There was previously an old joke about the three simplest ways to feed along information quickly-telephone, telegraph, and tell a woman. That made the rounds quite a while before the information highway opened for business! The best way to spread the word nowadays is to use a viral email. But how should we do that?
People rotate emails to broad lists of family and friends whenever they wish to send changes on job changes, addresses, marriage or divorce arrangements, births, as well as deaths. But our social groups are evolving into something beyond our blood or neighborhood ties. Newsweek journalist Howard Fineman, in the issue dated January 26, 2009, wrote about the idea of voluntary tribes in the present society. He described that as our old neighborhoods change and nuclear families become a thing of the past, people are finding new solutions to align themselves with others. These alignments have little related to familial ties, race, or religion. They form because those are joined together by common ideas or causes.
These new varieties of groups result in the best examples for implementing viral email. Think of sports fans who recently rooted for either the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Arizona Cardinals competing in Superbowl XLIII. It was, in fact, the primary example Fineman found in his article-describing “The Steeler Nation.” These fans found effective ways to communicate their enthusiasm across the entire country, and also outside US borders.
Pittsburgh Steeler fans created and sent myriad emails containing written messages, photo essays, and videos one to the other. People receiving these emails forwarded them to their friends and family, and the people forwarded them etc. How can you measure the impact of such messages? It is a fact: A 27-year-old Steeler fan named Wilson created one particular YouTube video and emailed his family having a link to it. Soon after, the recording had been viewed over 56,000 times!
Politics is yet another polarizing topic. In the months prior to the presidential elections, emails favoring both Barack Obama and John McCain spread like wildfire therefore to their individual supporters. Religion also inspires people to share with you inspirational messages with one another. Health causes unite people, and so do social issues like gay rights. But which are the most typical qualities of productive viral emails?
Viral emails are different from the spam all of us adore to hate. Spam arrives at our email addresses sent by persons unknown to us. Viral emails come to us because we all know and trust the people who sent them.
So once we open a viral email, what makes us decide if they should pass it along? First, of course, the message needs to touch someone’s sociologic heart. A McCain supporter, as an example, would delete an Obama message. However when polled by what compelled them to forward emails, people identified humor as the most important component. Commercial emails were that appears to be shared if they contained coupons. Viral messages were that are deleted-stopped there they stand!-if people deemed of the fact that content was out-of-date.
The idea of successful viral email marketing campaigns involves your belief in the product. Hopefully you have packaged your message in the humorous way. Then you can certainly dispense your message to your families and friends and ask them to share it. They are likely to share it not merely with their relatives but with people in their social tribes. Put a Steeler logo on it! Insert a quote from Obama! Make use of a beloved icon like the crusty Maxine to spout your message!
Also, send your message on your Steelers friends using a Steelers logo, but change it for other people. Your cousin in North park will probably delete it unless you rebrand your message using a Chargers logo. Reprogram your sales pitch so that many people get it with Obama’s smiling face, and several people see John McCain.
Keep your message amusing, brand it through an icon that people know, and give it regular change-ups. If all else fails, telephone a woman and tell her to send it!
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