Gimmicks Do Not Replace Hard Work

Someone recently commented to me that my claim of being Time Magazines Co-Person of the Year was deceitful.? I found that to be a strange reaction.? While I was never specifically named Time Person of the Year, I did fit the criteria to part of the group that they collectively named Person of the Year.? Look it up.? It is true.

This conversation came about because I wrote an article that gained traction on LinkedIn.? It was probably my most successful and yet it did not go viral… not by a long shot.? It got a lot of people paying attention to it and me, but it did not break the internet.? I am quite proud of it and was even before it got the attention it did.

However, at the same time this discussion about my award was going on other people were claiming that their marketing campaigns had gone viral.? No one that I knew other than those connected to the company in some way had even heard about them.? In fact, these campaigns only gained traction after people claimed that they went viral.

It is a similar concept to those stupid commercials that are touting some health product and claim that their own videos are going viral on YouTube.? Then people who do not fully understand how to use YouTube seem to think that their viral claim is true and buy the product en masse.? Or at least that was the idea behind the claim.

Creating a sense of missing out can be a compelling marketing idea or it could fall flat on its face.

The crux is that the idea has to be a good, or at least interesting, one to begin with for it to work.?

The ad agency that claimed it had multiple viral campaigns this week was able to drum up interest because their campaigns seemed like April Fools jokes than actual campaigns.? It may also explain why they did not go over well in the first place.? But the curiosity about their authenticity allowed the campaign to have a second wind after it initially stumbled out of the gate.

However, most people saw through the paid advertisement for health products.? They get just enough people buying into it to work, but it is slowly losing steam.? Annoying ads may be memorable, but they do not always sell products.

If you want to create a sense of urgency, you need to have a good idea in place.? People have to believe the claims that you are making or at least want to investigate them to see if they are true.

It is a gamble, but when done properly can be very profitable.? It can even save a misstep made in the initial marketing.

Gimmicks should never be the backbone of a marketing campaign. ?Their propensity for failure outweighs any potential for an actual viral moment.? Just because you are getting more traffic does not mean that it will convert to sales.? Some people just like a good car wreck. ?