Posted by Katie Farrar on Wed, May 14, 2008 @ 11:49 PM
Most of the time viral marketing campaigns, if executed right, are one of the best ways to spread your message. The best ones use the search engines, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, email applications and numerous other avenues to promote and start spreading their messages.
This is all great stuff when the viral messages are promoting all the GOOD things about your product/services/business. But what about when viral messages pop up that are saying all kinds of BAD things about your product/services/business? Uh-oh.
See, the thing is, with our unlimited access and ability to communicate with each other via our blogs, email, forums, social media sites, etc. it's inevitable that customers will voice their opinions and share their stories. The good, the bad, and the really ugly.
Below are two examples of how customer dissatisfaction has lead to a very undesirable portrayal of Comcast. If you are a regular reader of my blog you may have noticed my numerous comments about my lack of TIVO or DVR. That maybe because I'm also boycotting Comcast. It's not because of either of these videos, but you can be sure that I have had some similar experiences and thought these videos were hilarious! (I'm currently considering Verizon or The Dish so any recommendations would be welcome.)
I would guess that Comcast came back with some damage control (surely not those annoying commercials where people are singing instead of talking) but in my opinion, the damage was done. Not to mention that there are hundreds of other videos posted on YouTube with additional complaints.
I think the moral of the story is this: If your company screws up or has unhappy customers don't assume that no one else will hear about it. Rather than being reactive to these types of situations try to be proactive. Make sure that your positive marketing messages are visible if not before, than at least just as much as the negative messages and complaints. Because whether or not you like it, people are already talking about it and passing it along to their friends and families.
Now, grab your popcorn and prepare to literally laugh out loud. If you're at work you definitely need the sound on! The backround songs make these videos...
Whoa... talk about a really bad day huh? I'm still laughing!
What did you think? Do you have any funny stories like this about your cable provider? We'd love to hear your experiences so leave a comment!
Posted by Katie Farrar on Thu, May 08, 2008 @ 09:27 AM
As I was pondering what to write about this week I scanned my brain for innovative viral marketing campaigns I'd come across recently. Then I got bored with my thoughts and started Googling cool new images to spruce up my own blog appearance. (I'm keenly aware that it's seriously lacking in visuals, but it's all about the content right?)
But... I digress. So in my ADD style surfing I came across this Businesweek article posted on October 18, 2005. The author, Stephen Baker, basically compares the blogosphere to a virus saying that while some or most tend to just teeter and die out, the very elite catch on and become passed around all over the world.
Baker was right on! Blogs, if done right, are the #1 tool to help you launch a viral campaign. They are a viral campaign themselves! Think about it, today we have hundreds of social networks, social bookmarking sites, and social news sites whose content is fueled by blogs. If you're able to figure out how to make your blog innovative and remarkable, you will be rewarded by other bloggers linking to your content on their own blog, summiting your article to Digg, StumbledUpon, Reddit, etc, and leaving comments to tell you what they think.
Blogs are also one of the most effective ways to create content that is frequently crawled by the search engines. Because most blogs are content rich (and content is king in the internet marketing world) they are generally ranked fairly highly in the organic search results for the topic they are about. For example's sake, take the first part of the title of this blog, "Your #1 Most Valuable Viral Marketing Tool" and put that phrase into Google. I will almost guarantee you that my blog appears in the top organic search results.
*Disclaimer* I know some of you reading this post know all this cool stuff about blogs and blogging, but a lot of my friends and family (and hopefully some other readers!) are not as aware of this stuff as I am, so I think it's important to point out some interesting facts.
Baker wrote his blog in 2005, that was almost three years ago. In the internet marketing world that's a loooong time. I'm not sure if the term "viral marketing" was even main stream then. I think it's so cool to look back and realize how far we've come with blogging strategies and how much the readership and authorship of blogs has exploded even within just the past few years. Some would even say that it's caught on like a virus. (Ok, well no one would really say that, but it goes with the theme)
Let me just wrap up by saying this. If you work for/own/market for a company/business/etc. and you haven't started blogging yet you should at least be thinking about it. If you've been thinking about it... start writing! There's no better, more trusted way to reach your target audience of buyers and customers to start spreading your message. If all goes well... it may just take off like The Bird Flu.
Are you blogging? Are you using your blog to spread viral marketing messages? Leave your comments below and share your blog and your stories!
Posted by Katie Farrar on Thu, May 01, 2008 @ 10:10 AM
Being the advertising/internet marketing junkie that I am, I always appreciate when a company ties in their television ads in with their current internet marketing initiatives. It is so important in today's world for companies to have a strong presence in the online marketplace.
Some companies do it better than others, and I think that the ones that do it best are those that create super interesting content, or create a reason for someone to visit their site other than just to buy their product.
The companies that are doing things like blogging, viral marketing, videos, and interactive games are the companies that are building the most trust with consumers, getting the most visitors to their site, and ultimately converting more of those visitors into buyers.
So as I was watching some evening television (sans my DVR or TIVO) I saw a commercial for Nikon COOLPIX featuring Ashton Kutcher. At the end of the commercial it tells the viewer they can go to www.ashtonscoolpix.com to learn more.
I checked out the site this morning and was surprisingly impressed! It is super easy to use, and you have about 25 different choices to personalize the message it creates. I sent a sample to two of my sisters this morning to test it out: Katie is on Ashton's Camera!
You can also view the t.v. commercials that go along with the campaign, email your creation to your friends (very easily), and shop for the Nikon COOLPIX right there.
The only problem is, I haven't really seen this out and about being passsed around by friends. Maybe being in my late 20's means I'm not part of this target market? I wonder if a lot of 14-18 year olds are passing this around like crazy through their email? Or maybe all my friends have DVR or TIVO and they haven't even heard of www.ashtonscoolpix.com.
Nikon has created an application that could be as viral as Elf Yourself (currently unactive) or Simpsonize Me
They should capitalize on the numerous online channels that their target market is visiting. It would be really cool if you could post your Ashton Pix on your Facebook page, MySpace, or any of the other hundreds of social networking sites.
I think the application is pretty hilarious, and I hope you all enjoy and send along to all of your friends.
Did you try out the site? What did you think? Do you have an example of other applications like this? Leave your comments below!
Posted by Katie Farrar on Thu, Apr 17, 2008 @ 12:03 PM
I am somewhat of an advertising/brand junkie so this little quiz really amused me. CramerSweeney came up with this "Smart Marketing IQ Test" that really became a useful viral promotion of their company. Over 4 million people have taken the quiz, passed it along to their friends, and there's even a place to sign up for the Smart Marketing IQ Test #2! (I immediately gave them my email address so I can be one of the first people to take the second one)
I think quizzes are a great way to start spreading any message. People love to feel smart. They also love to tell all their friends via email (or blog) how smart they are. Hence, a rapid spread of the original campaign.
There are hundreds, probably thousands of quizzes like these out there. I like this one because it taps into 4 different brand intelligence areas:
- Icon/Logo
- Tag Line
- Mascot
- Brand Sounds
Take the quiz and see how well you know these brands. I scored a 19/20. Think you can beat me? After you take the quiz post your score in the comment field so we can see how everyone does.
Smart
Marketing IQ Test
Also feel free to pass along any other fun quiz games you've come across recently. Look forward to seeing how smart you are.
Posted by Katie Farrar on Wed, Apr 09, 2008 @ 10:50 PM
Tax Season. T minus six days for those of you who are still procrastinating. (I just got mine done on Monday.) In my opinion there's nothing fun or exciting about doing your taxes, but I came across this interesting TurboTax campaign on YouTube the other day and thought they added a fun twist to the normally dismal task.
So I'm sure most of you have cruised YouTube at least once, and probably more like 5 times a day if you're bored at work. One of the great viral aspects of YouTube is that you can create your own YouTube channel, post your videos, create archives, recommend your favorite channels, let users leave comments, etc. It's like the video version of Facebook.
TurboTax has a fairly decent page full of videos, including their campaign for Funniest Tax Comedian. You can check it out here:
http://youtube.com/user/TurboTax
I like the comedian contest... much better than the rap contest that they did last year that flopped. But what I like even better is this video that they created with the help of Pro Skateboarder Billy Marx.
I think this is a great way to reach out to that sometimes mysterious and often misunderstood "Generation Y" that are totally put off by traditional advertising and marketing. This video is insane! And TurboTax manages to get some plugs in about how easy their software is to use. Granted, I had to watch the video twice to actually pay attention to anything that was being said because I was so in awe of Billy's skills.
Should TurboTax have a Beer Pong... er... I mean Ping Pong contest next year? Maybe not something they want to totally promote due to the stigma that goes along with the game, but it definitely got them a ton of traffic on YouTube this year. (552,427 views since being posted March 28th.)
And now... for those of you who thought (or still think) you were unbeatable at the game in college. I don't think anyone can hold a candle to this:
Posted by Katie Farrar on Thu, Apr 03, 2008 @ 12:52 AM
Arbor Day Foundation has
recently added a cool application to Facebook to tap into the social media
network and spread the word about planting trees. With National Arbor Day coming up on April 25th
I think this is a great way to promote the Arbor Day Foundation message and tap
into the growing demographic that is using social media sites every day.
Some of you may be reading this thinking, “Facebook? Isn’t
that site for college kids who post embarrassing pictures of themselves that
they don’t want their bosses/parents to see?”
Granted, there are lots of college students who use Facebook but it’s
also emerging as one of THE social networking sites for corporations and
businesses to take advantage of.
According to Forrester 1/3 of the users are professionals of some kind, less
than half of Facebook users are still in college, and the fastest growing
demographic is 25+.
Here’s how Tree Planter works: You purchase a virtual tree for $1 and Arbor
Day will plant a real tree in a real national forest for each tree you “purchase”
and send to a friend. You can also
invite your friends to join in the fun and install the Tree Planter application
on their own Facebook page and pass along the message. The goal is to plant 1,000,000 trees, and
Arbor Day has teamed up with Toyota who is footing the bill for the first
50,000 trees planted. The application
was added at the beginning of March and has already planted 19,073 trees.
Some Cool features of the application include:
- A wide variety of tree species and other wild life to
choose from to send to your friends
- An updated “Leaderboard” with top tree givers in the nation and also divided
up into any “groups” you belong to
- A very easy way to select friends from your network to
invite to use the application and gift trees to their network
A few recommendations to Arbor Day to make the Tree Planter
even better:
- Take advantage of the blog and create more fresh content to
get people excited about coming to visit and download the application
- Jazz up the Arbor Day Foundation Facebook page, (which is
different from the Tree Planter page) and utilize some of the feeder
applications to promote the fresh blog content and promote the Tree Planter
- How about creating a link or blurb about the Tree Planter
on the Arbor Day website? Could be a
great way to let more people know about it
Overall I think the Tree Planter is a great idea to spread a
worthwhile and important message. When I
installed it and planted trees for my friends I felt like I was doing something
good for the environment and helping make a difference. Plus it’s fun to pick out the different trees
and wildlife to send out to all your connections.
If you haven’t joined Facebook
yet I would encourage you to check it out and get involved in all of the
interesting things people are passing along.
If nothing else you may find out what your old high school or college
crush is up to these days, right? J
Do you use Facebook to connect? What other fun applications and viral promotions
have you seen or used? Feel free to
share your experiences and comments below.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Posted by Katie Farrar on Thu, Mar 20, 2008 @ 12:57 PM
This was the most viewed video on YouTube last week and I
think it’s a fantastic example of a viral video that is spreading the word of planting
trees and Going Green. This video was
viewed over 318,000 times, generated 341 user comments and was tagged as a favorite
749 times.
The Treeless Squirrel video is an amazing example of a viral
campaign that focuses on getting the word out to plant trees, “Go Green,” and to
become more environmentally aware. What
I like about The Treeless Squirrel is that it’s not the typical in your face, boring
facts, the world is ending, reduce your carbon foot print style that some Green
Living campaigns tend to lean towards.
This is a smart, funny, slightly cynical and definitely an offbeat way
to get the word out that we need to plant more trees.
What is so great about this campaign and why I think The
Treeless Squirrel has become viral and will continue to grow is that it’s not just one video that was
posted on YouTube. It’s an entire
website (www.treeless-squirrel.com)
that is devoted to spreading the message utilizing a number of different online
channels. The site is created in the
character of the squirrel and offers all sorts of things for people to explore:
The movie reel, a blog, downloadable widgets, a link to their Squidoo page and even an online store.
You can also check out the second video posted by the
Treeless Squirrel responding to a YouTube mad-libs challenge presented by
another user. So now Treeless Squirrel
is interacting with others in the YouTube community and he’s probably started
to create an interest and a following in his quest to find a home. Awesome!
I’ve got a feeling that this is only the beginning of the
Treeless Squirrel. Stay tuned as I track
his journey to find a new home. What do you think? Will the Treeless Squirrel ever find a home? Have you seen any other clever “Green” viral
campaigns recently?
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Posted by kfarrar@hubspot.com on Fri, Mar 07, 2008 @ 01:49 PM
Those of us who are not blessed with a DVR have been bombarded with
Presidential Campaign television spots for months on end. We’ve also been exposed to the campaigns
through other media including our local and national news, newspapers, and the
internet. Most of us have even gone to a
candidate’s website to actually learn about where they stand on the important
issues.
I don’t know about you, but when a campaign spot comes on during the
commercials I usually flip the channel or get up to grab a snack. These spots are just not that entertaining
after the first 100 or so. That’s why I
was so surprised to turn on The Today Show the other morning as I was getting
ready for work and find that one of the featured interviews was with Casey
Knowles, the 17 year old young woman who was unknowingly featured in Hillary
Clinton’s “Children” television spot.
The campaign used old stock footage that included shots of Casey when
she was 8 years old. Turns out Casey is
an avid Obama supporter and wasn’t all that happy to be one of the stars of the
show.
Now what’s really ironic is this campaign spot originally aired only in
Texas last week before the primaries. It
wasn’t even being shown nationally. If John
Stewart’s “The Daily Show” hadn’t done a spoof on the ad Casey’s family wouldn’t
have even seen it. (She’s from
Washington State.) Now the spot has
aired on every major news show in the nation, and doing a search on YouTube
brings up dozens of additional spoofs on the ad as well as the original which
has now been viewed more than 824,551 times in less than two weeks.
It’s only fair to mention Clinton’s real
viral marketing campaign here as well.
Oh… you didn’t hear about that one?
Me either.
This article on ZDNet does a great job covering it if you’re interested: ZDNet
My point is, viral marketing is kind of like that saying “You can lead a
horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” You can have all the right intentions of
designing a campaign that you think may go viral and spread to the world, but
you just never know what (or who) you’ll get with that old stock footage.
And my vote for the best version of Hillary’s 3 a.m. video is: