb, and pass it onto friends and colleagues. This does not mean that the media presented has to be salacious or somehow socially inappropriate.
Common viral videos of silly people doing sophomoric things on fuzzy video maybe viral for people with too much time on their hands but it's viral without marketing or branding purpose.
Purposeful viral video websites and campaigns present meaningful theme-based messages within the context of an entertaining experience that is worth repeating and distributing. In other words, it must have both substance and style.
The 7 Viral Video Campaign Elements
1. Engage: Grab Attention.
2. Enlighten: Provide Substance.
3. Stylize: Create An Experience.
4. Focus: Be Consistent.
5. Entertain: Be Memorable.
6. Resonate: Hit A Nerve.
7. Excite: Compel Action.
Corollary: Actionable Ideas Prompt Brand Awareness and Leads.
Deconstructing The Case of Cache Closed
For some it's a giant leap of faith to accept the idea that something can be entertaining and meaningful at the same time. Apple Computer is one company that gets the concept, and whether it's their Macintosh or iPod campaign, each demonstrates all seven elements of a viral advertising initiative. And these videos work as well and maybe better on the Web as they do on television.
To turn a viral marketing concept into an effective campaign beyond a single one-off video you need vision, guts, and great creative. In order to demonstrate to clients how such a campaign works, we developed something called 'Cache Closed.'
The campaign is comprised of a website that contains a series of two-minute videos that do nothing but present ideas and concepts meant to help clients with their marketing and branding. No sales pitches. No asking for orders, newsletter sign-ups or anything else, just ideas presented in an offbeat, some would say bizarre, entertaining manner.
Is it for everyone; absolutely not, but we have plenty of text-based material on our sites that people and search engines can read or index. But this campaign is aimed at more creatively enlightened business and marketing executives looking to turn advertising into content, not content into advertising.
Creating The Brand Hero and Back-Story
Marshall McLuhan described television as a 'cold medium' and if that is true, the Web is a frozen glacier. But even the most barren landscape seems able to sustain some form of life, and video and audio provides that life force to the otherwise digital Internet void.
Isn't it time we put aside the bulleted-point slide shows, over-used royalty-free media, self-promoting ego presentations, hackneyed, dumb-downed messages, and insulting con-artist approaches with the classic 'but wait there's more ...' copy.
Whether it's a website, a marketing campaign or both, you need to start with a concept. In the case of 'Cache Closed' the concept is simple, the media is the message, and video delivered by a real person, presents your marketing story better than any other presentation format. So in order to tell the story effectively, we needed to create a storyteller: enter our hero, 'Cache Closed.'
Who Is Cache Closed?
No matter what medium you work in, what engages an audience most is human contact, and the closest you can get to human contact on the Web is video of a real person. In this instance our professional actor actually portrays a binary creation, but by using a real person instead of an animation or avatar, we were able to instill some humanity and engage the audience on an emotional level.
Before we wrote the scripts we needed to invent the character. Below is the character back-story that was originally written as a voice-over introduction that was later eliminated, but the back-story informed the nature of the character as well as the press releases that were sent out when the campaign was introduced.
The Cache Closed Back-story
"Meet Cache Closed, a digital construct, fabricated from the binary remains of lost and discarded data found in the ditch beside the information highway.
Do not be fooled by the manic manner and bizarre behaviour of this cyber wack-a-do, as he lacks the formal niceties and erudite-etiquette of his digitally-deficient disciples; but he does have the benefit of the accumulated knowledge gained from the free-flow of information passed-over and forgotten by surfer addicted Web-junkies and their associates.
Listen closely, because behind the mad ravings of this slightly out-of-phase demented pixelated-paranoid is the wisdom that will put you on the path to Web-marketing success."
How The 7 Viral Elements Informed The Campaign
Engage The Audience
Grab Attention. If you start with the idea that Web traffic is an audience, you stand a better chance of grabbing their attention and making a connection that will get them to stick around long enough to listen to your message.
Cache was portrayed by actor Shawn Kaufmann, who has a great comic flair and during videoing we encouraged him to ad lib which resulted in a great line of dialogue that we decided to use in the opening introduction sequence to the campaign website, www.cacheclosed.com.
Upon entering the site visitors are presented with dramatic music and a series of warnings concerning the dangers of Internet viruses. The warnings are interrupted by an abrupt change of pace interjection by our hero with the line, "So, now I've invaded your hard drive. You heard of viral marketing, now let's see how it works." We grab our audience's attention, peak their interest, inform them of the content, and demonstrate the concept, all in forty-five seconds.
Enlighten And Inform
Provide Substance. Despite all the non sequitur dialogue and oddball presentation techniques, each of the nine videos that comprise the website have a specific marketing or branding point.
We understand that not everyone is going to get all the references, but for those who do, the target audience, will be truly engaged by the presentation and informed by the content.
Cache Closed shows just how far you can push the concept of a talking head - they don't have to be boring. For Cache Closed the medium is as much the message as the actual information. It informs and enlightens for those open to making viral marketing both contagious and meaningful.
Stylize The Experience
Create An Experience. Of course we could have presented the same basic content with a straightforward presentation in a clear and concise manner, but it would have been uninspiring and instantly forgettable. We've written many articles including this one about how to market your products and brand your company on the Web, but we know 70% of even interested people won't read it.
Every day I receive audio and video presentations done by companies both professionally and DYI, and as good as the actual information maybe, the presentation of it is undistinguished. In marketing, being forgettable is the first deadly sin. If you're not creating an experience for your audience you will never be remembered no matter how important, or potentially useful, your information.
The Cache Closed concept was a risk, but without risk there's no reward, and the reward in viral marketing is being remembered.
Focus
Be Consistent. Marketing executives know that companies can't be all things to all people, but hammering away at the same message in the same manner can create a scenario where the audience feels they've heard it all before. The challenge is to keep your campaigns fresh and new while at the same time delivering a focused, consistent message. Don't change the message; just present it in new and exciting ways.
As bizarre as the Cache Closed campaign is, it is still firmly grounded in what we do and why. Whether we are developing campaigns for clients or ourselves, we always focus on the core concept that separates the client or ourselves from the competition.
Entertain
Be Memorable. Be Bold. What Cache delivers is meaningful, marketing concepts that are worth the audience's time and attention because they inform and entertain at the same time: a simple idea that relies on creative implementation to make it memorable.
Anybody can shoot a video and put it up on their website, but how many can turn advertising into memorable content? That's the challenge.
For the Web to be an effective marketing environment it must be more than a digital corkboard where millions of businesses pushpin their flyers. The Web is a communication environment and effective communication must be entertaining and enlightening.
Resonate
Hit A Nerve. The flip side of entertaining is the necessity to connect to your audience. Your message and your style must hit a nerve and a light bulb must go off in your audience's head that says, 'I get it.'
It is not an accident that we used the light bulb metaphor to open each video segment. What makes the Web such a powerful marketing and branding tool is it's ability to communicate on a verbal, non-verbal, and metaphoric level. If your marketing presentations aren't communicating on all three levels then your missing opportunities to resonate and connect with your audience, and that means lost opportunity and business.
Excite
Compel Action. We all understand the need for a call to action but how can you expect people to pick up the phone, email, or fill-in your contact form if they aren't turned-on by your presentation.
In recent years, Cadillac has lost much of it's luxury status to foreign imports, but its recent commercial featuring Kate Walsh driving a cherry red Caddy with the punch-line, "When you turn your car on, does it return the favour?" says it all, much more than the preceding list of features she recites. The commercial delivers both style and substance with hypnotically entertaining cross-gender appeal. Unfortunately GM presented this commercial as a one-off. No series, no follow-up, no campaign based on a terrific focused, differentiating concept.
The Web unlike television offers businesses both large and small the opportunity to create meaningful marketing campaigns that excite, entertain, and enlighten an audience looking for more. And that is what Cache Closed attempts to do.
Viral Marketing Lets See How it Works - To learn more about this author, visit Jerry Bader's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power'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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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson'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.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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