Let’s Start an Epidemic

Early on in the evolution of digital, viral marketing (as I say that it makes it sound like a long time ago but it really wasn’t) I had a board member say he was excited to see we were producing podcasts. “Now we’ll reach young people!”

Later I had a colleague (not in marketing) who had read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and would regularly tell me we needed to create an epidemic for our product.

As I have always suspected and now have proof, I’m not the only one who has been asked to make something go viral. Ali Goldfield has written an article for Social Media Today titled “Make That Go Viral, Please.” She has run into the same kind of “gurus” that believe “the recipe for virility is easy.” She however refreshingly acknowledges that if you’re honest you know there is no guarantee that your content will “go viral.”

This is not to say that the viral marketing principles in The Tipping Point or promulgated by social media experts are wrong. They are often the kind of principles that will ensure failure if they are ignored but can’t guarantee success.

One reason there is no guarantee is that over time, control of marketing drivers has shifted away from the company and toward the consumer. Technology has put word of mouth on steroids, enabled consumers to avoid commercials and filter information based on their preferences. An understanding of this shift is what was missing when the previously mentioned board member thought podcasts automatically reached young people. They failed to recognize the difference between broadcast media in an age of limited options and digital media that requires the consent of the consumer.

Another factor outside of a marketer’s control and limiting the likelihood of wild success is the concept behind another book that had it’s 15 minutes of marketing buzz word fame – The Long Tail by Chris Anderson. It is still an important principle to remember as you make your plans.

Our world is an increasingly diverse place. I don’t necessarily mean that in the ways we typically think of diversity. I mean it in the sense of taste and preferences. Technology again has allowed us to connect with people in ever smaller slices of common interest and consume media and products from a dizzying array of truly niche markets. As a result, there is less likelihood that something will appeal to the tastes of a traditional “mass” audience.

I’m reminded of the song by John Ondrasik (Five For Fighting) called Slice.

Meaning popular taste was more homogeneous. Now we are more like “300 million little USA’s” where “your door step is just a click away.”

This concept of the long tale can be seen in television ratings. In the 1950’s I Love Lucy was the highest rated show several years in a row with average household Nielson ratings between 49 and 67. More recently American Idol had an 8 year run in the top spot but it’s Nielson ratings were all in the 14 to 17 range. The full trend can be seen in the graph below.

The better goal to pursue with your marketing is to use the tools available to strategically engage customers that have a predisposition to your product and make your offer as compelling and relevant as possible. Build you business on that foundation and if your customers start an epidemic for you all the better.