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Archive for the ‘Viral Marketing’ Category
Monday, June 27th, 2011
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “gone viral.” Viral marketing is a term that was coined in 1997 when Hotmail got everyone to sign up for a free e-mail account. I’d be willing to bet you were one of those who did it (and you might still have that account). Am I right?
Asides aside, David Jackson has an awesome article at SiteProNews that showcases 7 viral marketing techniques that work. And believe me, they ALL work.
Those 7 techniques (in a nutshell) are (brace yourself – spoilage coming):
- Videos
- Social media
- Articles
- Twitter
- Share widget
- E-books
- Newsletter
Trust me, these techniques all work. I know because I’ve tried them. But before you go out and start implementing these techniques in your marketing campaigns, there is one thing you have to do before you start seeking the viral in viral marketing. Do you know what that one thing is?
I hear you saying, “Create content.” That’s true. Without content, you can’t go viral. But that’s not it.
How about “great content?” Close, but no cigar.
Give up?
Well, I don’t want to keep you guessing for the next 20 days, so I’m going to spill the beans. In order for your content to go viral, you first have to create awesome knock-your-socks-off content. Truly, I mean your content has to be so awesome that your readers, site visitors, or whoever you put that content in front of forgets everything else and helps you promote it.
That’s it. Viral marketing is nothing more than word of mouth advertising at near lightning speed. OK, slight exaggeration. What I mean is: Super Fast Speed.
To achieve that effect, your content has to be awesome and nothing short of it.
Tags: content, Viral Marketing, word of mouth
Posted in Viral Marketing | 4 Comments »
Friday, April 1st, 2011
If you’ve never heard of viral marketing, then let’s talk about it. You’ve likely heard someone say, “It’s gone viral.” Or maybe you haven’t. If not, you really should get out a little more. 
Seriously, viral marketing is really about one thing, and Jonah Peretti describes it pretty well.
Simply, stuff that has the best opportunity to spread is stuff that people want to share with others.
In other words, the heart of viral marketing is to present people with stuff they want to share with their friends. To do that successfully requires a little bit of an understanding about what makes people tick.
I like how Jonah talks about the difference between Google and Facebook. Google is about information. On Facebook, however, it’s about showing people who you really are. People share what defines them. And when what defines one person also defines another person, which defines a third person, etc., there’s the perfect recipe for viral marketing.
If you want your content to go viral, you need it to do three things:
- Appeal to a broad cross-section of users on a variety of social media
- Be in a format that is easy to share
- Represent your brand in the most favorable light
If your content does those three things, it has viral potential. When you think about it like that, it’s not really all that hard. Is it?
Tags: facebook, google, Social Media, Viral Marketing
Posted in Viral Marketing | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Yesterday we talked about the new phenomenon called YouTube Instant. But what we didn’t talk about was how many people were talking about it. According to a WebProNews article, YouTube Instant received 270,000 visitors in three days. But that’s not even the amazing part.
What’s truly amazing is that the site developer spent just three hours building the site. And he did that just because he made a bet with a friend. So it’s not like he was even trying to build a site that would go viral. He was just passing the time.
This is truly an inspiration and a great example of how to build a solid, successful idea without overthinking it. Sure, you need to plan your work. But planning doesn’t necessarily mean spending thousands of hours poring over endless and unnecessary details. At some point you’ve got to get to work. And keep this in mind: Sometimes it is the simplest ideas that catch on the fastest.
I’m sure if you were to ask Feross Aboukhadijeh, he’d tell you that there is nothing simple about YouTube Instant. But there’s nothing really complicated about it either – from a user standpoint. Which is the beauty. Feross made it simple for users to find videos in real time. And he went viral. No planning. No fuss. No endless hours of work.
Tags: Viral Marketing, YouTube
Posted in Viral Marketing | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
You might think that viral marketing is something that takes root and grows on its own. In fact, many times that’s precisely what happens. The famous concert in 1969 known as Woodstock happened that way. A few people planned to get together at Yasger’s farm and before you know it, there were several thousand people there coming from all over the place. It was a huge success despite the no shows.
Viral marketing often happens that way. But not all the time. Some marketers have planned a viral campaign and managed it through to see it just as successful as Woodstock. But as many as are planned that succeed can also fail.
To plan and manage a successful viral marketing campaign you have to understand a little bit about human nature. You have to know what motivates people to act. What makes them tick. Then you dangle the proverbial carrot and watch them go. Once the viral aspect of the marketing campaign kicks in then it takes on a life of its own. You couldn’t stop it if you wanted to. And that’s what makes it so beautiful.
Tags: planning, Viral Marketing, Woodstock
Posted in Viral Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Viral marketing gets a lot of hype. Maybe that’s because that’s precisely what it is, hype. And who can blame the hypists for hyping up the hype?
But it really is more than hype. It’s a valid marketing strategy. But what is it and who does it benefit?
In a word, viral marketing is the use of certain online tools to drive a buzz about your business and drive massive targeted traffic to your website. Viral marketing uses tools beyond the traditional press release and publicity-driving measures of old media. It utilizes things such as blogs, social media, videos, and other “viral” tools to create a buzz and drive traffic right where you want it.
Keep in mind that the most effective viral marketing is targeted. But the broader your audience then the most effective it can be because your message will appeal to a larger pool of people. If you are a local business within a specific niche and you are in a small community then viral marketing may not be a viable marketing tactic for you. Let’s do the numbers:
In a town of 100,000 people with 50,000 households, 80% of which are Internet connected, you’ll have a potential target market of 40,000 households. But what if you sell women’s clothes? Well, that effectively knocks off a large part of that market, doesn’t it? If each household has an average of 4 persons (2 adults and 2 children) and only one of those is a woman then your potential target market is a pool of 40,000 women. That’s not bad, right?
But that isn’t your real targeting pool. What if you sell plus-size women’s clothing? Again, you’re cutting out a large part of your market. If half the women population in your town is plug size then your market is now down to 20,000 potential buyers. That’s a considerably smaller pool.
OK, it gets worse. Those 20,000 women may all be online, but how often do they use the Internet and how often do they shop for plus-size women’s clothing online? That can vary, of course, but realistically a very small part of your market is going to avid Internet shoppers. It is likely that most will be occasional online shoppers. Will a video posted to YouTube penetrate your geographically-targeted 20,000 potential buyers of plus-sized women’s clothing? Possibly. If done right. But to do it correctly you really have to know that market and get them to YouTube to see that video. How do you do that?
On the local level, viral marketing is best done as a combination off line and online marketing tactics. While you can use search engine optimization methods to achieve highly targeted marketing campaigns online, when it comes to viral marketing, it can be hit and miss depending on the millions of variables to measure that are unique to every business’s situation. You can’t just dive right in and expect instant success.
Tags: geographic target marketing, local business, Viral Marketing
Posted in Viral Marketing | 11 Comments »
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
You’ve created your website, and you’ve even gone to the trouble, and perhaps expense, of creating a video. Your small business is all set to be found on the ‘net.
But nothing’s happening.
You checked your rank, again and again. You’re not gaining ground. Google, or none of the other major search engines seem to be checking you out.
What can you do to establish your presence on the Internet?
One of the best ways to improve your rank is by having inbound links, (also known as backlinks).
When it comes to videos, make sure you’re using a strong site such as YouTube. Google looks at the page rank of the site you are linking to—and determines how important that link is. The higher their page rank is, the higher you’ll (eventually) rank as well.
Your goal is to get that video seen and one of the best ways is simply by asking for links–from people and companies who know you and those you have something in common with.
Type in your keywords and find other similar sites. Visit them, leave a good comment on their blog, and ask them for a reciprocal link. Instead of seeing them as potential competitors, view each other as cohorts–you can exchange links and ideas–and each of your can specialize in your own niche market and still leave plenty of room for the other guy.
Remember on the Internet, broad keywords won’t yield as good of results as finding your audience by what you specialize in. Make your keywords specific–there are still thousands looking for exactly what your small business has to offer. When you narrow the search, you increase your odds of being found.
If you’re going to the trouble to make a video, then be sure to create a press release/news release promoting it. News/press releases are easier than you think. Check out my post on Press Releases to get some pointers and find some great free press/news release sites such as 24-7 PressRelease, ClickPress, and PRLeap. Consider paying to post your news release. Paid sites have good ranks, and they will link people directly to your site.
Don’t wait to be found–submit to those directories and social bookmarking sites yourself.
Be sure to submit to Digg, Technorati, Delicious—and don’t forget that StumbleUpon will allow you to submit your site for links. Don’t forget your social media sites. MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn all rank well. When you upload your video there, be sure to let your “friends†know you’ve got a new video.
Webmasters everywhere are looking for content. Your video is content!
Again, start with your keyword search and email some website hosts and introduce yourself, mention your website and that you have a new video—would they like to post it on their site? If you created a good video that’s more than a simple advertisement—meaning, you actually offer content that’s helpful, then they’ll appreciate your video and want to post it.
These helpful tips can help to highlight your small business video on the web.
Make it easy for others to find you by getting those inbound/backlinks you need to rank well.
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Tags: SEO for Small Business, small business marketing, small business videos
Posted in SEO for Small Business, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing Videos, Social Media, Tools for Small Business, Uncategorized, Viral Marketing, website development | 1 Comment »
Sunday, December 21st, 2008
There is no more powerful combination than that of the mind and emotions together. When people get excited about something that sparks their imaginations, that`s when big things happen and that`s where viral marketing comes in.
You need to make people feel something strongly in order to start viral marketing. Whether this is a good or bad feeling, strong emotions make for hot marketing. If you`ve said something to incense a group of people, you can be sure it will make the rounds in no time at all. All you need to do is apply this to your marketing to get the best use of it.
However, wild passion might burn through a few marketing milestones, but if you are making an appeal to the audience`s mind, as well, you`ll find that they will take it even further and what starts out as a simple viral marketing campaign can go sky high.
Appeal to both emotions and mind with your marketing and it could very well end up being a viral marketing plan.
Tags: business, marketing, Viral Marketing
Posted in Viral Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Every small business requires marketing, but unlike larger companies with full on marketing and advertising sections who can afford to be everywhere at once, small business marketing requires focus. You`ll need to really pinpoint your efforts if you want to be successful.
Focused marketing means taking the time to identify one or two types of marketing that would be most useful to your company. You will also need to know precisely what your target market is so you don`t end up spending money to advertise to the wrong people.
By using focused marketing techniques to increase the amount of time and money you spend on a certain demographic, you should see more results. Most people only respond to a message after having seen it multiple times, so skipping from one ad campaign to the next won`t have much effect. However, giving them the same message over and over again is definitely a good thing.
Focused marketing is a must if you are a small business on a small budget.
Tags: focused, marketing, target market
Posted in Viral Marketing | No Comments »
Friday, October 24th, 2008
Viral marketing sounds like a great way to do business, it basically involves having other people do your marketing for you. But how exactly do you make your marketing viral? Here are a few tips to get you started.
Viral Marketing Tips
- Choose the right medium. Video is one of the most popular viral marketing tools because people LOVE to watch video. If you can come up with something worthy of sharing, then you can watch it skyrocket in popularity.
- Give it a headstart. Whatever your viral marketing medium is, it`s not going to go viral on it`s own. You`ll need to “sneeze” it out. That means getting others online to link to it and share with their friends. If you have a good social networking group, that`s a great start. Asking other bloggers to review can also work.
- Keep it short. An hour long video or a two page essay is not going to get spread too far, but something that only takes 15-45 second of your time is certainly a good candidate.
- Be shocking or funny. These are two main ways to get major traffic and they really do work. If you can`t be funny, look for a way to make your viral marketing shocking.
Viral marketing only needs a starting push from you and then it should take off on its own. Obviously the results vary from time to time and depending on the audience you`re looking to impress. It`s a fun way to get some extra publicity.
Tags: publicity, videos, Viral Marketing
Posted in Viral Marketing | No Comments »
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