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There was once a publisher who produced the only successful local newspaper in his area. According to him, the secret to his success was names. People love to see their name in the paper. Even more importantly they love to share this brief moment of fame with all their friends and family. That’s why he filled his paper with local names.

What if this same principle was applied to viral videos?

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How much time does the average marketer spends on the sharing aspect of a viral marketing campaign? I’m willing to bet that it’s not that much.

Unfortunately, neglecting this part of your campaign can stifle even the most creative concept. Even if you tapped into one of the 11 reasons of why ideas spread, you still need to overcome one major barrier: the cumbersome task of spreading the word.

However, what if the task of sharing was actually entertaining?

What if the task was transformed into a game? What if there was a payoff everytime you told a friend? What if the act of sharing was as viral as the main ideavirus?

Photo by: ClintJCL

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about referral programs. Why do some fail while others succeed? What triggers someone to go that extra step and recommend something?

Not surprisingly the same mechanisms that power viral marketing also play a role in a referral program’s success.

Good referral programs start at the source. That source is the user’s experience. People don’t recommend a product or service if it simply meets their expectation. They don’t chat with friends about an experience that was just acceptable. In order for a referral program to be successful, a company must do everything in its power to exceed expectations. Exceeded expectations equal chatter.

The same goes for viral marketing. In order for your campaign to go viral it must exceed expectations. This is something I alluded to in April when I talked about viral energy. A great example of this is the original “Where in hell is Matt” video. There’s nothing special about a white guy dancing like a fool. What exceeded almost 10 million people’s expectation was that Matt taped himself dancing all over the world. And as the video progressed the locations got more interesting.

Creating a sequel of Matt dancing in a bunch of new places wouldn’t exceed anybody’s expectations. So, Matt stepped it up a notch and produced a video that is truly remarkable in its accomplishment. As a result it has already been viewed over 2 million times. That’s the power of exceeding peoples’ expectations.

Last week at the 2008 MACU conference I was reminded of an amazing Apple ad titled “Think Different”. It manages to inspire me every time I watch it. As marketers I believe that we should all watch it…at least once.

I’m a big believer that what you choose to focus on will determine how you see the world around you. The same can be said about advertising. If you surround yourself with mediocre ads, you will produce mediocre ads. To create advertising that is unique, memorable and engaging you need the attitude of a rebel and good old fashioned courage. In a world of complacency and mediocre ads, sometimes it’s necessary to readjust your focus.

This video inspires me to strive for the unusual, to not settle for adequate, and yes, to think differently. I highly recommend you click this video.

Now go out there and create something amazing!

The Secret Strategies Behind Many “Viral” Videos
A detailed case study on how someone used viral videos to generate noteworthy traffic. It has some interesting insight and detailed advice. Worth a read.

The Digg Case Study
Interesting case study about Digg and how you can balance the two main drivers: novelty and popularity. For example, it discusses the rate at which items should be added on a website to maximize viral effects and to prioritize which ones should be displayed at the top to balance novelty and popularity.

Personally, I think Hip-hop and viral marketing have a lot in common. They’re both engaging, creative, and unfortunately largely misunderstood. Like hip-hop, the vast majority of us have a very narrow view of what viral marketing is really about.

I’ve recently had an opportunity to elaborate on this topic in an article I wrote for an online marketing magazine called One Degree. Check it out.

Photo credit: Scott Eric Williams

One thing that’s important to realize about viral marketing is that it’s about energy.

A good viral campaign should create a spark of energy every time someone is exposed to it. This energy is important because it powers the desire to share. Often, it is the discovery of something interesting and new that creates this urge to share.

So what does this energy look like? Remember Tom Cruise and Oprah’s couch? That’s it. You’re next viral campaign should try to aim for this level of excitement.

Photo credit: Montara Mike©

You’ve heard the buzz. You’ve seen the videos. Now it’s time to create your own YouTube masterpiece. The marketing potential is huge. As you’ve seen in my other posts, a good viral marketing video can generate millions of eyeballs.

For the past couple of days I’ve been doing a lot of research on this subject. I’ve summarized my findings on Whamwiki.com. On the wiki, you’ll also be able to add your own tips, tricks, and secrets to the list I’ve just created. That’s the beauty of a wiki.

View list

Not only is this an example of a great viral marketing video, but it’s also a clever way of demonstrating how difficult it can be for marketers to achieve awareness.

If you’re planning to release a viral marketing idea into the webisphere, you should check to see if your campaign passes my four simple rules of viral marketing.

1. Simple to Understand - if you can’t describe the concept in one sentence, it’s probably not going to work.
2. Simple to Use - keep it dead simple for the user to use - life is complicated enough.
3. Simple to Find - seed your viral marketing campaign (blogs, emails, ads, websites, etc) and make it easy to find.
4. Simple to Share - make it easy for people to tell others.

If your campaign can accomplish these four simple things, your viral marketing idea has a much better chance of being click worthy.