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Step Two in planning your viral campaign was planning your message, and a big part of that was finding the right emotional buttons to press with your consumers and customers. But how do you do that without knowing who they are? I mean, knowing who they are in the same sort of way that a lover seduces the aim of his/her desire?What are the triggers that will help snap him/ her to attention? (take that phrase any way you want....) The fact is, you can't. Marketing is part psychology. To get your consumer/ customer to 'yes', you have to know what they want from you. So what is it? Some super secret information? Does your consumer/ customer want to be entertained? Does he/ she want to be (or appear to be) informed and clever? Part of the success in your campaign lies in identifying several things: -What do customers want and value? -Are there common themes in what some customers want and can you use those themes to create groups of customers that you can communicate with - and more importantly move towards 'yes'? -Are these wants and needs important enough to them that they're willing to change how they're currently solving for them? -What is it that you've got that those groups will find so motivating that they're willing to make changes (customers are inherently lazy; getting them to 'yes' means that: Their pain point has gotten to be unbearable, Your solution is really attractive, You've managed to capture their attention. Your message has engaged them well enough to get (lazy) customers to click a button on your site or send an email, or make a phone call. This next part is really cool. Let's say that you got some of these cool, needy people to respond to your message. They tried your service or product. Hey, Mikey! They liked it! In fact, they really liked it and they want to tell more people about it! They remembered that totally awesome viral video they first saw from you that started this new love affair and guess what..... they've decided to send it to more people! Rinse and repeat. This is how your message goes viral. You've tapped into the most awesome thing about social media - your customers can now become your advocates and you, as master puppeteer, can give them the tools they need to be super-star unpaid sales people spreading the good news about your 'stuff' to all their friends. Yes, rinse and repeat! And it all started with a customer that had a problem, and you who understood your customer or consumer well enough to plan a really awesome viral campaign! Here's a couple examples of what you can do when you really understand your customers! While you're watching these, ask yourself this: Could these stories have been told as well if the brand marketers didn't know how their customers think about their products and they way the products solve their needs? Play With OREO feat. Yelle (:30) Think about all the different ways to enjoy Oreo cookies you just heard. Believe it or not, most of this stuff comes straight out of user focus groups with loyal Oreo cookie consumers! The best way to show consumers you really 'get' them, is to really 'get them'! Better For It – Inner Thoughts Want help uncovering your own brand, understanding your consumers, or creating a really awesome viral campaign? Contact Joe Hines! This blog is written by Joe Hines, Lead Branding Architect at Professional Edge. Professional Edge is a marketing consulting firm focused on helping owners of small businesses develop more and better business relationships. You can find out more about us at Professional Edge. Joe also owns and operates A-Cubed Marketing Services, a virtual marketing services firm. We help our customers explain how they create value so they can sell more of their products and services. You can see examples of our work at A-cubed Marketing
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