A Startup Went Viral, Why Haven’t You?

What happens when you have an idea that you know could be successful, but you just don’t have the cash for paid advertising?

Go viral.

Of course, that’s much easier said than done. The equation to what exactly makes online content viral has been under debate since the phenomenon began, with Gawker, TechCrunch, Social Media Today, Forbes, Mashable, Spin Sucks and countless others chiming in. With so many different analyses, how do we know what’s correct? Is there a correct answer? Let’s take a look at a specific brand example.

Dollar Shave Club, a new startup with few resources available to it, created a cheap viral video with almost five million views at this writing. It suddenly received thousands of orders, plus positive reviews and analyses like this. This article even claims the video and Dollar Shave Club are part of a new capitalism where startups can move forward with the help of social media.

Of course, Dollar Shave Club has other positive attributes as well. Its website is user-friendly, the product and how the service works are well-explained, it keeps an active social media presence, and it possesses a tagline that is easy to remember: “Shave Money. Shave Time.”

Does this mean a company can simply make a video and expect success from that? Of course not. Dollar Shave Club is lucky that its video was one of the relative few to go viral. Nothing is ever viral until it suddenly goes viral. No one in public relations or marketing can control whether a video goes viral or not, even though plenty of people would probably like to!

The uncertain nature of going viral constitutes a risk. What if your brand spends a lot of money to create a professional video in the hopes it will go viral and it falls flat? What if your brand quickly slaps together a video and it suddenly gets viewed by millions within a few hours?

Of course, the Dollar Shave Club video is a case study to be celebrated. One video helped a company become an overnight success. That’s the power of social media and corporate social video, especially if your brand is lucky enough to go viral.

4 Rules to Keep Your Facebook Contest in the Clear

Look to your left. Now, look to your right. Odds are, one of those people has engaged in illegal Facebook contests. And most didn’t even know it.

Facebook has a strict set of rules for what you can and can’t do when it comes to giving stuff away. You can see the full terms and condition here. Since the social network eliminates so many boundaries between brand and audience, a lot of people start to look at it as the wild west of marketing. And while there’s been very little policing, the landscape is becoming more and more domesticated everyday. Facebook has been introducing major updates for brands and personal users almost weekly since the IPO. It’s only a matter of time before they bring the hammer down on back-alley like-and-win shams.

So here are a few basic rules to live by when it comes to creating or promoting a contest online. You will see a common theme among all. Facebook doesn’t want to be legally liable for your contest in any way, which is understandable. Haven’t they had enough legal trouble anyway?

Facebook Means Business

Facebook will shut down your page without warning if you are caught breaking any of these rules. Allow me to repeat myself (clears throat). Facebook will shut down your page without warning if you are caught breaking any of these rules.

If you think you are lucky enough to avoid the po-po, then by all means, break the rules. If your boss or client is prepared to hear you lost access to thousands of customers, then by all means, break the rules. Otherwise, you’d better toe the line.

Facebook Actions are Prohibited in Contests

Facebook actions are ingrained in our lives – they were present even before it existed. We’ve always liked and commented on things in our daily lives. When I was a kid, I liked the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and commented on their awesome karate moves to my friends. I do the same thing as an adult, expect it’s on Facebook – and possibly a little creepy.

The point is, Facebook owns the digital “like,” “comment” and “share” just like Nike owns the swoosh. Using Facebook actions (the like, comment or share) to qualify for a contest is like giving people a Nike paddle at an auction house. It looks like one brand is endorsing another. And Facebook doesn’t endorse anyone’s contest. To that point, terms and conditions also say you can’t notify a contest winner via Facebook message or comment.

Facebook has Authorized Vendors

Facebook contests are pretty trendy right now. A lot of brands don’t know why they want Facebook contests, but they’re sure they do. In reality, most contests on Facebook aren’t actually Facebook contests. They are simply contests promoted on Facebook. Entering and voting in contests mostly happens on brand websites or on third-party vendor’s websites. Some top third-party vendors include:

These vendors create apps or tabs for your Facebook page. The same way you access photos and fans on a page, you access other custom tabs. These tabs are actually other web pages, housed on separate servers. They are then replicated within a Facebook page. This is done through a programming technology called iframes, which makes a mirror of a page and put it somewhere else on the Internet. Hence, Facebook is released of liability because nothing related to your contest is housed on Facebook’s server.

You can make iframes do the same thing with a page on your website. Just make sure it’s sized to fit Facebook’s content area (810px wide).

Facebook Contests Must Adhere to Federal and State Laws

It’s not Facebook’s responsibility to make sure your contest is legal (remember, they haven’t endorsed it and therefore aren’t liable for your contest). However, you need terms, conditions and a privacy policy that release yourself from legal liability. Council of American Survey Research Organizations provides a nice overview on navigating these issues and what constitutes a sweepstakes versus a contest.

So, in short, your contest is fine as long as it’s not really a Facebook contest. It needs to be housed on a different server and can’t use any Facebook verbs to qualify a contestant.

4 Content Marketing Lessons from Chuck Testa

I bet you thought this blog post would teach you four content marketing lessons from Chuck Testa – you are absolutely right. It will.

We can make all the jokes we want. The ad for Chuck Testa and Ojai Valley Taxidermy is hilarious and has spawned hundreds of equally hilarious memes. Whether or not Testa knew he was making viral gold, he has taught us several content marketing lessons along the way.

1. It doesn’t take a lot of resources

Looking past the infamous video, Testa regularly posts taxidermy tips on YouTube. I don’t know much about taxidermy, but he appears to be a thought leader in the industry and has a lot of advice to give. Testa repurposes the video content into blog posts on his basic WordPress website and links posts back to a gallery of his work and an online store selling a “NOPE!” shirt (If you haven’t by now, watch the video).

Even though all the elements are basic, they come together in a cohesive strategy.

2. It’s not about production value

Testa’s taxidermy tips are about two minutes long, use absolutely no editing and are shot on Handycam with no external microphone. But they provide great value to his audience. I’ve seen several educational YouTube videos shot in HD quality with eccentric narrators. I’ve also watched a grainy, muffled smartphone video to remember how to tie a Full Windsor.

The production quality of educational content is low on a viewer’s priority list. The first thing on the list: quality of content.

3. It’s focused on the audience

If you are not a hunter or aspiring taxidermist, please do not watch Chuck Testa’s other videos. If you are a vegetarian or animal lover, I implore, PLEASE do not watch his other videos. They are somewhat graphic and are not targeted at you.

I’m an animal lover, but I’m also from a small town in central Ohio where the first day of deer-hunting season is considered an excused absence from school. These are the people who make up Testa’s audience. I can picture several friends back home on the edge of the seat while watching Testa’s tips for mounting an antler rack.

4. It’s all about seizing a fleeting opportunity

We may never know if Testa recognized the treasure he possessed when uploading that video to YouTube. One thing we do know, he embraced it. Testa still regularly retweets people using his signature catch phrase. My personal favorite, “Homework finished? NOPE #ChuckTesta.”

He also held a contest to find the best Chuck Testa memes and posted the winners on his website. Viral video stardom is fleeting to say the least. Testa immediately used the video to draw traffic to his website, Twitter and Facebook page. When your name comes up and your website traffic spikes, you have to act to ensure the spike lasts as long as possible.

Making do with a simple WordPress site, he blogs, syndicates his social media feeds and regularly updates and repurposes site content. You might think he uses a digital marketing agency. Nope – it’s just Chuck Testa with a well-executed content marketing strategy.

Top Ten Ways to Identify if You’re Today’s Digital Marketer

Do you love digital communications? Has your spouse, significant other, life partner, family, mom or dad asked you to stop boring the neighbors with stories about SEO, content ladders, PPC, analytics, tweets or your latest blog post? Do you brag about the size of your Klout score? If so, read through our list of Top Ten Traits of a Digital Marketer to see if we describe you.

Do you have an opinion? Social media is just that–social. Do you watch conversations online and actively engage in discussions via Twitter, Linkedin, blogs and forums? Being a part of the social media strategy and conversation is key.
Do you like geometric shapes (i.e. the digital marketing funnel)? We’ve left the information age and entered the attention economy. Digital marketers need to understand how to be relevant with content and services utilizing a variety of inbound marketing strategies and tactics.
Can you communicate in 140 characters or less? More importantly, do you love the written word? From PPC to blogs, content is important, but optimized content produces results.
Do you get a tear of joy every time you see a spreadsheet? One of the most important roles digital marketers play is understanding what the success metrics are and how to find them in Google Analytics, SEM reports and website search engine rankings. Basically, you need love data.
Do you like to talk… a lot? Digital marketing strategy is built on communications and the strongest relationships with clients, media, business partners and peers is built on face-to-face discussion. If you just communicate through emails, texts and blogs, you’re missing out. Remember what we said about being social.
Are you a lifelong student? We are all teachers and students because digital marketing strategy is continuously evolving and we all must be constantly learning. If you’re an old dog who isn’t learning a new trick every day, stick to a traditional agency.
Do you embrace change and new technology? Change is constant and rarely is the market leader the same every year. That’s what makes Facebook and Google so amazing. They continue to be dominant in an industry where technology and competitors change daily. We all must be looking for the next big emerging technological breakthrough… or at least the next big thing this month.
Do you like to lead? The digital marketing space is bold and exciting and no place for the timid. Brands and companies are looking for ways to connect in ways not done before and leaders to take them there. If you’re not willing to be bold and take some risks, digital marketing isn’t for you. Remember, you learn a lot more from failure than success.
Do you stay calm under pressure? In today’s face paced digital world, digital marketers have to juggle the needs and wants of each client. This may seem like a delicate balancing act, but with the right tools, you can easily calm the storm.
Do you know your Klout score? The knowledge of wealth you share online will influence others now more than ever. Since 2008, the content you share online is measured on a scale from 1-100 in terms of influence. What’s your number?

The traditional public relations and marketing skill sets have changed dramatically over the last five years, but one thing’s for sure: Digital marketing is here to stay. If you answered yes to several questions on this list, digital marketing may not be for you, however; if you answered yes to more than eight, you should probably contact us.

For more information on the future of digital marketing, visit http://bit.ly/r20xvc or http://bit.ly/nW0Qla.