News July 7, 2005
Let's begin with some simple
tenets we can agree on. Free is
better than paying. Cheap is
better than expensive. An
invitation is better than a
command. A smile attached to the
eyeballs you want scanning your
site is better than a
disappointed scowl.
Editor's Note:
Have you had success with viral
marketing campaigns, or do your
viral markting efforts always
seem to die on the table?
Discuss your experiences in
WebProWorld.
These concepts make up
everything that is viral
marketing, or as it is referred
to outside cyberspace-word of
mouth advertising.
 Now
lets look at how AOL and Juno
got schooled by Hotmail and
NetZero. Hotmail is a key
beginning as it is considered
the progenitor of online viral
marketing. While Juno was
spending $20 million on
traditional advertising
channels, it didn't come close
to the success of Hotmail's
email service that began with a
modest $50,000.
Hotmail's subscriber base grew
from zero to 12 million users in
18 months, spreading over the
globe (even countries where no
marketing was done), in the
words of
Steve Jurvetson, as if Zeus
sneezed over the planet.
The concept was simple. Offer a
free subscriber email and let
subscribers tell their friends
about it by providing a sign-up
link. Recently, Google has
launched a similar initiative
with originally invitation only
G-Mail accounts.
At around the same time, while
millions were using AOL Free
Trial CDs as drink coasters and
Frisbees, NetZero launched its
own, completely free Internet
service. The result: NetZero
grew ten times faster than AOL.
AOL continues to learn this
lesson, recently noted in a New
York Times article, as it
attempts to combat a huge drop
in renewal rates. No doubt they
noticed Google's tripled share
prices and $1.3 billion first
quarter returns, and adjusted
accordingly by launching its own
free portal.
The big lesson here is that
while traditional real world
marketing is valuable, it's
getting killed by creative, less
budget-pinching initiatives due
to a resurgence of the ancient
and fundamental principle of
word-of-mouth.
Consumers have come full circle
by being able to spot a salesman
a mile away. Worse, they've got
their shotguns loaded and
cocked. While Hotmail's method
was a precursor to a spam
epidemic (all good ideas are
perverted by opportunists), it
illustrated the importance of
likeability, believability, and
the
law of giving and selling.
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Gimmicky spammers and pop-up
advertisers, like telemarketers,
are only selling, door-to-door
style, interrupting dinners,
breaking into conversations in a
way that typically causes a
knee-jerk, negative reaction.
When it gets to the point that
laws are passed, you know you've
caused a problem. In the long
run, that's bad for business.
Elements of Successful Viral
Marketing
Am I going to tell you how to
create a viral marketing
campaign? Well, no, not really.
It's a very Zen concept, a
faith-based business model that
butterflies away whenever you
try to hold it down. I can tell
you what it's about, give
examples, and then let the
reader clear his mind, become
the uncarved block, allowing his
imagination to guide him.
All I can say that it seems
paradoxical: giving instead of
selling; low budgets lead to big
returns; you can't want it or
you'll never get it. Clear your
mind, Grasshopper, and know
there is no pebble to snatch.
Dr. Ralph Wilson, consultant
to E-Commerce, put forth six
elements of a successful viral
marketing strategy. The
successful campaign:
1. Gives away products or
services
2. Provides for effortless
transfer to others (i.e., easily
emailed, linked, or downloaded)
3. Scales easily from small to
very large (popularity drives
success)
4. Exploits common motivations
and behaviors (i.e., funny
content motivates people to
share with others)
5. Utilizes existing
communication networks
6. Takes advantage of others'
resources (people become the
medium, free of charge)
 Examples
Of Others Using Viral Marketing
Budweiserr
Anheuser-Busch hired
Jib Jab's Gregg and Evan
Spiridellis, the creators of the
web-phenom "This Land," an
animated spoof of the 2004
presidential candidates, to
develop entertaining content for
Budweiser's website (a concept I
call "advertainment"). "This
Land" was seen by an estimated
80 million web viewers and was
fueled further by being picked
up by the Today Show and others.
The Blair Witch Project
All the buzz around the famous
motion picture "The Blair Witch
Project" orignated from a simple
Internet rumor that the movie
was not fiction, it was actual
footage of college film students
who were killed in the woods by
the Blair Witch ghost. The
return on investment was huge.
Forget-Me-Not-Panties
What turned out to be a contest
entry for sponsor
Contagious Media, a website
advertising "Forget-Me-Not
Panties," GPS enabled,
trackable, heartrate and
temperature monitoring underwear
attracted 615,562 unique
viewers. Even though it was a
hoax, it was believable enough
to win the contest and attract
media attention.
The site beat out "CryingWhileEating.com"
and won its creators the $2000
grand prize. Contagious Media
received a bit of attention too.
There are numerous ways to get
the word out about your company
through the concept of viral
marketing. You just have to be
creative enough to make it work.
It doesn't take money, it
doesn't take "in your face"
advertising. It takes enough
likeability to get viewers to do
the work for you by spreading
the news around..
About the Author:
Jason L. Miller is a
staff writer for
WebProNews covering
technology and business. |
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