Viral marketing is like the weather: everyone's talking about it, but no one is doing anything about it.

You know why? Because you can't. That's right. You can't simply manufacture viral marketing. But don't tell that to some marketers. They're out there, practicing something akin to alchemy.

Think there's a science behind viral marketing? Or perhaps a secret formula? I think there's a bit of each, but they follow that famous saying by Louis Pasteur, "Chance favors the prepared mind."

While so many marketing efforts are more measurable than ever before, there are aspects to the practice that are still a combination of art and science. Good research trumps everything, but then again, so does common sense.

When it comes to "viral marketing" I think the secret sauce is simple: make it entertaining. If you know your audience, what they like and what will grab their attention, adding an entertainment angle to it (plus the ability to easily pass along the content) will make it viral. That's it. You may recall a mathematical formula I've used here before:

Research + Entertainment = Wildly Successful Campaign

That's not to say it's going to work. Odds are, it won't. But this is the formula that has to be followed, in my opinion, if you want any shot at success. You don't just upload some half-ass video to YouTube and claim you've got a viral video. The 42 people who view it may think so, but I doubt your client or manager will.

Bottom line: you need to exercise good judgment, gut instinct, have some smart research insights, and know your audience. Come to think of it, this doesn't sound that different from traditional marketing, does it?

Thanks to Rohit Bhargava for issuing the challenge on this one. I hope I can bring these and other insights to Ad:Tech.

Labels: Marketing, Rohit Bhargava, social media, strategy, Viral

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 Comments:

At 9/26/2007 12:07 AM,  Greg Verdino said...

Hey Scott - When you're right, you're right. G

 

At 9/26/2007 10:44 AM,  MyStarbucks said...

Very good advice. I am going to work harder at using your formula and see if it makes a difference.

 

At 9/26/2007 12:00 PM,  Meg Suggs said...

This post couldn't have come at a better time! I was recently brought on to launch a company blog, vlog, wikis and other social media tools.

Lately, a lot of friends have been sending me the 'will it blend' youtube videos. I knew Blendtec had something when these individuals who are in fields totally unrelated to marketing were watching every video and sending me comments like, "this makes me want their blender!" I'm trying to figure out something that's unique but will generate similar success and needed a little guidance. Thanks for the wisdom!

 

At 9/26/2007 12:23 PM,  Scott said...

Meg, the BlendTec campaign is pure genius. From what I understand, they've managed to increase their sales by at least 350% with a minor marketing investment.

But what they've done is brilliant - they've infused something typically mundane (appliance shopping) with emotion and passion. For anyone who's seen the videos, I dare you do shop for a blender and not think of BlendTec.

This type of game-changing move is what will truly set the innovators apart from their competition.

 

At 9/27/2007 12:02 PM,  Joseph Jaffe said...

As I often say, "Viral marketing is the lazy marketer's guide to new marketing"

Great ideas, content, stories and brands will naturally be viral in today's linked-in environment.

Where we can win is by getting out of our own ways and making it easy for our content to be shared...

Nice one consigliere....

 

At 9/27/2007 6:08 PM,  Uwe Hook said...

Joseph Jaffe is correct: Your formula should include Distribution

 

At 3/17/2008 11:04 AM,  aradana said...

Has anyone out there heard about WideCircles.com. It seems like a way better service then regular pay per click. Apparently they are using refering websites ( forums, blogs, wiki, etc. ) and have a viral word of mouth distributed approach to it which is engaging rather ther then interrupting customers. My friend told me he got over 500 visits from single post which cost him around $0.40c, within a few days. I am going to give them a try today . In case you are intrested here is it. http://widecircles.com?imt=3

 

Psst! Want the Secret to Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is like the weather: everyone's talking about it, but no one is doing anything about it.

You know why? Because you can't. That's right. You can't simply manufacture viral marketing. But don't tell that to some marketers. They're out there, practicing something akin to alchemy.

Think there's a science behind viral marketing? Or perhaps a secret formula? I think there's a bit of each, but they follow that famous saying by Louis Pasteur, "Chance favors the prepared mind."

While so many marketing efforts are more measurable than ever before, there are aspects to the practice that are still a combination of art and science. Good research trumps everything, but then again, so does common sense.

When it comes to "viral marketing" I think the secret sauce is simple: make it entertaining. If you know your audience, what they like and what will grab their attention, adding an entertainment angle to it (plus the ability to easily pass along the content) will make it viral. That's it. You may recall a mathematical formula I've used here before:

Research + Entertainment = Wildly Successful Campaign

That's not to say it's going to work. Odds are, it won't. But this is the formula that has to be followed, in my opinion, if you want any shot at success. You don't just upload some half-ass video to YouTube and claim you've got a viral video. The 42 people who view it may think so, but I doubt your client or manager will.

Bottom line: you need to exercise good judgment, gut instinct, have some smart research insights, and know your audience. Come to think of it, this doesn't sound that different from traditional marketing, does it?

Thanks to Rohit Bhargava for issuing the challenge on this one. I hope I can bring these and other insights to Ad:Tech.

Labels: Marketing, Rohit Bhargava, social media, strategy, Viral

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