In the online world, much like the offline world, there is the perception (whether real or not) that some people have more ‘influence’ than others.
When it comes to social media, there is no doubt that some have more ‘reach’ than others (see Jackie and Ben’s recent vlog discussion).
Often times, a company will say, “how do we get so-and-so to take notice of our product?”
Nothing new here.
But, what is new is the interconnectedness of networks.
What is new is how your customers have a much better chance of convincing an ‘influential’ to blog/tweet/write about you than you do.
Case in point: the Johnny Bunko 7th Rule Contest.
Dan Pink and I came up with this idea back in June. We agreed that we had to “go big” in terms of the award.
And we did.
All-expense trip with Dan to TED UK.
We promoted it to our permission-based list of friends, on Twitter, Facebook, the blog, etc.
Had some success, but certainly didn’t meet our expectations. (We dream big).
But, then something interesting happened.
We put up the finalists for the contest and held a vote on the site.
Next thing we know, the finalists are waging an all-out campaign among their networks to secure votes. (Cost to us: $0)
- Site traffic tripled
- Sales per day increased significantly (I have access to the Amazon numbers, but didn’t do the total analysis. Let’s just say they went up.)
- # of Tweets and Google Alerts per day also increased as people told their friends about the contest
- and engagement grew as it became the most commented on post in the blog history
It was as if the excitement of the campaign by others (and voting for them) was more exciting than actually being one of the finalists.
And then, the mother lode (for those of us in the marketing world, that is).
One of the contestants sent a note to Seth Godin, who blogged about the contest and the book (plus he gave an endorsement, which effectively sealed the deal for the candidate—so I guess he is an influencer as well).
I’m surprised the servers stood up.
But, here’s the best part: Neither Dan nor I ever asked Seth for a “mention.”
If we had, we would have been shut down.
But, when Becky does it, it’s authentic.
Lesson: engage your customers in an activity that will make them WANT to promote you (indirectly) to their networks.
This is the essence of Community Driven Marketing.
Updated: Apparently, I was under a misconception of how Seth Godin came to find out about the contest. Please see Becky's comment to this post.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8e74eee2-2a8f-4388-a847-5b5efb5e66a3)
Comments
Halelly said on 1.26.2009 at 10:17 AM
This is a GREAT case study! Kudos to you and thanks for sharing. Very insightful.
Halelly said on 1.29.2009 at 12:39 PM
By the way, I was inspired by your post to blog about this topic too... www.talentgrow.com/.../the-power-of-so
It really is an amazing set of tools, the new social networking media, and we are only on the tip of the iceberg in terms of grasping and harnessing their power. The future possibilities are endless...
Becky Blanton said on 3.14.2009 at 11:49 PM
CORRECTION. I NEVER reached out to Seth Godin. I never asked him to endorse, mention, blog or post about the Johnny Bunko contest. That seems to be a popular misconception and I'm sorry that it is. Seth explained that in his blog. I had no idea he'd done it until a friend emailed me the post. Seth watched my efforts at helping people in Triiibes.com for six months and took it upon himself to urge his readers to vote for me.
If you're going to tell a story, please tell the truth. You've failed to mention that the comic book I worked with others to produce was not just about the contest, but about the people who give of their time, generosity and money to help others in need - Dr. Mani, a pediatric heart surgeon who repairs the diseased hearts of children in India and other countries. Red Maxwell who devotes hours to a support group for Type I Diabetes and helping others find a cure, Judy Vorfeld, who works pro bono as a webmaster for an organization that trains and places dogs in homes with disabled children. We did that to help raise awareness of charities through the voting process and to encourage people to think about their votes.
If you all think that Ed "SHOULD" have won, then please - take him to TED instead. But get the story straight.
Jeremy Epstein said on 3.15.2009 at 12:04 AM
Becky,
Seth did write that you didn't ask for any endorsement, but I was under the impression that you did give him the heads up. As you mention, it was a "misconception."
So, given that, it's a little bit much to say that I "didn't tell the truth," as if it was intentional.
Also, the comic book was awesome, but it wasn't the main point of the post.
I don't feel that Ed should have won, that has nothing to do with it. You won and that's all there is to it. My feelings are irrelevant.
I am sorry that I seem to have struck a nerve with you on this one. Certainly wasn't the intention. I'll amend the post to reflect your comments, but I do think you came down a wee bit harsh on me.
Becky Blanton said on 3.15.2009 at 1:35 PM
Jeremy, I didn't mean to come down harshly on you and I apologize for that. I've just received a lot of criticism from people because Seth watched me for six months and thought/thinks I have something to contribute. It made a lot of people jealous and brought out their own insecurities. They took it out on me. Posts like this fueled their fire. It was painful and uncomfortable.
Seth said I deserved to go to TED. I hope I prove him right. I didn't realize I was being watched - or I didn't realize it until he wrote that post. I'm not sure why people (not you) reacted so negatively to my winning, but for some reason it brought out a lot of trolls who resented me and that endorsement.
None of us likes to be flamed or criticized - particularly when our intentions are good, but misconstrued. I apologize if my reaction sounded harsh. It was just the icing on a stale cake I thought I'd tossed last month. And, thank you for amending the post. I'll wait a little longer before posting next time. I'm new to all this.
I fail. I make mistakes. I apologize and move on and hope my apologies are accepted. Other than a brief congratulatory note, I've just not had any real communication about the contest from anyone, except Ed, since I won. No follow-up, no news about what to expect, no request for my contact info, how it's going - nothing. It was like falling into a black hole. I have an agent and am writing a book about the lesson and the contest. I have a social media site I'm working on, adding content to so I can post about TED while I'm there. I'm a journalist so I planned to live blog it. I have a twitter account specifically for TED so I can tweet it while I'm there. I'm spreading the idea. It was more than just a contest. MUCH more. Ed and I see that and we're working on that. I hate for people to think it was "just a contest." We broke the status quo in a BIG way. Right brains (I am one) WILL rule - as Dan says. And this is how...by breaking into little internet rituals and changing the way they're done. There's more here than just the fact Seth endorsed the vote. He saw what I was doing by encouraging the spread of ideas, not popularity. I wish you could see all the posts I made in Triiibes - encouraging people to vote for the BEST IDEA, not for me.
I know Dan is finishing up a book - and I'm a writer myself so I'm not bothering him about something that doesn't happen until July. So when the only news I do hear is that I went to Seth when his post said I didn't....and no one called me to get my side of it (being a journalist I am sensitive to that) I reacted. I'm sorry. I hope you understand why.
Lessons learned for us both and for your readers if you decide to post this. The world is changing and people like Ed and I are changing it. Johnny Bunko and this contest will be history one day. Rosa Parks was tired and didn't want to sit in the back of the bus. Change that alters the world begins small. This contest was one of those small changes. Seth saw that. Look beyond his endorsement to what he saw in how I changed the rules. That's where the real insight is.
Thanks!
Jeremy said on 3.15.2009 at 7:21 PM
On the one point of no word from Dan, you are totally right. A miss on our part and you are owed an apology. We'll fix it.
As for the Seth issue, I guess I can understand that some people were irritated, but I wasn't one of them. I think it is GREAT. You campaigned and leveraged your assets. What's wrong with that? You wanted to win and good for you for doing so.
I think you are being a little too self-conscious. You believed in the merit of your cause and you went for it. Those who don't have your moxie will resent. Then, people like Ed--they will respect you.
I respect you and admire you for what you did....the collaborative effort, the awareness you brought to Bunko, and your desire. I love it.
I feel at peace now and hope you do as well.
And, in the spirit of Ed, Thank you, for adding to the richness of my blog through this debate ;-)