>]]]> If marketers had a template for creating the next Internet sensation—the next Susan Boyle YouTube video or the latest celebrity scandal—we’d have some serious job security. Sadly, there is no template to follow, but any marketer looking for a viral road map could take a lesson from Jared Holstein, editor for TopGear.com America.

Holstein, summer interns Matthew DuVall and Jonathan Masters, and editorial assistant Christopher Gifford created a fake video and photos of a non-existent prototype Porsche wagon. They then leaked the images to various enthusiast sites and let the grassroots fan base spread the word for maximum viral success.

We can all have a good laugh at the casual car enthusiasts and industry experts that were fooled by the fake news. But the facts and figures behind the hoax also provide a great, real-life example of how anyone can take a viral campaign from zero to the New York Times in little over a month.

It’s not about the money

For starters, you don’t need a big budget. The most successful and most talked about viral campaigns are often the least expensive.

“On TopGear.com America, for example, we ran clips with production values rumored to cost seven figures per episode, but we have a Mustang clip on our site that I shot with a handheld camera on the roof of a hotel and it’s the highest-performing video on the website,” Holstein says. “That got me thinking: How much havoc could we wreak with a minimal investment? As it turns out, a lot.”

Know your audience

A long product development cycle for vehicles has given rise to an industry of specialized automotive journalists, sleuths who make their living breaking news on top-secret vehicle models ahead of official releases by automotive manufacturers. Holstein knew that a rabid fan base would feed on fake pictures of a new Porsche in development—more than that, he knew which buttons to push to stir up some controversy.

Also part of the strategy: the reaction from Porsche. “We knew it would generate good PR for them. And if they were asked about such a car they would deny it—whether or not it actually existed,” Holstein says. In other words, Porsche couldn’t blow his cover even if they tried.

Plant the seed

“A lot of this has to do with psychology,” Holstein says. “When, where, why, who to tip, who not to tip? The seeding strategy is critical, as content will get more weight if one source picked it up versus another. All we did was take advantage of the greed for the big story—the greed to get a scoop.”

Holstein recorded the full timeline of events for the hoax, and it’s worth noting a few interesting occurrences in the path. For starters, the hoax never went viral on the Web’s stereotypical top sites: Digg, Reddit, et cetera. It took car news aggregators like Jalopnik less than a day to begin seeding reports of the fake story–essentially, a brief summary and rewrite of the blurb without any additional fact-checking.

The seeders didn’t let the story die out after hitting success on major aggregates, however. They began to launch additional information on sites with a tangential relation to the car scene to further the authenticity of the hoax. For example, a news snippet was released to a Czech fansite for the upcoming video game “Forza 3.” According to the source, the driving game was scheduled to feature—you guessed it—the spoofed car.  A quick tip to the news aggregates got the blurb in the enthusiasts’ eyes once again.

Persistence pays off, indeed.

Get the conversation going

In the first week alone, the video on TopGear.com America had more than 27,000 views and there were more than 400 Web comments. That’s a ratio of approximately one comment for every 68 views of the video. When the images spread to the Forza 3 videogame screen grab, TopGear.com America expanded from the car fan base to the excitable videogame fan base, giving the prank crossover appeal by bridging several significant Web audiences.

Holstein says that this type of hoax starts a dialogue because it forces consumers to question what they see on the Web—and that leads to real conversations and honest feedback. “You can go a whole year not buying a crappy product because instead of relying on a company’s spin, you can get honest opinions from your peers,” Holstein says. “People are hungry for open conversations and real information.”

Now if only the car was real…

Enjoy our look at the nitty-gritty of a viral marketing campaign?  Need to take a step back and examine the bigger picture? Check out our quick interview with fellow car enthusiast Trevor Traina as he reveals the three biggest facts marketers need to know about the online world!

I’m back again, fresh off my last listing of four big social media blunders that served as helpful examples of what not to do when enterprise meets Internet. It’s not all doom and gloom in the YouTubes, Facebooks, and Twitters of the online world. But before we get to the success stories–which should give you [>>]]]> Social media.

I’m back again, fresh off my last listing of four big social media blunders that served as helpful examples of what not to do when enterprise meets Internet. It’s not all doom and gloom in the YouTubes, Facebooks, and Twitters of the online world. But before we get to the success stories–which should give you a starting point to climb your own social media mountains–it’s important to reiterate the difficulty that lies in trying to take tangible lessons from these examples. Like snowflakes, no two social media campaigns are the same: What makes Dell millions could make you pennies. What makes David Hasselhoff so irresistibly popular will make your customized social network as ostracized as Bruno at… well… wherever he goes.

Consider these success stories building blocks for your own personalized social media initiative, one that combines a concrete understanding of your audience’s psychographic profile with a desire to look beyond the common ground.  Don’t be a copycat–or, as the rule goes here in Silicon Valley, if you’re going to copy someone’s idea you had best beat them to the market with a cheaper or faster way of doing so.  Now that we’ve agreed on the ground rules, here are four big names that have made a showing in social media:

Breaking News Online Breaks Conventional News Gathering

In an land where content is king, the world of online journalism has no shortage of news aggregators. Be they full-fledged news sites, Twitter feeds, blogs, journals, videos, RSS feeds–there are nearly as many ways to get your daily news as there is daily news to report. But one entity stands out: Breaking News Online.

Strictly harnessing the power of social media, Breaking News Online combines strong editorial judgment with a wide network of feeder news sources. Editors offer up the day’s top stories as they break–and here’s the catch–often faster than competing, professional news entities can push the topics out themselves. If you try to look for a homepage or landing site for Breaking News Online, you won’t find one. The service owes much of its popularity to its social networking presences, including a commanding Twitter base of more than 800,000 followers, as well as its friendfeed and email subscribers. The site will soon be launching its own iPhone application to push news elements out to its audiences, and plans to eventually transform into a full-fledged global wire service.

Not a bad ending for a simple concept: The most important news you need to know, delivered to you before you can find it anywhere else. Sometimes, simplicity speaks volumes. Instead of trying to innovate through length or snark, consider cutting to the core of what your audience wants. Deliver them that, minus the bells and whistles that everyone else tacks onto their efforts, and you might become a unique voice in a crowded playing field.

Don’t Change the Game: Change the Game-Changers

I took Ford to task in the sister edition of this article for its lack of perception and follow-through in trying to connect Internet user with its cars via Facebook. But just because one piece of Ford’s social networking pie has a fly on it doesn’t mean that we should toss the rest out. Ford’s social networking presence is a powerful, alternative approach toward generating interest in a brand, one that goes beyond generic pockets of promotion via the standard methods: a Twitter, a Facebook, et al.

Notably, the company’s Fiesta Movement is a wonderful example of how to leverage online popularity. Instead of going out to build popularity for the vehicles themselves, Ford partnered with 100 different “agents”–average people with their own stories, hobbies, interests, relationships, and influence–and gave them cars with the added task of achieving particular missions in a road trip-like environment. Rather than force these personalities to become generic Ford mouthpieces, however, it appears that Ford is allowing its agents to maintain their online lifestyles as they see fit. They can write and Tweet about what they want, and they can do whatever it is they normally do online. Ford will link to their exploits regardless.

Although some agents use their social networking status to chat up Ford’s Fiesta–go figure–a number of personalities go about their everyday lives as if the Fiesta deal was just one more link in the chain. This is an excellent example of one major facet of social networking done right: Using others to further your own goals in an unobtrusive fashion. Rather than connect with your potential audience by drumming up support on your own, leverage the support others have already created and shape it to your own objectives. It’s a scenario that’s been played out time and time again by new Web presences looking to make an impact on a greater scene, and the message is clear: Investing in the invested can be a lot easier than trying to build your own devoted following from absolutely nothing.

Reinvent the Wheel? Just Add Another Spoke

Do you shop at Home Depot? It’s okay to admit it. I’ll admit it. Sometimes, Home Depot is  just the most convenient place to find the one infinitesimal screw you need to finish the task you’ve been putting off for months. But anyone who’s been to Home Depot knows that the store can be overwhelming. Huge, sprawling aisles stuffed with every permutation of screw, every brand of table saw, every polished toilet seat… it’s a lot to take in, but not nearly as hard as it is to search through.

Perhaps the Home Depot shopping experience made me skeptical about the company’s push into social media, but as it turns out, my expectations–like Home Depot’s store layout–were much too complex for the eventual outcome.  Instead of reinventing itself using the same tired social media cliches, Home Depot decided to stick to a simple spin-off of its existing product. It goes like this: Home Depot sells hardware related to home improvements. What a person typically does before or after purchasing the parts for the a home improvement project is to look up directions on how to accomplish said task.  Thus enters Home Depot with a YouTube campaign, designed to teach you how to actually do the improvements based on the parts you’re buying from its stores.

Has it worked?  You betcha. As of this article’s writing, Home Depot’s YouTube account is ranked 54th on the site’s sponsor section for most user subscriptions, topped by no other companies in its competitive set. The company reinforces its expertise with home improvement while simultaneously offering legitimate value to its customers, not to mention unsaid connections between its audience and the specific products that Home Depot uses in its videos. Promotion, people, products–Home Depot has hit a winner without having to think that far outside of the box.

Appeal to a Common Denominator

Money. I like it. You like it. Dell likes it. Dell’s followers like it. Based on this single unifying principle–that money is a pretty great thing to have–Dell has woven not only social success into its Twitter offerings, but it’s managed to rake up more than $2 million in sales from the platform.

What?

The solution is as simple as any other. People are interested in what you’re doing because you offer some kind of incentive for them to stick around. Sometimes, the strength of your prose is enough to keep people coming back to what you have to say. But more often than not, you’ll want to dangle the carrot in front of your audience to keep them close to the fold. In Dell’s case, this carrot comes in the form of coupons and savings for the products it sells. Check out Dell’s “exclusive” Twitter feed and you can save yourself some money on your next Dell purchase. It’s a basic incentive that works wonderfully: Aspiring purchasers stay interested until a deal pushes them over the threshold to purchase. Super-fans of Dell sign on to save money on their continued purchases. Coupons and savings get passed around the social networks, giving Dell’s presence even more prominence. Rinse, wash, repeat.

“But David!” you interject.  “I don’t sell computers!  I have nothing to give away!”

Ahh. And we have now completed the Circle of Life for marketing. Remember the first example? Breaking News doesn’t have anything to offer, save for a faster and easier digest version of what everyone else offers. Perhaps you could set up your Twitter presence as a master link-library for other people who are using the service to deliver deals. Maybe you could create a “best of” site that catalogs the best daily interactions around your product or product sphere. You could even just eschew the notion of using the social space to market directly for your brand and just be a cool, hip, interesting person for others to listen to–with the added link to the equally cool, hip, and interesting company you work for. Social media doesn’t have to be complex, obtrusive, or self-serving. You’ll save a lot of money and migraines if you just stick to a simple theme: Make it interesting.

If your workplace is experimenting with blogs, this recent study posted on the HP Labs’ site offers an interesting read (full disclosure: HP is a Tendo client).

Sarita Yardi (Georgia Institute of Technology), Scott A. Golder (Cornell University), and Michael J. Brzozowski (HP Labs) studied some corporate folks in their natural habitat to try to figure [>>]]]>

If your workplace is experimenting with blogs, this recent study posted on the HP Labs’ site offers an interesting read (full disclosure: HP is a Tendo client).

Sarita Yardi (Georgia Institute of Technology), Scott A. Golder (Cornell University), and Michael J. Brzozowski (HP Labs) studied some corporate folks in their natural habitat to try to figure out why they blog—or not (in addition, Mia Dand, social media monitoring manager at HP, recently wrote a post for Social Computing Magazine called “To Blog or Not to Blog”).

What I found most interesting was this: Corporate bloggers “desired management buy-in. They wanted management to acknowledge and recognize their activity in this community.”

While the study referred only to the internal blogs of a “large technology corporation with offices around the world” (hint: starts with H, ends with P), it squarely fingers two huge weaknesses of many blogging programs: resources and rewards.

While blogging offers a low-cost way to communicate directly with customers, too many companies mistake it for being “no-cost.” Employees have jobs to do, after all, and they will eventually give up blogging if they aren’t given the help they need to keep going. Sometimes just offering a hand with blogging can be recognition enough that their efforts are appreciated.

Most importantly, blogging support can keep your company in the conversation with its customers with timely and interesting content.

If you’re not already doing it, here are just a few ways to support your bloggers, either with in-house resources or an outside agency:

1. Finding topics—Keeping on top of the news and trends in a field takes time and effort. A predigested list of possible blogging topics with links to news stories, other blogs, and sites of interest gives bloggers a jumpstart.
2. Editing—Few bloggers are professional writers, and don’t have to be to blog. Still, a little editorial spit-and-shine can keep your company’s image sharp while letting the blogger’s personality shine through.
3. Commenting opportunities—Half of blogging is commenting. Finding the best opportunities for commenting can drive more people to your blog and make certain your company is in on the right conversations.

Of course, there’s plenty more to do: Analyze metrics to glean ideas for improvements; do the legwork on incorporating new tools into bloggers’ repertoires (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube come to mind); syndicate, whether by RSS feed or through a site that deals with your industry. Whatever form it takes, offer your employees a helping hand to blog. And don’t forget to give them a hand when they do. I like dark chocolate, myself.