Launch a "viral marketing" campaign? You wish!

I had a great opportunity this week to see one of my favorite pals, Lena West, ceo of xynoMedia Technology, speak at the Business of Community Networking conference, hosted by the World Research Group.  Lots of great stuff out of the conference so more to blog about later.  But, Lena's talk stood out in my mind because she started out by scoffing at the idea that you can "plan a viral marketing campaign."  Really, how silly is it to think you can predict what catches on online and what doesn't. 

It kind of reminded me of the time when I was a VP of marketing and posted a sign on my door that said "There is NO such thing as a Marketing Emergency."  

But, back to Lena and viral marketing. While she dispelled the notion of being able to control what goes "viral," she did give us some terrific guidelines to ensure that any online campaign we launch does not automatically disqualify itself from being viral.

Here's a list of Lena's 7 items that might help make your next online marketing efforts "viral":

1. Free and short.
2. Can't force behavior change, but it does allow for it.
3. Not just entertaining, but people need to see themselves doing it.
4. Feeds off how people naturally operate.
5. Scalability has to be hardwired into it
6. Facilitates easy sharing.
7. Leverages "Other People's Social" (i.e. social capital)

One example she used that fit the mold was Blendtec Blenders:  "Will it blend?"

For more from Lena, check the Lipsticking blog (about marketing to women) and her Tech Forward blog at Entrepreneur.

Comments

[reiko]

Trying to make something "viral" is like trying to win a political election. There are many things you can do to help, but in the end it's up to the people...

[Lena L. West]

Thanks for the props, Diane!

It was great seeing you and it was good to spend the time with you at the conference. I'm glad you liked my presentation.

For those who want to see a copy of my Boston preso, you can check it out on SlideShare, here: http://www.slideshare.net/xynomedia/the-chicken-or-the-egg-the-real-deal-about-viral-marketing