Last week I postulated a theory that simply by writing about the iPhone on my blog, traffic would pop up. I called this "The iPhone Effect".
The results? If there was any increase in traffic, it was negligible. Interesting.
That said, all I have to do is write something about Plone, and wow! My traffic goes up by 5 - 10 times. It's nice to be syndicated...
Everyone is talking about the iPhone. I am craving one myself, but having just bought a new car (a mini-van... my second child is due to arrive in December) I don't see myself buying one just yet.
However, I'm kinda curious about something. I am theorizing that by simply posting an entry with the word "iPhone" in the title, my blog traffic is going to spike. Apple has been masterful (obviously) in generating buzz and lust for this product, and I highly suspect that blog posts about the iPhone are being read.
I have nothing really interesting to say about the iPhone as of yet - I have only seen reviews online, watched Apple's intro video, and seen the TV commercials. But if my traffic does spike, I'll let you know. A curious little experiment...
So it seems that Agency.com is one of the agencies pitching Subway and decided to create a "viral" video of themselves pitching subway as their pitch. How "meta".
I couldn't even watch the entire thing - it's SO damned boring!Viral? Yes... but I don't see it winning the business. I guess we'll see.
Anyway, Coudal Partners put up a spoof which could have maybe been funnier, but was cute in concept. Itake it Coudal isn't pitching...
Nick Dynice boils down New Marketing (or Brand Interactivism) concepts into a simple formula. While not complete, the simplicity is nice.
I really enjoyed Mastercard's ad last night, promoting a consumer-generated content campaign that ties in with their long running and highly recognizable "Priceless" campaign. Mastercard invited the audience to participate by entering a competition to develop the best priceless idea.
By including their customers, they gain awareness, augment their already huge opt-in online customer database, create word-of-mouth, and get people coming to their website where they can promote their products. This is a great first step towards customer empowerment.
Purchasing a 30-second spot during the Academy Awards... $1.3 million.
Allowing your audience to participate... priceless!
Maker's Mark has a marketing program where they tap top customers to be "Ambassadors". In fact, my wife's stepfather is such an Ambassador. They sent him a beautifully designed folder with a "personal" letter from the president of the company, a bunch of Maker's Mark business cards with his name and status (to pass out to friends), and most clever of all, a "birth certificate". This certificate announces the "birth" of a "newborn Maker's Mark barrel" that has his name etched onto it. This 50-gallon barrel will mature in 6 - 7 years and he'll be able to purchase bottles of it from his personal barrel. He can see the barrel (with his name on it) online.
As crazy as this all sounds, my father-in-law is pretty excited about it. He's been talking about it all weekend. He's a true customer evangelist. He's telling his friends (and clearly his family).
This barely costs Maker's Mark anything at all, and yet has its best customers talking about it.
Coca-Cola is trying a rather innovative approach to advertising their sponsorship of the Torino Olympics. They have asked students from a number of different nations to blog and podcast their experiences as spectators. I'll be very curious to find out how successful this is. It's pretty cutting edge marketing. Great stuff.
Many traditional marketing and advertising agencies (even ones that claim to be "online experts") treat the Internet as just another medium to broadcast a marketing message (the way the SuperBowl was handled certainly proves that!) These agencies see email blasts as a cheaper form of direct mail or banner ads as a somewhat more efficient type of television advertising. And while others recognize that the Internet can help support sophisticated one-to-one relationships with customers through online CRM programs, such efforts are only a good first step. While such programs can certainly be of benefit, the best opportunities on the Internet are fundamentally different from those in traditional media. The traditional worldview limits the possibilities of what can be accomplished.
By its very nature, the Internet is a highly complex system. Extremely small actions can have major consequences online. A single comment on somebody’s blog can spread via syndication technologies like RSS to millions of people within seconds of being posted. This dynamic has helped to make marketers feel unsure in this brave new world. How does a company market itself in a medium where the customers are in control -- where they can easily exchange information about pricing, customer service, or product quality? And where a single negative comment is archived forever to be found by the masses on Google?
Issues like these don’t just apply to corporations. For example, how important is it for a politician to make sure that empowered constituents stay “on message”? How can a not-for-profit organization leverage the Internet in ways to give it influence, visibility and a reach that would have been impossible just a few short years ago?
Emergent online communities form and grow every day, and it is in helping to nurture and empower these communities where opportunities lie for marketers.
An important question for any online marketer is, who controls your message? Success online is rooted in relinquishing control of your message to those you are trying to reach – your customers. Allowing them to speak, rather than speaking down to them, is the first step. Marketers must remember that the Internet is made up of empowered individuals who do not want to be treated as a mass consumer or a demographic. The ease and immediacy of communications from anyone to anyone is what makes the Internet so different from traditional media. Broadcast and narrowcast marketing each implies that the source of the message is in control, but this is not how the Internet works. The organic power of online entities like message boards, chat rooms, blogs, podcasts, RSS, grassroots communities, expert opinion sites, mobile smart mobs, and viral emails change the equation dramatically.
While marketers cannot hope to control the Internet, successful companies work to empower their natural communities to sit up, interact, get involved, take action and tell others.
Individuals respond well to organizations that are perceived as being encouraging and supportive of their communities, and brand loyalty is what results. The desired effect is the exponential power of positive word-of-mouth.
Your company has fans. Some of them are BIG fans.
They are the people who buy your product or service, again
and again.
They are the people who tell their friends about you. They
are your best sales people, really. Are you taking care of your fans? With all
of the choices in the world today, they won’t stick around forever if you’re
not.
Are you aware that they talk to each other? In fact, the Internet is making it easier than ever for them to communicate. Are you participating in these conversations? Are you inspiring them? What do they want to talk about? What are they saying about you? What are they saying TO you? Do you listen? You can be sure that other people are listening.
Apparently, eCards are gaining in popularity again, due in part to higher quality. Really good eCards can be extremely viral.
Brandweek reports on a report from Sharpe Partners that shows that 89% of US adult Internet users send content others. 63% do so at least once per week, and an amazing 25% share content nearly daily. As many as 3/4 of the respondents to the survey forward content to up to six others. The study also found that overt branding only has a slightly negative effect on a viral campaign. Intuitively, I would have suspected that overt branding would have hurt more than that.
Richard Edelman (the CEO of the world's largest independent PR firm) writes about what he calls the "Me2 Revolution". His argument, in a nutshell, is that since people trust their friends, families and peers a heck of a lot more than they trust corporate or government communications, it's critically important to allow employees to speak directly with the marketplace through technologies like blogs and podcasts.
It's amazing how it's only now, after all these years, that the Cluetrain Manifesto is starting to take hold in corporate America. We still have a long way to go.
Refuting some old assumptions about the limits of virtual relationships, a paper published by Pew Internet & American Life Project submits that online communities actually enhance real-life relationships, rather than detract. This is very important, because it implies that organizations that help facilitate online communities are more likely to garner loyalty and customer evangelists.
Perhaps an unfortunate theme in this post and the last, but yes, sex does sell. However, mainstream TV is pretty squeamish about how far an advertiser can go (the recent Go Daddy ads are really pushing the limits, IMO). Here is an example of an advertiser (Napster) who decided to create an ad that would NEVER get TV time, knowing full well that the viral nature of the Internet could make it popular. This ad is clever and funny, if perhaps not appropriate for the workplace. The 30-second spot maybe isn't dead after all, if it's used in innovative ways.
Whatever you think of the politics, PETA has put up a website fighting against milk consumption. WARNING: THIS SITE MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR WORKPLACE
That said, I'm SURE it's going to be viral. People will be passing this around. As always, sex sells.
Of course, there are many OTHER ways to be viral (humor being #1).
Word of Mouth Marketing in Five Easy Steps: MarketingProfs.com
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