“Share, Retweet, Repeat”Getting Your Message Read and Spread

Goals for today…

• Understand the drivers behind viral marketing• Learn how to craft “spread-worthy” messages

more likely to go viral • Learn how to find the “multipliers,” the

supporters most likely to spread a message• Learn where to deliver a message to make it

most likely to spread

Class Agenda

• Instructor Introduction• Viral marketing: Why it matters more than

ever• Hitting the Viral Trifecta• Message: Making it “spread-worthy”• Messengers: Finding the “Multipliers”• Medium: Delivering it via “spread-friendly”

places

About John Hlinko

• Focus on using viral marketing to build movements– MoveOn.org– DraftObama.org

• Left Action– Over 1,500,000 activists– Built primarily through

viral marketing

Viral MarketingWhy It Matters More than Ever

Viral Marketing

• Getting a message to spread from person to person, like a virus

Why Sharing Matters

• Information recipients are potential publishers• Internet penetration wider and deeper• Rise of hyper-viral social media platforms– FB & Twitter users = 130+ friends/followers on ave

• Trust– 76% don’t believe companies tell truth in ads (Pew). – But they still believe their friends & family

• Bigger impact for the same budget

Viral Marketing: Frustration

• Ratio of hype to success• Confusion re: how to make it happen• Unicorns pooping diamonds

The Viral Myth

• “It’s just luck, you can’t make it happen”

• Luck matters, but you can improve your odds

The Key: “The Viral Trifecta”

• Message: Crafting spread-worthy content• Messengers: Find those who’ll spread it• Medium: Deliver it in “spread-friendly” places

• All three are critical

Message Make it Spread-Worthy

Make it Spread-Worthy

• Think of your message recipients as reporters– Goal is not to inform them, it’s to get them to

spread the message to readers, listeners, viewers• Give them something that will make them

look good if they spread it

Left Action: How it Grew

Multi-Page Strategy

• Over 1,500,000 fans in total on other LA pages

Message: the 118th Email Test

• Imagine the recipient• Just back from work, 12 hours, hard work• 117 emails in their inbox, yours is number 118

• Does it get read? Does it break through? • Not read = can’t get spread

Message: Make it New

• New information• Novel form• Make them feel like they’ll be seen as “ahead

of the curve” if they spread information

Make it New

Message: Make it New

Message: Ride a Wave

• Easier to ride a wave than to make one by splashing your hands

• Find something that your recipients are already talking about, and try to inject yourself into that conversation

• News event, holiday, etc • Internet meme

Message: Ride a Wave

Create Cognitive Dissonance

• Get that moment of confusion that makes them pause and notice you

Message: Get Funny

• Think of the last 5 messages you spread. What % were humorous? A majority? All?

• Humor spreads, because it makes the spreader look good.

• But make sure it’s on message

Message: Get Funny

• National Breast Cancer Coalition “Golden Boob” Award

Message: Get Outrageous

• Get outrageous to get noticed

Message: Test, Test, Test

• Send to subgroups of your email list• Take note of which posts generate the most

shares and retweets• Use results to shift your strategy

Messengers Finding the “Multipliers”

Messengers: Finding Multipliers

• Nearly everyone online can spread a message, but few actually do

• Even fewer do it effectively• How can you hone in on the 5% that will do

95% of the spreading?

Look for Social Media Users

• Facebook, Twitter, etc• Naturally viral platforms• Those active on social media more likely to be

influencers offline

Messengers: Large Readership

• Large email lists• Facebook followings• Twitter followings• Attentive.ly

• You may have a rock star on your list and not even know it. But even “mini stars” can make a huge difference.

Look at the Data

• Who is sharing on Facebook?• Who is retweeting?• Can you identify spreaders of email?

How to Engage Multipliers

• Very few will multiply every time, so your goal should be to maximize the frequency and proclivity

• Start to skew your messages towards them• Take steps to make them feel special (sneak peeks at new

products, inviting them to special events, etc.)• Look for demographic patterns to inform your future

recruitment efforts– Are men spreading more than women or vice versa? – Are their age patterns? Geographic patterns?– Skew your marketing accordingly

MediumUsing “Spread-Friendly” Places

Medium: Use the Internet

• Use the Internet– No surprise here– “Tell a friend” process is much easier– Very valid reasons to use TV, print, radio, etc., for

other purposes, but the Internet is king for anything viral

• Use social media in particular– Tell a friend process automated = hyper-viral

Medium: Use the Internet

The Viral Trifecta

• Message: Craft spread-worthy content• Messengers: Find those likely to spread it• Medium: Deliver it in “spread-friendly”

places

• No guarantees, but will raise your odds of going viral

The Most Important Lesson

• If you wish to go viral:

– Look at the data– Look at the data– Look at the data– Did we mention, look at the data?

“Share, Retweet, Repeat”

• Book version of this class• Guidebook to using viral marketing,

especially for a cause or movement• # 1 “Hot new release” in web

marketing – Amazon.com• Prentice Hall Press/Penguin• ShareRetweetRepeat.com • (All author proceeds go to Left Action)

Contact

• John Hlinko• 202-744-6545• John@LeftAction.com • ShareRetweetRepeat.com