Dream Systems Media Blog

Link Building content, Link Building, new life event, Viral Marketing

During SMX West 2009 Andy did a great job live blogging the sessions he attended, and a comment came through on one of the posts he did asking for ideas, or “out-of-the-box” marketing tactics that could work for physicians offices:

Creative Marketing Tactics for Physician Offices?  I would like to know of any creative “out-of-the-box” marketing tactics that anyone has used when marketing services to physician offices, medical facilities, etc.  Thanks in advance.

Here goes: The thing you must realize about viral marketing ideas in regards to any specific business is that it does not have to be a perfect match.  Services that a physician offers in itself is not the kind of content that is worthy of “going viral”.

Social Media digg, reddit, Social Media Marketing, Stumble Upon, Twitter, viral, Viral Marketing

The other day I was talking with a friend about common methods used to create a good viral campaign via written or rich media. We started talking about some of our favorite videos on YouTube, etc. and ended up spending an hour watching all kinds of funny, inspirational viral media. This got me thinking about what goes into making a good viral piece. Below I will share some steps I think you can take, but at the bottom I’ll share the key.

Steps

1. Formulate your messaging — determine exactly what you want to convey about your product or service. You want to convey the benefits of your product or service, not just the features, and don’t be afraid to get crazy in this objective.
2. Determine your method – are you going to produce a written viral piece or a video viral piece. Consider the elements involved such as costs, time, etc. and then determine what route you want to follow.

Viral Marketing Viral Marketing

For those of you that are looking for a definition read this just below.  If you want to see the top 10 viral ads of 2008, skip to the bottom…

Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet.[1] Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily.[2] Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages. The basic form of viral marketing is not infinitely sustainable.

Viral Marketing Viral Marketing

This could not have worked out more perfectly for what I am about to post.  I was just checking my email and received a viral marketing question from a reader who sells Pet Carriers.  She was asking me what she could come up with that would be a good viral marketing post and wanted some ideas for some good content that would do well.  heh

Here is why I am so giddy about this.  Just before I left for my trip to Disneyland, my son was out in our garage and he was messing around with our cats pet carrier.  I went ahead and took out the old iPhone and snapped some shots knowing that it would be good material for a later date.  Remember this is me, the guy who can’t think about anything without trying to find a way to turn int viral.  Here are the pictures I snapped:

Viral Marketing Marketing, pet carriers, viral, Viral Marketing, viral marketing idea

With this being viral marketing Monday, and especially with it being Thanksgiving week, I wanted to say thanks to all the people who follow me on all of the places I blog/micro-blog/share at, and give back a little to my readers, even on this very new blog of mine. I really do appreciate the people who read my posts, ask questions, and share all of my stuff with their friends and other people in their networks. I am hoping to be able to answer some of your viral marketing questions. I have already received several questions related to viral marketing and I will address them here, but it got me thinking about this being the perfect opportunity to answer more. So go ahead and feel free to ask away, I am open for viral marketing questions!!!

Here are the questions that I received this week: (the ones related to viral marketing or social media)

Andrew Melchior, Viral Marketing Monday viral marketign questions, Viral Marketing, viral marketing idea, viral marketing tips

I did a similar post on another blog I co-author about a year ago titled how to think like a social media marketer (thus part 2 here), and decided to revisit the topic of “thinking like a social media marketer” and bring it up to date a little more, and give some fresh ideas.

Last night I was out playing with my kids, and the kids in the neighborhood when my son thought it would be a good idea to get his Tonka truck out and ride it down the hill (see picture).   It made me think of so many viral markering ideas all over again.

Thinking Like A Marketer

Pretty soon, all of the kids went and got their own Tonka trucks and it turned into a big ordeal of racing and having fun zooming down the little hill we have by our house.  They probably spent a good hour just zooming up and down this hill (yes they slept good).

Viral Marketing marketing campaigns, thinking like a social media marketer, Viral Marketing

This morning when I was taking the kids to school I was listening to my normal morning show, The John Jay & Rich show here in Arizona. I freaking love these guys, and I promise you will not find any two people that will make you laugh harder in the morning – anywhere. They did something different this morning though, that impressed the viral marketer in me.

They had a bet going with a girl who is also a part of the show that John Jay, (one of the DJs) could not memorize a Jay Z song and perform it perfectly. If he did then this girl had to strip down naked, take pictures and post them to the web. Well he did, and she got naked, and the pictures were posted to the web; with one twist. You had to click through over 1100 pictures before you got to the pictures where she was naked. So if you really wanted to see this girl naked you had to click through 1100 other pictures first, and its not set up so you can just change the URL and get to the end. You had to click your way through – no way around it.

Viral Marketing Monday Viral Marketing, viral marketing examples, Viral Marketing Monday