Mentioning the need to build a successful online marketing campaign is easy to say but way harder to detail. What can be considered as a successful campaign? The answer is straightforward; a campaign that reaches the fixed objectives whilst minimizing the costs and maximizing gains. In other words, we can define a successful campaign as one that generates a positive long-term return on investment (ROI). To the minimum, if your objective is to gain subscribers to your newsletter, all you need to implement in relation to your online strategies is one designed ad and a single video that redirect viewers to a subscription form thereafter. I personally think that the simpler is the better, and that the buzz/viral/buzz sequence is a good recipe to success. So what is the buzz/viral/buzz sequence?
The buzz/viral/buzz sequence is a 3-step hierarchical procedure which includes:
1. Buzz in the creation process;
2. Viral to propagate in the targeted population;
3. Buzz in the targeted population.
Each of these steps is described with more depth in the following paragraphs.
1. Buzz in the creation process
If there is no buzz around the video in the creation process, the probability that there will be a buzz once launched to the targeted population is minimal. Why would I share a video is the question to ask to any member of the marketing team before the campaign is launched. Great campaigns often come with innovative and simple ideas. You are much better off dumping a bad video than showing the whole world how much the video sucks!
2. Viral to propagate in the targeted population
Viral marketing is about the techniques employed to propagate a message/video in the online environment. If the message/video sucks, you will spend plenty of time trying to spread rotten material. For a more detailed view of viral marketing myths, feel free to read my post entitled “Demystifying Viral Marketing – 7 Myths of Viral Marketing Campaigns”.
3. Buzz to the targeted population
If there is a buzz in the creation process, then chances that viral techniques worked are multiplied and chances that a buzz occurred in the targeted population are exponential. In other words, buzz in the targeted population is a function of the two previous elements of the sequence. A well-executed example of these three steps is the successful online campaign featuring the Bee Boys Dance Crew for Häagen-Dazs video (see picture below) launched a year and a half ago.
Conclusion
What do you think of the proposed sequence? Do you have any example of organizations skipping the first part of the sequence and then whining about the fact that users didn’t buzz on their campaigns? Users are not dumb, so proponents of the online marketing intelligentsia, please stand up!
Jean-Francois Belisle
