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Is Viral Marketing Failing?
For the last several years, many arts marketing professionals have focused intensely on viral marketing programs, primarily because most consumers rank word-of-mouth recommendations - especially from a friend - above almost every other media channel. A recent Nielsen Internet study declared that some 78% of consumers trust word of mouth over every other marketing channel.
According to the 1to1 Blog, new research published by Jupiter Media "shows that only 15 percent of viral marketing efforts of the past year actually succeeded in getting consumers to spread positive word of mouth."
Once again, a disciplined approach to marketing strategy - one that employs metrics as opposed to impressionistic notions - calls a trendy strategy's effectiveness into question.
In my experience, not all P2P strategies are created equal. There are some very effective P2P campaigns out there. What do the best P2P campaigns have in common?
1) They harness consumers' interests but don't manipulate them.
2) Consumers have been given clear, memorable, and compelling appeals that are both true AND real.
3) The product or experience delivers on its brand promise so consumers feel safe in putting their personal credibility on the line with their recommendation.
4) The campaigns are ethical and don't employ word-of-mouth shills who are all too easily found out.
Posted on October 15, 2007 12:53 PM | Permalink
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