Viral Marketing's New Rules
David Meerman Scott makes sense.
He's one of those rare individuals who knows his industry inside out. He also works as a sort of "glue" to help keep it together. (This is my favorite tongue-in-cheek example of how to Keep It Together):
David has a new buzzword that was developed to help clear the air of sploggers, spammers and other truly nasty, hated and just plain bad industry practices. He calls it World Wide Rave. And it's a concept whose time has come.
World Wide Rave is about viral marketing done without the awful after effects of spam (and spam is tremendously bad for the online marketing and advertising industry).
What he shares is about how tribes of viewers create viral marketing... not spammish internet marketers who abuse the free range of the interweb.
In David's own words:
"For decades, the only way to spread ideas was to buy expensive advertising or beg the media to write (or broadcast) about our products and services. But now we have a tremendous opportunity to create a World Wide Rave, generate stuff on the Web that people want to consume and that they are eager to share with their friends, family, and colleagues. A World Wide Rave sells an idea or a product by virtue of its educational or entertainment value."
As we launch RichContent to the public, it's vital that we have a filter in place to alleviate potential spam and the spammers behind those efforts.
Currently (and into the foreseeable future) we maintain live editorial control of what gets broadcast and distributed through the RichContent platform. Every digital media asset is reviewed by human eyeballs before being optimized and distributed. It's not us trying to play God. It's spending the last 5 years in the trenches of of the search world helping clients get "above the noise". We are part of the marketing solution, not the noise problem.
If you haven't read David Meerman Scott's books, I HIGHLY recommend them. You can also download the free eBook versions from his site. (But do yourself and David a favor and buy the book. If you're a corporation or group in need of a truly insightful thought leader, I can vouch for his speaking talent as well).
And remember that the best way to generate "viral" marketing is to:
1) Use great, resonant creative in your work.
2) Have a real, valuable, interesting, funny or frightening message.
3) Optimize your message for search.
4) Engage the hearts and minds of your tribe.
5) Quit trying so hard. See #1. (David's book on Viral Marketing will tell you a whole lot more).
And remember to echo Kit Ramsey's message: to Keep It Together
As an online marketer, we've been making up terms for the industry for a decade now. And I certainly meet clients who look at me like I'm speaking Jupiterian or Venusian.
(BTW: if you don't know WHY I emphasize "Keep it Together", then you're missing out on the whole Content Harmony piece of the RichContent platform. I'll share more in some upcoming posts. If you DO know why, send an email to [email protected] and I will give the first know-it-all a free media editing, optimization and broadcast package).
To your viral success,
Mark Alan Effinger
Thanks Mark. Coming from you, this is an honor.
David
Posted by: David Meerman Scott | April 29, 2008 at 02:25 PM