This is a video assignment in our Viral Marketing Class for my Internet Marketing Degree.

Week 1: We were assigned a fictitious company. I chose GIft Baskets for All.
We created a Discovery Brief on that business in week 1.

Week 2: We the had to develop a Creative Concept Brief, describing the outreach concept of our Viral Marketing Plan.

The goal of the marketing plan was to reach new market segments and increase sales/revenues throughout the year, trying to level the peaks and valleys of the prime selling season that evolved mostly around the holidays and purchases for Women (birthdays, Mother’s Day, Easter, etc).

Week 3: Where we had to create a movie as the outreach product of the Marketing Plan.  The goal of the movie was to speak to the new market segments we wanted to reach.

I decided to target two verticle segments: College Students and Men – neither of whom receive many gift baskets, but both of which would benefit from them.

The emotional hook I tried for was that men were suffering the lack of gift baskets, and knew that certain favorite items would be easy to put in along side other premium items that would surprise them. The gift baskets for college students evolved around “care baskets” – students cannot survive on pizza and cafeteria food entirely – they need fruit and – well yes, even candy!

I admit, I am NOT a movie producer, but I did my best -with the help of my friends (whose names I promised to keep to myself) to get the point I needed to make across to the audience. LOL

CAFFEINE, THE NEXT BIG GOOGLE UPDATE WILL SOON TAKE PLACE:

Why is that important to YOU?

Similar to the major changes that took effect when the “Florida Update” was done in 2003, this update is significant because it hearlds in the time WHEN LOAD SPEEDS BECOME A RANKING FACTOR!

Google has made a concerted effort during the last half of 2009 to speed things up and improve processing. Speed, or the time it takes to process information, has become a consistent theme as the company began work on the next version of its search architecture, Caffeine.

Google began previewing Caffeine to webmasters in August. Last year, Matt Cutts wrote on his blog to expect Caffeine after the holidays, confirming that speed will become a ranking factor on Google.

Reliable-SEO Founder David Harry tells of Google’s need for speed in organic search results that affects not only page-load speeds, but Google DNS, updated analytics code, ability to incorporate new signals, social search, real-time search, deeper personalization, Google Wave and more.

Read the entire article at Media Post’s Search Blog

In general, using Social Media for Marketing is like any other kind of Marketing. So let’s start with a definition of Marketing – because too many people I know think that Marketing is the same as Selling, or that Selling is an automatic response to Marketing.

It is not.

Marketing is a way to “becoming known”.  When you “become known”,  you are building your “brand”.  This is true whether your “brand” is Coca Cola or Sharon O’Dell.  A “brand” is simple.  To market effectively, you then have to define what you are “branding”.

PRODUCT Marketing:  When you think of “Coca Cola”(product)  you don’t think of the CEO, or the Marketing Director, or even the gal on the bottling line.  You think of the PRODUCT…. a bottle or a can of Coke.  Their marketing is to keep that bottle or can at the top of your mind every time you make a purchasing decision to buy soft drinks.  Now, most people go to step 2 before they buy:  they ask a friend or a few friends.  ”Hey Carol, have you ever tried that soda called “Coke” before?”.  They gather information before they make that decision!

SERVICES Marketing:  On the other hand, (service) when you think of finding a doctor, lawyer, realtor, consultant or expert to help with something what do you do?  Ok sure, some people go to the yellow pages and find the category then close their eyes and put their finger on the page.  Then open their eyes and who ever is the closeest gets their call.  MOST PEOPLE DO NOT USE THIS METHOD but it has been known to happen to us all.  Generally – what do we do?  We know someone from our network and/or then we ask our family and friends.  If you are in a service category, then YOU become the brand.  Plain and simple.  Thus,  your marketing message has to be about selling the brand “YOU”.

Now you may think that this is stupid and simple and by now you may be saying to yourself “I know that! So what!!”  To which I say, GOOD! Why then, after admitting that you know this, do you think that Social Media MARKETING is any different?

Why do you think that you can post to my Facebook page that you are selling something and then instantly think I should be buying it?  Do you know me?  Do you know if I need this thing you are selling?

Understand, I DO want to know what you are doing – if you are posting to my page, you have “made it” into my friends or acquaintance circle, and I will probably do my best to support your efforts – especially if you or what you are doing has meaning to my life – but THAT is marketing my friend!  That’s it!  Do you “get it”? Hope so!  That is STEP 1 of a process. Nothing more. nothing less.

If you are going to post it again, please make sure you do so in an INTERESTING way.  Don’t just “re-post” it.  YAWN.  Remember that most of us generally SCAN our social media pages.  If I see the same thing – again and again, I can’t tell you how fast I scan past it.  On the other hand, even if it’s an ad or a sales pitch, if the person posting it takes time to make it PERSONAL, I do stop, read and (most importantly) THINK about it.

That right there, that thinking process is what needs to be provoked for social media marketing to be effective.  ALL social media (online or offline) is EMOTIONAL. Making it personal creates an emotional tie (that may bind).

Otherwise, congrats!  You have just created the “new and improved” interruptive advertising campaign on my page – and trust me, most of us hate that and wil get rid of it one way or the other (hide, un-friend, mentally put that person/picture on “scan past” or “ignore”.  Just like most typical reponses to TV, Radio, and print media advertising.  This is the new frontier – not a new canvas on which to continue old tactics.

Thus, STEP 2 of this process is to contact me directly and START A CONVERSATION about it.  This is where “the rubber meets the road” to coin an old phrase.  During this conversation I will realize I need what you have; or I may be willing to share it with my friends on your behalf.

Sharing is as important as buying – I have just effectively told my friends, “I trust this person”.  ” I know this person”.

Get creative!  Get personal!  Get REAL!  Most of all, START A CONVERSATION!

This question comes up a LOT!  I have literally gone to the emergency room too many times to count in order to get my tongue sewed back together after almost biting it off trying to keep from going into this same rant.

IT’S FEAR TALKING! PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

The subject came up again, and  ths time David Meerman Scott responded.  Listen to his response, it’s priceless and 100% accurate:

http://bit.ly/ROIrant

Someone put my thoughts into words…and it’s about time! AMEN!!