Those of you following the Small Group Wisdom series in this blog know that the makeup of the group is neighbors who are operating as a think tank, or early-stage (emerging) venture for the next ‘Great Idea’. Regular readers and subscribers to this blog (and our eNewsletter) also know my fondness for viral marketing and the momentum that can be gained by the one-to-many nature of it.
This morning, both of these activities kicked in. I received a link to a video from a neighbor and fellow group member. The video is called “Peace: The Biography of a Symbol” introducing a book by the same name published by National Geographic. He had sent this to a fairly large list of people, many of whom I recognized as neighbors and friends.
I began to wonder how many of the recipients, like myself, has taken a moment to pass along this link. The topic appealed to a broad audience, especially Baby Boomers. Without too much thought, think about how much ground this link covered in a short period of time. This is viral marketing at its best! Nothing fancy, nothing planned, just good old fashioned one person telling another (and more).
The engine driving all of this boils down to a couple of points: 1) The strength of relationships _ the list of recipients known to each other, 2) The ease of communication _ simple link in an email, 3) The power of the medium _ compelling video, and 4) The ability to reach many from a single source_ in this case, YouTube.
It doesn’t hurt that the people behind the video have a well-defined and trusted brand name. But, I think it’s more than that. It’s the quality of production and the simplicity of the message that is so striking to me. It follows the well-proven marketing mantra of, “Simplicity, clarity, and repetition.”
I put a link in a prior Post to Pella windows and a video of their shooting a 2” x 4” piece of lumber at one of their hurricane window products. It was a simple video, but one that was telling of product performance.
Here’s my challenge to you. How can you employ this concept to your own business? What’s holding you back? Are you using video in your business? If so, what are the results (or failures)? Where does viral marketing fit in your overall marketing plan? Have you got it down to the ‘street level’, or are you still trying to operate at 30,000 feet?
p.s. The book, “Peace: The Biography of a Symbol”, is also available from Amazon.com, click here.
* This post was updated to include the video and book link, and related references.
In my opinion, one of the best uses of video in viral marketing comes from the Blendtec people. Their "will it blend?" series of videos has taken on a life of its own. Check them out at www.willitblend.com. (Give yourself a few hours!)
I blogged about it a while back at http://marketinginnovation.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/12/blend_right_in_.html
Posted by: Greg Hopper | April 17, 2008 at 11:00 AM