Comments on: Social media: does viral marketing miss the point? http://www.501places.com/2010/04/social-media-viral-marketin/ Sharing the world with you Sat, 20 Nov 2010 09:59:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Andy Jarosz http://www.501places.com/2010/04/social-media-viral-marketin/#comment-5334 Andy Jarosz Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:47:57 +0000 http://www.501places.com/?p=2698#comment-5334 Thanks Mark for such a good analysis, and very pithy words to end. There are so many people shouting their messages online now that even being clever, funny or original is not enough to automatically make the effort invested bring in a measurable return. People can be reached, as you say, but to engage them requires something different. Lots to think about there, thanks Mark. Thanks Mark for such a good analysis, and very pithy words to end.
There are so many people shouting their messages online now that even being clever, funny or original is not enough to automatically make the effort invested bring in a measurable return. People can be reached, as you say, but to engage them requires something different. Lots to think about there, thanks Mark.

]]> By: Mark Pawlak http://www.501places.com/2010/04/social-media-viral-marketin/#comment-5292 Mark Pawlak Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:30:10 +0000 http://www.501places.com/?p=2698#comment-5292 Hi Andy, This issue is so problematic for big business, even more so for the people who have been promoting viral and social media marketing. I remember the valuations (un-tested) paced on Facebook at the height of the frenzy. The excitement stems from the identifying and targeting of specific consumers. Despite looking like a scatter-gun approach, as it reaches a huge (potential) audience, this group, as defined by their own network, should therefore be aligned exactly with the product. However... Increasingly, pop up video, pre-run, post-run and all the other adds are simply becoming content. They are part of the fabric. The people most likely to accept that their data is shared - in trade for social networking tools - are the same individuals who can happily ignore the adds. Yes, they will be reached, but no, they won't be engaged. Expert voices do have sway, so watch out for adds disguised as 'opinions' and sales vehicles masquerading as sit-coms. Businesses need to have a presence, maintaining a blog is increasingly vital as it can be a showcase for their expert knowledge, a place where people return without fear of having their data mined. If it can be made an authoritative place, it will become a resource. We all love good information; so with a web thick with trivia, we just have to be 'out there' and expert in our topic. If a firm is unsure how to proceed with its viral/social adds they should apply the Berghaus principle: "Trust is earned". Hi Andy,

This issue is so problematic for big business, even more so for the people who have been promoting viral and social media marketing. I remember the valuations (un-tested) paced on Facebook at the height of the frenzy.

The excitement stems from the identifying and targeting of specific consumers. Despite looking like a scatter-gun approach, as it reaches a huge (potential) audience, this group, as defined by their own network, should therefore be aligned exactly with the product. However…

Increasingly, pop up video, pre-run, post-run and all the other adds are simply becoming content. They are part of the fabric.

The people most likely to accept that their data is shared – in trade for social networking tools – are the same individuals who can happily ignore the adds. Yes, they will be reached, but no, they won’t be engaged.

Expert voices do have sway, so watch out for adds disguised as ‘opinions’ and sales vehicles masquerading as sit-coms.

Businesses need to have a presence, maintaining a blog is increasingly vital as it can be a showcase for their expert knowledge, a place where people return without fear of having their data mined. If it can be made an authoritative place, it will become a resource.

We all love good information; so with a web thick with trivia, we just have to be ‘out there’ and expert in our topic.

If a firm is unsure how to proceed with its viral/social adds they should apply the Berghaus principle: “Trust is earned”.

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