Going Viral

These days, every marketer's goal is to have their campaign "go viral". The concept of viral marketing essentially refers to word-of-mouth buzz that reaches a tipping point, creating a wave of attention for a company. Word-of-mouth marketing is not new, but it has become much more measurable in the days of social media and thus a more attainable goal.

The Curse of Knowledge

One of the toughest obstacles to effective communication, whether writing or speaking, is connecting to your audience. Many experts will tell you that the key to this connection is to place yourself in the mindset of the audience. The problem with this solution is that once you've become an expert at something, it's hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't have your knowledge. To put it simply, when you know something, it becomes difficult to imagine not knowing it. Coined the "curse of knowledge" in a 1989 paper in The Journal of Political Economy, this concept is essential to those in the business world, especially marketing professionals, since it directly influences the way you convey your product, service or idea to the masses. Basically, it is a lot more difficult to put things in "layman's terms" than one might think.

Guy Kawasaki's "Rules for Revolutionaries" - Key Takeaways

I just finished Guy Kawasaki's book "Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services" and thought I would share some of the key takeaways with you here. Kawasaki is the former "Chief Evangelist" at Apple and is also the co-founder of Alltop.com and founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures, so he has plenty of real world experience from which to draw his insights.

Become An Expert

Trust is a central factor when considering where to buy a product or service, especially with large purchase decisions. When you are in need of a product or service, you first think of anyone you know who offers the service, then you probably ask your friends or family for recommendations. A referral from a friend gives instant credibility to a product or service and the trust inherent in this credibility is what makes a referral so powerful. However, in many cases, your circle of friends might not have a suggestion for you. In these instances, you probably target the first brand that comes to mind. Most likely, you give added weight to any service providers or sales reps who you view as experts in their field since this label of "expert" brings with it a level of trust.

Social Responsibility - Doing good is good for business

Most of us strive to improve the world around us. Whatever our means, it is always satisfying to make a positive impact in some small way. Whether through a charitable donation, volunteering with a non-profit, picking up a piece of litter, or just helping a neighbor, it feels good to give something back. It is much the same for businesses. And thanks to their scale, the impact can be that much greater. Although the pursuit of profit is the primary goal of most companies, this objective isn't necessarily exclusive of other, more altruistic goals. In fact, doing good can be good for business too.

The "Zero Moment of Truth"

Your company's online presence is no longer just your website. When someone searches for your business online, they are still likely to peruse your corporate site, but now they are also most likely going to check out your social media profiles, reviews of your products on third-party sites, blogs that mention your company and countless other relevant resources across the web. While you can dictate what's printed on your company website, you have very little control over the rest of the Internet. By joining the conversation in the social media sphere, you can at least influence what is said and how your company is perceived. Although you will never have complete control of your online image, you can help shape it in a positive way by remaining actively involved. You can address complaints on third-party review sites, reach out to bloggers who mention your brand and monitor the rest of the web for other opportunities. The reason why this is all so important is because of the way consumers now make their purchasing decisions.

Content is King

Think about the websites you visit on a daily basis. Most likely, a large percentage of them are sites that revolve around useful and/or entertaining content: YouTube, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, Yahoo News, TechCrunch, TMZ, Huffington Post, etc. Even sites such as Facebook and Twitter fall into this category. Although these sites are the ones that you check every day and represent the majority of your time spent online, these types of sites make up a small percentage of the Internet overall. Most sites are sales oriented, either serving as an online presence for a physical business or trying to sell items directly online. If you're in marketing, you most likely manage one of these types of websites. As such, your primary goal is to get more people to your site and to get them to spend more time there. The statements above should provide an obvious path to help you achieve this goal: add more content to your website!