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I can’t count the number of clients wanting to know the secrets to creating and distributing a viral video. Here’s my top-secret formula…
(Create Funny, Timely, or Interesting Video that incorporates company messaging and product visibility) + (Distribute said video to key industry influencers) x (Encourage said influencers to share video with their friends, colleagues, and fans) ^ (Cross Fingers & Pray) = Successful Viral Video 
While creating a viral video is simple in theory, it is actually one of the more challenging tasks for a Marketing or PR Professional. That said, this viral video from Grasshopper exemplifies that the formula really does work. Link here.
Watch the video- It’s a funny, timely parody of Internet Geek culture, our obsession with Internet entrepreneurs and technology. It is well made, completely professional, and ties in an uber-popular Jay-Z song.
Now Watch again- When Grasshopper created this viral video, they seamlessly incorporated product branding without distracting the viewer. The video was branded as “The New Dork- Entrepreneur State of Mind”. It didn’t have flashing neon lights saying come to grasshopper.com- our products are the best! A colleague and I watched this video several times trying to count the number of almost subliminal Grasshopper mentions. We are still deliberating on a final number. 
I would love to hear from Grasshopper’s marketing team that, as a result of the video, web traffic has increased by X%, or qualified sales leads have increased by Y%. (Call me and let me know, okay?) What I can see is that Twitter chatter has exploded not only for The New Dork (expected), but also for Grasshopper as a company (the point of the entire video).
Perhaps the new recipe for viral videos is to commission a professional video that makes fun of the Internet’s obsession with Cat Videos and Farmville games on Facebook, add a half-of-a-pinch of company messaging, and wait for the chatter to begin?
Agree, disagree? Let me know! @KristinMiller
Technorati Tags: videos, viral videos
My main rule of social networking is that if you wouldn’t tell your priest, rabbi, minister, spouse, parents, kids, grandparents, neighbors, roommate, parole officer, landlord, doctor, or IRS tax man– don’t put it on your social networking site. Same goes for your neighborhood hoodlums.
Foresquare was designed as a way to network with people near you. You can check in electronically at a particular location, meet others around you, and even become the ‘mayor’ of a particular restaurant / store if you have the most check-ins. It’s become a point of pride to oust someone as the mayor of the Starbucks near your house. One thing is for sure, if you’re checking in at an airport or movie theater, you are broadcasting to the world that you are not at your home.
Let the backlash begin.
A new site called Please Rob Me has aggregated all Foresquare check-ins into one location. There is a disclaimer that Please Rob Me’s intent is not to have people’s homes become burglarized, but what it is doing is raising many security issues. How much sharing is too much?
We all have friends who overshare- too many updates on what their kids are doing, inane comments on who got kicked off The Bachelor- even sensitive health issues they should be talking to their doctor about instead of posting on Facebook. (And maybe we’ve all been a little bit guilty of posting things like this?)
We have become complacent in our social networking habits. A friend request comes in from someone you haven’t seen since elementary school. Although you may have had a lot of fun playing on the swings with this person 25 years ago, do you know anything else about them, or what they’ve been doing?
Anyone who is jumping into social networking needs to know that you put on Twitter, Foresquare, Facebook is out there for the world to see.
In the meantime, next time I Twitter about a conference I’m attending or client I’m visiting, please note that my tough-as-nails husband and vicious dogs will be home. I promise.
@KristinMiller
Technorati Tags: Check in Services, FourSquare, Location Based Services, please rob me, social media
After braving Las Vegas traffic jams, January cold and flu season, and $10 pieces of pizza for lunch, I’m pleased to report back on 2010 CES! I must say the overall attitude of this show is much improved from 2009. Attendance is reported at over 120,000- 6% over last year. (This is still down from a high of 141,000 in 2008, which seems like too many cooks in the kitchen if you ask me!) Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: CES, CES Analysis, Trade Shows, Vegas 2010 CES Recap
This isn’t going to be a post on how badly Tiger Woods screwed up both his personal and professional lives, or how terrible his PR team is. What caught my eye was the story that broke this weekend on Accenture pulling their sponsorships away from him.
The question that came to my mind was- Are brands that align themselves SO much with a paid spokesperson doomed to fail? Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: brand equity, branding, transgressions and branding
Techies, professionals and IM junkies alike are talking about Google Wave, soliciting invites from friends and co-workers and brainstorming on ways to make the service better. While the potential business applications are numerous, the service developed by the internet powerhouse still has plenty of kinks to work out. Read the rest of this entry »
