How to make viral marketing appealing for phones
October 28, 2006 by Jayvee Fernandez
Filed under Cell phone, Convergence Phones, Mobile Monitor
I was just reading the Easy Marketing Blog’s entry on how to achieve the viral marketing apex using mobile phones. I do believe that the springboard of viral marketing has a lot to do with the consumer wanting to create a buzz. If there was no incentive, then why bother?
A lot of free viral marketing does happen over the Internet – yes they do not get paid to post about products and services and campaigns – but that’s because the incentives are not quantified in terms of cold cash. Instead, these “grassroots viral marketers” are in it for the prestige, the “being part of something” feeling, and because they believe that spreading the word forms part of their web site’s advocacy.
But what happens when viral marketing creeps upon the realm of spam?
Easy Marketing Blog refers to these three ways to make viral campaigns more attractive to say YES to:
Offer exclusive content. Anyone can offer ring tones. It’s the unique content, such as exclusive mobile images of new brand concepts, that drives interest and calls them out in other media like e-mail campaigns, newsletters, websites, etc. So a wireless campaign is most effective when it offers exclusive content for wireless devices.
Make it useful and timely. Think about what would be handy and helpful to have on a mobile device. Last year, for example, Food Network enabled Sprint customers to download shopping lists for their Thanksgiving dinners. There was a lot of “Sprint-envy” going around among non-sprint customers.
Clearly define objectives. Usually, one of two business objectives drives successful mobile experiences: incremental revenue of brand intimacy. On the intimacy factor, a text message usually takes priority over almost any other form of communication. Why? Because we haven’t yet been saturated with mobile spam, and this is what causes us to prioritize wireless messaging over voice.
Do I agree to these? Well, yes and no. In an ideal world offering exclusive content would be a good thing for the mere fact that these are branded as exclusive. But in the real world, a person’s mobile phone is sacrosanct.
My personal experience is that I’d want to have full control of the stuff that gets sent into my phone via my carrier. Which is why I don’t subscribe to ringtones, jokes or even news. That stuff I can get through the Internet, when I want them.
