Niche Marketing Matters

Viral marketing is very hip and everyone says that it works. Yet, my experience is that few people can define what viral marketing really is or give tangible examples other than to say, “Like YouTube”. So, let me take a crack at it.

Viral marketing is not new. In fact, it has been around for ages since it really is just someone passing along some information to a friend about something that they heard or saw. More specifically, the term “viral marketing” describes online or off-line techniques to increase awareness about an offering or an event using existing social networks. True viral marketing is voluntary and relies upon the recipient to pass on the message to his or her friends. That message could be text, audio, video, or images; it could as simple as a story told to another. The originator of the message has no control over the message’s destinations, but relies upon the intelligence of the social network to find the right recipients.

The most famous recent example is the launch of the free email application called “Hotmail”, which relied upon happy users to tell their friends about it. Launched in 1996, Hotmail now has over 230 million users. The technique has been copied by Google’s Gmail, which allows you to invite up to five friends to join.

Word-of-mouth campaigns require that the offering or event be interesting, valuable, or funny to the recipient to such an extent that they will refer it to a friend. This is where most viral campaigns fail; most are valuable to the recipient and there is no reason to pass it on.

MySpace has opened up a new channel for viral marketing. I have a friend named Rudy Chavarria who runs a promotion company called American AMP (www.americanamp.com) which promotes movies using MySpace. Prior to formal release of a movie, Rudy’s team will build multiple sites on MySpace promoting the event hoping to create a buzz. The different sites might target a slightly different demographic or “friend” as they call them on MySpace. In all cases, the passion of the MySpace friend is what propels them to tell others.

Another viral marketing trend is the use of free e-books to create a buzz for an author or expert. Typically, the e-book is a short summary of a print book. The e-book is passed along to build a brand for the book with the hope that the reader will want to buy the printed version. (Note to self: write an e-book to help promote my new book on negotiation).

Viral marketing works…spread the word.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.

Also known as word-of-mouth marketing, viral marketing is a marketing technique that depends on people passing along a marketing message to others. This typically refers to the forwarding of advertising or promotional messages through e-mail.

In fact, the best and earliest example of viral marketing on the internet is the wildly successful e-mail tool known as “Hotmail” by MSN. Hotmail users passed along the Hotmail link to friends with an invite to join this free e-mail program. Hotmail was readily accepted. This technique continues to work. Google is using the same technique with its beta product “Gmail”. As a free subscriber to Gmail you can invite others to join through your personal invitations. Very clever.

The success of a viral marketing campaign is judged by the pass-along rate or the likelihood that people forward the message rather than delete it. The beauty of a successful viral campaign is how quickly the web can “get infected”, yet there is little control of who will actually get the message. Viral marketing depends on the recipient to find the market.

Inherent in the pass-along is the value of the message. Usually this value is a discount, an important message, or an incentive that others need to know. Just suggesting that the message should be passed along does not give it value.

Viral marketing can also be defined more broadly to include mediums beyond the internet. For example, if you want to send a message to women age 65-85, you should target the Saturday night bingo game at the church by using the weekly church bulletin. Leave your message where they hang out.

Pass it on.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
My new book “First, Best, or Different” is now available at www.firstbestordifferent.com!
Please buy my book!

A Couple More Things about Blogging

Based on my last article about blogging, it is obvious that I am a big believer in this exciting new method of communication; it is a great way to create a unique dialog with your customers and prospects (and whoever else reads it). The branding benefits can be extraordinary and a blog can dramatically impact on your website traffic.

But, before you launch your own blog please consider the following things:

1. Make sure that you have all the website essentials already completed. This would include all aspects of optimizing your website including keywords, Meta tags, linking with other sites, etc.
2. Pay-per-click advertising is also a great way to target your customer; it gives immediate access and feedback without breaking the bank.
3. Does your target audience read blogs? Certainly younger demographics do, along with the technology crowd. Grandma and Grandpa? I am not sure if they blog yet.
4. Is there a need for this type of forum in your industry? I think the answer would be yes for most industries, but there may be some commodity businesses when a discussion is not really needed.
5. If your blog is public (and really, that is the only reason to do this anyway), will you be comfortable airing issues with your customers? This could include praise and criticism. Blogs comments can be edited or deleted, by the way.
6. Make sure that you are up for the commitment of routinely writing or it will not be worth your time. Blogs must be refreshed frequently to be useful.

Blog on dude.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
My new book “First, Best, or Different” is now available at www.firstbestordifferent.com!
Please buy my book!

A recent online study by Deloitte and Touche uncovered that two thirds of store visits during the 2006 holiday season were not influenced by holiday advertising. It turns out that most consumers picked stores because of their pre-existing familiarity with the stores and the stores locations. Additionally, the products purchased were researched on the internet.

This means that all the money spent during holiday season for print , radio, and TV advertising was largely wasted. As I read the Los Angeles Times on Sunday morning, I was again reminded how much money is wasted on print advertising; I think I threw away about ten pounds of unread advertising. And, I did not even look at one of them.

So, why do the retail giants waste all this money? I think mostly it is because they have been well-trained by the giant advertising firms. The retailers are budgeted to spend this money and the spending is institutionalized. They do it because it is the thing to do, or so it seems.

Consumer shopping behavior is less and less impacted by traditional advertising methods. A cataclysmic shift occurred with consumers in the last year or so with use of search marketing on the internet. More and more buyers are “pre-shopping” with search engines making them the most informed shopper ever. After doing exhaustive research on the web they visit stores to kick the tires. After viewing the products in-person, it is then a matter of price and delivery. The retail store is played against the internet retailer: lowest price and availability wins.

Returning to the ineffectiveness of traditional advertising, the fix seems simple. The retailers need to increase their internet marketing budgets for search engine optimization, internet advertising, and viral marketing. To quote the giant retailer Sears, “where America shops” is now on the internet.

Oh yeah, one more thing: cut the budget for traditional advertising. It does not work any more.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
Please visit my website at www.firstbestordifferent.com

Recently, I have written about the merits of viral marketing as a novel technique to get your message out to your target market.

As you recall, viral marketing is a relatively new term that refers to marketing techniques that use social networks (i.e. MySpace), your e-mail buddy list, and other channels to pass along messages, e-mails, or video clips. The message gets read or viewed and then is passed along to a friend or colleague in a viral fashion. Much like the chain letter of the old days, viral marketing is efficient and pinpoints its target. Advertisers figured out that an odd or entertaining video might be just the vehicle to carry an advertisement.

In my opinion, some advertisers are pressing the envelope of ethical advertising when using this technique. More commonly known as ”Astroturfing”, some advertisers are using YouTube and other media sharing sites to distribute viral ads that are disguised (i.e. misrepresented) as an amateur video. In this example, the consumer is deceived or lied to about the authorship of the video; it is represented as being real. I am the first one to enjoy a clever joke, but I don’t want to be lied to or duped. How about you?

A blatant example of this was recently described in the November 6, 2006 edition of the Yankelovich Monitor Minute. They cited an example on YouTube called “LonelyGirl15.” Per Yankelovich, “A risky tactic, this series of fake video blogs about an introspective teenage girl’s ruminations was confessed to be a commercial venture by a group of California filmmakers only after being exposed by a group of tech-smart fans. However, the videos and actors have retained a large fan base, and an upcoming movie is still planned, revealing that marketers can have success presenting consumers with false realities if consumers are clued in along the way.”

Advertising has grown less and less effective over the last decade because of the continuous bombardment of advertisements, which increasing relies on shock value and sensationalism. These ads use a “spray and pray” methodology that is based on the assumption that, if you spend enough money and contact the customer a gazillion times, the prospective buyer will eventually get the message and buy the product. This is, of course, absurd. This deluge of “Madison Avenue advertising spam” destroys the brands of the sponsors; our brand awareness is raised, but so is our distaste for the brand and product in general.

What is left for the unscrupulous advertisers to do? Answer: deception and outright lying to the consumer. Enough with my rant.

Under the guise of a good joke or a clever presentation, viral marketing is great way to enjoin the customer in your marketing efforts. Be sure to position the message as a commercial effort and identify it as coming from you.

Thanks to Aaron Barkenhagen from California State University, Fullerton, for bringing this to my attention.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
Please visit my website at www.firstbestordifferent.com

You may have heard or read the headlines about Google buying YouTube for $1.65 billion, but secretly asked yourself, “What the heck is YouTube?”

It is a fair question since YouTube was founded only in February 2005. YouTube is a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. Everyone can watch videos on YouTube—both on YouTube.com and across the Internet. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual.

As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow. YouTube is a place for people to engage in new ways with video by sharing, commenting on, and viewing videos. YouTube originally started as a personal video sharing service, and has grown into an entertainment destination with people watching more than 70 million videos on the site daily.

Google had its own Google Video, but recognized the superior design of the customer experience at YouTube and also coveted the 70 million members. Once again the new phenomenon of social networking is changing the rules on how we share digital information.

One more thing, many of the videos on YouTube are viral advertisements disguised as entertainment.

Get it? This is the pony hidden in the giant pile of video horse manure.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
Please visit my website at www.firstbestordifferent.com

Also known as word-of-mouth marketing, viral marketing is a marketing technique that depends on people passing along a marketing message to others. This typically refers to the forwarding of advertising or promotional messages through email.

In fact, the best and earliest example of viral marketing on the internet is the wildly successful email tool known as “Hotmail”. Google is using the same technique with its beta product “Gmail”. As a free subscriber to Gmail you can invite others to join through your personal invitations. Very clever.

The success of a viral marketing campaign is judged by the pass-along rate or the likelihood that people forward the message rather than delete it. The beauty of a successful viral campaign is how quickly the web can “get infected”, yet there is little control of who will actually get the message.

Inherent in the pass-along is the value of the message. Usually this value is a discount, a vital message, or an incentive that others need to know. Just suggesting that the message should be passed along does not give it value.

Viral marketing can also be defined more broadly to include mediums beyond the internet. For example, if you want to send a message to women age 65-85, you should target the Saturday night bingo game at the church, the mystery book club at the library, and the Charles Schwab office where they invest. Leave your message where they hang out.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
Please visit my website at www.firstbestordifferent.com