VIRALITY

ISN’T JUST

FOR KITTENS

For

Why am I here?

Spent over 40 hours analyzingviral video content for my undergrad thesis.

also:

define virality

steal lessons from popularviral campaigns

what goes viral?

build our own campaign

WHAT IS

VIRALITY?

“viral marketing and viral advertisingrefer to marketing techniques thatuse pre-existing social networks toproduce increases in brandawareness or to achieve othermarketing objectives (such asproduct sales) through self-replicating viral processes”- Wikipedia

“is a technique that is based on theassumption that people will shareinteresting and entertaining content. Blogsand seemingly amateur videos are oftenused to create word-of-mouth buzz for anew product or service, generatingexposure that is often much more valuablethan traditional advertising.”- SAG.org

“Viral marketing is the extremely powerfuland unique ability of the Internet to buildself propagating visitor streams, bringingabout exponential growth to a company'sWeb site.”-Sitenexus

“I like Internet marketing expert JimSterne's definition of this term: "Wordof mouth on steroids." That prettymuch sums it up, given the fact thatforwarding a promotion via email iseasy for customers and prospects todo... so the pass-along rate can growexponentially…”- Clickz

here are some definitions…

I have a definition, too.

But first…

What’s a Superfan?

Diehard supporter whogoes out of their way to infect others with your message, your brand.

Attention is not cheap online. You need your superfansbecause they are the first to care & spread your message.Everyone else just follows by clicking “like” or “share”.

# of superfans today

# of superfans next week

Q: So, what’s the long termstrategy for viral campaigns?A: Support your Superfans!

what kinds of content goes viral?

(Iziwa, 2010)

positive/funny content best!

shocking content is okay

sad content not a good idea

(Iziwa, 2010)

positive/funny content best!

shocking content is okay

sad content not a good idea

(you make people feel good)

(you get to warn others)

(no real benefits. just sad.)

57%Of young adultsuse socialnetworking forself-promotion,narcissism,attention-seeking.

(YPulse, 2009)

Let’s learn from the big guys, now.

Old Spice

Target

influencers!

Obama

Allow superfans to createtheir own campaigns.

Hotmail

Build virality into theproduct, campaign, etc.

YELE (Haiti Donation)

Make it very very easy

to get involved, spread.

Will It Blend?

Only keep going if you haveuser interaction…

The Subservient Chicken

Leverage existingoutlets(traditional & guerilla)to build upon yourcampaign.

GenJuice

Make it focused…

Keys to a Viral Campaign

1. Target superfans2. Create campaigns that enable self-promotion3. Develop positive, not negative content4. Target influencers5. Have superfans create their own campaigns6. Build virality into the product, service7. Make it super easy to spread8. Only move forward after users interact9. Go beyond just social, integrate offline/traditional10. Make it focused

Keys to a Viral Campaign(in order!)

1. Make it focused2. Target superfans3. Target influencers4. Create campaigns that enable self-promotion5. Build virality into the campaign6. Have superfans create their own campaigns7. Develop positive, not negative content8. Go beyond just social, integrate offline/traditional9. Make it super easy to spread10. Only move forward after users interact

Now, let’s build our own

viral campaign for Cal!

1. Make it focused

Let’s say we want to build a campaign toencourage fundraising amongstrecent alumni using social media.

1. Target superfans

We will approach all of the alumni

who gave back as a part of their

senior gift

3. Target influencers

We will also approach the former

presidents, organizers, etc of the

student clubs at Cal.

4. Create campaigns that enable self-promotion

How about an online search for the“Most Generous Alum” of Berkeley?Whoever fundraises the most, gets the title.

5. Build virality into the campaign

I got it! Add a nomination component where allnominees are tagged on Facebook.

6. Have superfans create their own campaigns

Well, we can have the nominees create their ownfundraising campaigns as a part of the competition,right?

7. Develop positive, not negative content

Ok, why not kick off the campaign with a funny,overtly cheesy inspirational video?It plays off of positive content & makes it fun.

8. Go beyond just social, integrate offline/traditional

This is easy. Announce the campaign in email, onBerkeley website, in alumni groups, etc. Go whereeveryone is already going online and offline.

9. Make it super easy to spread

Nominations can take place at the

click of a button on Facebook

10. Only move forward after users interact

Change it up if you are not seeing any traction.

(again just in case)

The Keys to Virality

1. Make it focused2. Target superfans3. Target influencers4. Create campaigns that enable self-promotion5. Build virality into the campaign6. Have superfans create their own campaigns7. Develop positive, not negative content8. Go beyond just social, integrate offline/traditional9. Make it super easy to spread10. Only move forward after users interact

But wait, what about resources?

ideas inspired by

your very own:

latch ontoother projects

take advantage ofcampus foursquare

take on whatyou can handle

reference pop culture

poke some fun at Cal

start a fake controversy

some other simple ideas

when creating content:

(yet the big point is, to really conserveresources, you have to…)

Ask the Superfans!

Ask the Superfans!

And give them what they want.

Credits!1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fweez/278017185/sizes/z/in/photostream/2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/9229859@N02/1052409181/3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/placbo/2826724783/4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fahdad/1574112409/sizes/z/in/photostream/5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/george/2135470671/sizes/z/in/photostream/6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mugsy/2764579187. http://www.flickr.com/photos/flanman/3488525512/sizes/z/in/photostream/8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/excelmeetingsandevents/5127057710/9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscophile/516484431510.http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/272267265911.http://www.flickr.com/photos/peyri/462244646/12.http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintjcl/4990252785/13.http://www.flickr.com/photos/viggum/2311621369/sizes/z/in/photostream/14.http://www.flickr.com/photos/helga/3646442474/15.http://www.flickr.com/photos/nznavy/515522230116.http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/434307836817.http:////www.flickr.com/photos/programwitch/1483871472/18.http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennuiislife/4844014931/19.http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/3367796418/20.http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/lady-gaga.jpg21.http://www.flickr.com/photos/antigone/2256526041/22.http://www.flickr.com/photos/pyxopotamus/291132717623.http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb-a/2246330445/

-

http://thearielle.com

arielle@thearielle.com

(oh yeah, want more theoretical research-based insight into viral videos?let me know, i’ll send you le thesis in dec.)