Viral marketing: individuals passing along a marketing message to others which then creates the potential for exponential growth of the message – the message multiplies just like a virus does and is similar to offline viral marketing referred to as word-of-mouth and creating buzz.
YouTube is a viral marketing tool, and a very effective one at that. Consider the popularity of the most recent McDonald’s commercial. If you haven’t seen the commercial, it’s a mounted fish on the wall that sings a catchy tune that is sticking in the ears of many and creating quite the YouTube viral sensation. This is a television ad that has managed to catch on the Web and become a media sensation.
For me, the jingle didn’t stick … it’s different for everyone. The one that does stick with me is the $5 foot long for Subway. I can’t get that thing out of my head for hours once I hear it and have to listen to something else to get rid of it. That commercial has enjoyed similar success. My personal favorite ad right now is the California milk commercial about Soo, from Korea, who dreams of coming to America. First time I heard it I laughed out loud. I wasn’t watching, I was listening and I stopped to listen and watch. (That says a lot – I usually flip through the ads or walk away when watching TV.) Will I buy a filet-o-fish, a subway sandwich or California milk? Maybe, maybe not. But I am talking about it and that means I’m spreading the word and someone else just might. Additionally, if I see the signs, I will think of the ads and who knows what might happen … a craving, a hunger, a thirst?
So why talk about professional produced expensive commercials on a small business blog? Because these are tough times for ad agencies and their clients. They know that people are bypassing commercials using digital video recorders which means they had to come up with a different way to capture our eyes, ears and wallets. These commercials have caught on with consumers and they are creating a viral buzz and the impact far exceeds what even the agencies expected.
I think the fish ad shows that humor is a good approach (although I was so distracted by the singing fish that I had no idea which company was being advertised until I heard it on the news). The Subway ad is different; definitely a catchy jingle that you can sing along with (no, I don’t do that …). And Soo? Who doesn’t love a dairy cow that dreams of coming to America? The agencies and their clients were willing to try something different and it’s working … people are listening and passing the message along.
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from small business owners is about video: do it or not, worth it or not, professional or do-it-myself.
Video isn’t right for all businesses and it won’t be the first thing we tackle if it’s suitable at all - it’s not the hardest thing to do yet it’s the not the easiest or quickest either. If you can find a creative way to entertain people without getting into the hard sales pitch, you could be on your way to your own viral marketing sensation. Perhaps not as popular as the fish, the sandwich or the cow, but enough to have people stop, listen and remember you. I think as small business owners we tend to believe that we are too small to do things like the big companies, that we need to sell hard all the time and that we need to be serious about how we promote our business. In the process we don’t have much fun and our intended audience may not be inspired about what we have to say. If you want to engage your audience, take a lesson from the big guys: think way outside the box and dare to be different. Then create your own video that gets you noticed.
Do start with a plan, write a script and don’t be afraid to add some humor or develop a catch phrase. If humor isn’t going to work (and it won’t for every business) try to be different enough to really stand out. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, brain storm with some friends and see what you come up with or search through the YouTube videos. Then get out your video camera and give it a try on your own. YouTube followers embrace the do-it-yourself video and it’s a good way for you test before you invest in a professional production. (By the way, professional video will be far more effective for some companies that want to post to their Web sites, but testing by doing your own will help create a stronger plan and script.)
Take a chance. The worst thing that can happen is nothing – and you can always remove the video.
And now for the true viral part: here’s the link to the singing fish and the $5 foot long and the Soo the Korean Cow.
