The ipod nano video starring Canadian singer Feist is soaring into Internet popularity, according to a story on Yahoo! News. Wow, what an example of great viral marketing! Or is it an example of a non-news story made to seem popular by the entities that can pump information on to the 'net?
I saw the story online last night describing the song that starts "1,2,3,4" and I watched the video clip. I swear I saw the same clip some weeks back - or even months back. The story then went on to say how the percentage of searches for Feist soared tremendously.
The reader can then click on to the full length video or easily find a link to Feist's website. Of course, it's even easier to click on to a series of ads for the ipod nano.
Alright, big deal! I like the video - it's unique and so is her persona. However, the whole thing bugs the heck out of me. It's like a guy they had on a few months back who shuffled his feet at famous monuments around the world and then posted his video.
I think it's because people still like to talk about "viral marketing" and if you create one great post, or a short memorable video clip, it's going to get passed all over the Internet and traffic's going to flood your website so much that even the world's servers and all their glorious bandwidth ain't going to keep up with the stats. Your business will sell out of all it's frozen steaks, metal pipes, oxford shoes, fuzzy slippers or whatever it is you sell. And you'll walk away with millions.
Uh-uh. Not so. What's your business? A construction company? Do you sell shoes? Perhaps lingerie online? Look, if you combine the name of an Apple product with the reach of Yahoo! then you can achieve "instant" viral marketing success. It helps if you have a production budget of a $100,000 to $500,000, too.
Otherwise, let your game plan be creating long-term quality content. If your audience grows slowly that's fine. Especially if it's growing steadily. And in the process, you're likely to hit on a message or post that will get passed around and draw attention.
Don't try to create a message just for the sake of popularity. Stick to the integrity of your knowledge and provide consistent, helpful information for the benefit of others.
Do you notice I resisted the temptation to have a link to the ipod nano site or Feist's video? Aaack! It's hard to resist! I wonder if she'd do a song and video for me to woo clients who need their blogs or websites written? Nah! Probably not.
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