As I am just new to the blogging world and trying to focus on viral advertising, I thought I would do some research on how to create a successful (viral) blog.
The Eloqua Social Media Playbook offers an easy read on how to become a great blogger.
Here are Six Guidelines for Successful Blogging as suggested by Eloqua:
1. Support colleagues by leaving comments, tweeting, sharing a link, etc. to strengthen coworker relationships.
2. Become a thought leader: contribute. Be diverse, useful, and be an expert to increase leads, media coverage, and overall industry clout.
3. Point prospects to relevant entries; use your blog like a tailored Wikipedia entry.
4. Build relationships with influencers and prospects. Utilize Google Blog Search and Technorati to find industry leaders to comment on and promote.
5. Track competitors to gain insights into what they are interested in.
6. Gain industry insights by sorting through the millions of blogs to find specific blogs on just about anything you want to learn about.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Bad Viral Gone Viral Despite Faux Pas
Hot topic of the week: Jennifer Aniston's viral video for Smartwater. Here's the video to watch if you haven't already seen it:
So what's my point of posting this video that is already deplete of discussion?
Bad viral videos are still viral.
The first major mistake of Smartwater: naming their viral video a "viral campaign". As my respected teacher of Digital Advertising at the University of Northern Iowa and aficionado of digital knowledge, Matthew Wilson so cleverly stated, the #1 rule of viral videos is don't call it a viral video, that's just lame. Viral is an organic state of extreme growth and it cannot do just that if people are told that it is supposed to spread like wildfire.
The second mistake of Smartwater's video was a bad video. What makes the video worth watching and then sharing with your friends? If you want to see Keenan Cahill, there are way funnier videos to watch. If you think Jennifer Aniston is hot and that's why you are watching the video, there is a video titled "Jennifer Aniston- The Hottest Woman on the Planet"; I'm sure you could see hotter images of her in that video than in the Smartwater video.
How did this bad viral video that was named viral, go viral (+6 million views to date)? There are no answers to this question because there are no magic rules to follow that will guarantee a successful viral campaign; it just happens. As David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Viral Marketing, states, "It is virtually impossible to create a Web marketing program that is guaranteed to go viral; it requires a huge amount of luck and timing."
If I just told you there are not set rules to going viral, what are these "new rules of viral marketing" that Scott claims then? Rather than calling them rules of viral marketing, a better description would be "rules to turn the odds in your favor". If I have sparked your curiosity, I highly advise locating a copy of Scott's book and enjoying it with a glass of wine some evening. You may be able to figure out for yourself how this Smartwater viral campaign went viral despite some major faux pas.
So what's my point of posting this video that is already deplete of discussion?
Bad viral videos are still viral.
The first major mistake of Smartwater: naming their viral video a "viral campaign". As my respected teacher of Digital Advertising at the University of Northern Iowa and aficionado of digital knowledge, Matthew Wilson so cleverly stated, the #1 rule of viral videos is don't call it a viral video, that's just lame. Viral is an organic state of extreme growth and it cannot do just that if people are told that it is supposed to spread like wildfire.
The second mistake of Smartwater's video was a bad video. What makes the video worth watching and then sharing with your friends? If you want to see Keenan Cahill, there are way funnier videos to watch. If you think Jennifer Aniston is hot and that's why you are watching the video, there is a video titled "Jennifer Aniston- The Hottest Woman on the Planet"; I'm sure you could see hotter images of her in that video than in the Smartwater video.
How did this bad viral video that was named viral, go viral (+6 million views to date)? There are no answers to this question because there are no magic rules to follow that will guarantee a successful viral campaign; it just happens. As David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Viral Marketing, states, "It is virtually impossible to create a Web marketing program that is guaranteed to go viral; it requires a huge amount of luck and timing."
If I just told you there are not set rules to going viral, what are these "new rules of viral marketing" that Scott claims then? Rather than calling them rules of viral marketing, a better description would be "rules to turn the odds in your favor". If I have sparked your curiosity, I highly advise locating a copy of Scott's book and enjoying it with a glass of wine some evening. You may be able to figure out for yourself how this Smartwater viral campaign went viral despite some major faux pas.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Old Spice Knows Viral
It must be that Old Spice really knows its viral marketing tactics. They stole four of the ten spots on Ad Age's "Biggest Viral Ads of the Year". Here is the top Old Spice video, viewed nearly 6 million times on YouTube:
So how can I study Old Spice's campaigns to improve my own digital presence? The key?: integrated communication. To establish my digital identity and make it known, I need to integrate all my digital footprints into one interconnecting web. This means linking my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs together by mentioning each outlet on every other outlet; tweeting about a new blog post, posting links to Facebook, blogging about tweets, etc. And I'm already on my way to success! I've tweeted about the Ad Age article that I mentioned above.
Unfortunately digital viral success does not happen overnight. It takes time and consistent effort to create a digital identity. Since creating my Twitter account, I have a measly 4 tweets and only a handful of followers, ten to be exact. Based on my relative lack of activity, my Klout score was surprisingly high: 15! Read on:
So here's to tweeting, posting, blogging, and establishing my digital presence! I'll keep you posted ;)
So how can I study Old Spice's campaigns to improve my own digital presence? The key?: integrated communication. To establish my digital identity and make it known, I need to integrate all my digital footprints into one interconnecting web. This means linking my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs together by mentioning each outlet on every other outlet; tweeting about a new blog post, posting links to Facebook, blogging about tweets, etc. And I'm already on my way to success! I've tweeted about the Ad Age article that I mentioned above.
Unfortunately digital viral success does not happen overnight. It takes time and consistent effort to create a digital identity. Since creating my Twitter account, I have a measly 4 tweets and only a handful of followers, ten to be exact. Based on my relative lack of activity, my Klout score was surprisingly high: 15! Read on:
Courtney Stinson is an Explorer
She actively engages in the social web, constantly trying out new ways to interact and network. She's exploring the ecosystem and making it work for her. Her level of activity and engagement shows that you "get it", we predict you'll be moving up.
So here's to tweeting, posting, blogging, and establishing my digital presence! I'll keep you posted ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)