_The Likelihood of Going Viral

Viral videos are the dream of every marketer, and those spending time trying to manufacture them often miss the mark. Most viral efforts will fall flat, and I imagine there is a strong negative correlation between the size of the brand and the likelihood of going viral. Why? Try getting the right viral idea through branding, legal, regulatory, privacy, PR, senior management, etc (exhausted yet)… Even if it’s bang on, I’ll bet 10 to 1 that it will die a death of a thousand edits barely resembling the brilliant campaign presented by a creative and enthusiastic team member several months ago.

Instead, what people should be focusing on are “outbreaks”, which are defined as pockets of infection as opposed to viruses. Do you need tens of millions of people to watch your video, or can you get great results if only 100,000 of the right people watch it?  Traditional media buying has biased us toward huge numbers, but “The Tipping Point” and others have shown us how powerful smaller numbers of influentials can be.  Listen to your target and figure out what truly resonates with your influentials, and infect them.

From a budget standpoint, that suggests that brands should not drop $3 million on a single social media campaign. Instead, think about using that same budget on 30 campaigns that each cost $100,000. You’ve increased your overall likelihood of success by 30x while lowering the ROI bar for each campaign.  Brilliant!

_Social Media Pays Off

If you’re not using social media to promote your business, you’re company is not reaching its potential.  It’s just that simple.  Signing up for an account on Facebook and Twitter does not mean your company is “engaging” in social media.  A company’s  mere presence on such networks does not necessarily mean they are engaging in social media.

It is important for one to define business goals and objectives and include social media in the overall process and road mapping.  Getting lost in social media without direction only informs your others of your preference for a decaf latte mid-day.

_Investing Internally

In addition to more traditional marketing and web communications, Contour Marketing & Media has been busy with training and internally focused communications for clients who have stepped up their “internal investments” in this uncertain market.
Working with our clients’ subject matter experts, Contour’s education professionals gather and develop materials to be delivered via video/web conferencing, e-mail, message board forum, or client-preferred method of delivery.
Web-based training is an ideal vehicle for delivering training to employees at any time and any place. This innovative approach enables companies to deliver materials allowing self-directed and self-paced instruction on any topic. WBT is media-rich training capable of evaluation, adaptation and remediation.
Web-based training offers many advantages over traditional training. WBT ensures a consistent message to employees and is far more convenient for employees-anytime, anywhere. With the potential to reach larger audiences, WBT greatly reduces the cost of travel and the costs of trainers and classroom facilities.