So You Want To Go Viral?

The Fundamentals of Using Social Media & Word of Mouth to Create Brand Buzz

Here’s how the conversation usually starts: Viral? That’s good. A lot of people could potentially see it. No, that’s bad. It’s impossible to control. But if it’s done right, it can be unbelievably valuable. And if we screw it up, it will bite us in the a**. Then let’s do it right. Ok, you go first. I’ll watch. Fine, start by following me on Twitter. Twitter? What’s that?

Why bother with this ‘viral’ stuff? Because media has changed. YOU

And because the Conversation has evolved

So, what exactly is viral marketing? Any communication that is spread socially.
Word of Mouth (WOM)
Chatter/buzz
Street/guerilla/intercept (Mall promotions, etc.)
Referrals/pass-along (Sharing, Tell-a-Friend)
Influencer marketing (key bloggers, authors, etc.)
Social community activity (Facebook, Meetup, LinkedIn, etc.)
Incentivized sweeps/contests/promotions
Group action (Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.)
Product seeding
Flashmob, ambush or interrupt marketing (“spontaneous” break dance at Apple store)

Viral means interconnected
Everything connects to everything now, making cross-pollination nearly instantaneous.
YOU

Social media has become 4D, intersecting online and offline
4D is Community, Interest, Time and Location – your social graph is mobile and moves with you
Effect of ‘ FourSquarification’ – individuals & groups self-identifying through common interests and geo-location instantly
Cross-over between web & mobile – no longer just WAP or text/SMS
Google Earth integration
Augmented reality
Interactive outdoor media becoming more prevalent

What makes a campaign go viral? Hitting the right MOTIVATION .
Encourages social interaction – sharing an experience within a defined community
Offers rewards or incentives - getting something for performing an action
Improves social status – people love to be recognized, be the first to know, be hip and cool
Leverages brand loyalty – people want to share thus validating their personal preferences
Provides a creative and personal experience

Some examples

Some examples http://mashable.com/2010/07/21/coke-happiness-machine/ Coke Machine Happiness: 1 million views in one week!

Some examples The Old Spice Man Twitter campaign pushed over 100 million views on YouTube In 30 days! http://mashable.com/2010/07/15/old-spice-stats/

Some examples Bill Gerth – @ ComcastCares customer service rep with 45,000 followers – generating a potential 90,000,000 impressions for every message he sends! That kind of exposure in paid media would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars!

What are the most effective viral drivers?
Social timeliness – what’s Lilo done today?
Humor - the fat Star Wars kid
Rewards or incentives
Praise & Recognition
Surprise/outrage - burned a Quran today?
Professional motivation
Philanthropic - desire to do good
Fear - H1N1 virus, global warming
An effective call to action

More examples The original Numa Numa guy drove over 10,000,000 views on YouTube… But some brilliant mind at an agency inserted the Geico lizard doing a dance behind him and did it all over again…

More examples http://www.adverblog.com/archives/003367.htm

More examples

What are the most effective viral tools?
Email
Blogs
Instant messaging
Social communities (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.)
Book-marking sites (Digg, Delicious, Yelp, etc.)
Sharing Tools ( SocialTwist’s Tell-a-Friend)
Video sites (YouTube, Flickr, Revver, etc.)
Bulletin boards
Mouths

What clicks in viral campaigns?
Humor or cute factor (babies, kittens, bloopers, etc.)
Relevance to the user
Engagement (interactivity, ease of use, sharing)
Personalization (name, location, content)
Remix/mashup configurability
WOW factor (trick shots, extreme danger or skill, etc.)
Emotional appeal – sad, joyous, outrage, shock
David vs. Goliath syndrome – victory of the little guy

Extenders & Enhancers for viral campaigns
Make it a series (BMW, Old Spice)
Make it a challenge
Turn it into a game
Add ratings and/or comments – keep the conversation going!
Add non-profit engagement
Add political engagement – Obama is a great example
Allow consumer customization
Provide value-adds for participation (music downloads, free video, unique content, etc.)
Tweet about it regularly

Extenders, enhancers, cont.
Create desktop widgets (Staples, Southwest, etc.)
Develop mobile applications
Real world events tied to online promotions
Throw in something FREE… doesn’t matter what, so long as it’s free!

10 critical steps to a successful viral marketing action plan
BUILD YOUR USER BASE FIRST!! It’s hard to go viral with twelve users
Define your overall objectives - quantitative & qualitative
Set benchmarks, metrics and goals
Define your digital identity and brand positioning
Develop specific strategies for each channel – remember, one size does not fit all!
Choose best of breed tool sets
Develop multiple sets of creative with variations of each
Evangelize your team, partners and brand ambassadors
Test & monitor results
Adjust your strategy to focus on most promising channels, and keep testing, testing, testing

Presented by Michael Crosson
Publisher, www.SocialMediopolis.com
Founder and Moderator, Social Media Marketing, with over 95,000 members on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=66325
Vice-President of Sales, www.SocialTwist.com
Email: [email_address]
Ph. 415.299.0637

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So You Want To Go Viral?

by Michael Crosson on Sep 09, 2010

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So You Want To Go Viral? — Presentation Transcript