When viral marketing comes up everyone fantasizes about creating the next global sensation. But viral marketing works very nicely without trying to swing for the fences. There are singles, doubles and triples to be had by mounting smaller viral campaigns.
Why? Because the simplest viral effort begins with selective psycho-demographic targeting amped up by credible delivery from trusted sources. The secret sauce of pass-along marketing is launching the message into an arena by seeding it with the right people who can share it broadly by directing and steering it for you. This requires the sender and the passer-along to have a pre-existing relationship that encourages the parties to help each other.
Consider two recent minor successes:
Talent Recruiting. We needed to find 30 poker players to be extras in several direct response TV commercials. We wanted attractive people who knew how to play Texas Hold 'Em and who would look and react on camera the same way they do when they play in Vegas, AC or in their friend's homes. We were unable to pay the rates or accept the work rules to hire union actors. So we sent personal e-mails to friends asking them to pass along the casting call notice which offered a chance to play hooky from work on a summer Monday, $500 bucks, free lunch, transportation to and from the studio in Long Island and wearable swag.
Four principals pinged 200+ friends. As best we can tell, the e-mails probably reached about 1000 people in the metro New York City area, based on the degrees of separation evidenced by the final cast members. We got 60 interested people in 18 hours. We easily filled the room without having to be too selective or brutal in casting and the final product (see it next week on NBC's "Poker After Dark") is great.
Focus Group Recruiting. For a professional services client we wanted to try out a parlor meeting pitch. We found a well-connected couple known for their robust network of friends, family and business acquaintances and asked them to invite people who were members of the sandwich generation -- raising kids and caring for aging parents-- to their home on a random Wednesday night. The host couple sent personal e-mails to 12 couples and 8 single friends giving them 3 weeks advance notice. In 12 hours, 18 people agreed to come and on the appointed night 14 showed up. The conversation resonated especially well because the hosts pre-sorted the list and zeroed in one people they knew would have a strong emotional and intellectual connection with the subject matter.
So what does it all mean?
1. A small viral effort can work well and accomplish your goals.
2. You don't necessarily have to create the next must-see video.
3. It's all about targeting.
4. Using personal lists and "From" addresses means greater deliver-ability and opens
5. The more personal the appeal -- the better. The extra spin is a by-product of personal emotional connections.
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