You Cannot Force Viral

The more I participate in online social media, the more I learn about the off-line world at the same time. You cannot force people to take action. Never assume that others are motivated by the same things. You cannot force viral.

My participation in the HomeAway Vacation Giveaway was a wonderful experience. I did not enter with the plan of winning (although that would be very cool) - but instead I try to be an active student of how things take shape in social media (the medium is new and ever changing.... so everyone is still a student of social media!!!).

I very much enjoyed telling the story of my childhood vacation memory (yes, it really happened just as I wrote it... that is the reality of being the youngest of four boys).

My lesson comes from how few votes I have received. Nearly 1000 people have viewed my blog post asking for people to vote and I have over 700 followers on Twitter who have heard my plea. Yet as of now only 25 people voted for my entry.

1038 people have voted in the contest over the past 4 days for the 32 entries, with the leader having less than 200 votes. Voting closes on January 15th, and at his point I think that the trend is clear, that my peeps ain't voting.

This is not a gripe. It is actually totally cool, as you cannot force viral. Nobody can expect others to take actions for an event that is really all about me. The motto "Hey, win ME a free trip!" does not launch ships. It does not play into any body's self interest....other than mine.

Take this example off line and into our business lives. How often do we pepper our clients, prospects and referral sources with messages that are self serving? We forget that our self interest of making sales does not really matter to our audience. Sure we have people who like and respect our products and services, and they love us as human beings, but this is not enough to motivate them to take the actions we desire.

Of those who voted for me in the contest - one third of them were my family and close friends who live near Santa Cruz. These folks had a personal interest in my victory (as they would get to come to the beach house and party it up!). The same is true in business, our handful of evangelists sing our praises and we wonder why others do not follow suit. Those who buy or refer your company usually have personal motivation involved. It makes them look good.

Companies often make this mistake in their marketing when they lead with the history of the firm, their unique product, or all the victories they have had for other clients. "Look at Me" marketing makes the firm feel good, but does the buyer care? Will it drive them to action? Nope.

Those who will buy (or refer others) are interested in how they benefit. When they will win, they go viral and tell the world. Helping the other guy win for the greater good is a wonderful theory, but it does not motivate the masses. Sure, there are exceptions. We should cherish those who just like to help for the sake of helping others (these folks do exist!!!), but do not count on them being the majority.

While you cannot force viral, you cannot just sit on your butt if you want results. "Word of Mouth Marketing" or "Going Viral" are mysterious creatures. You cannot manipulate society into adopting and idea. But that does not mean we should not be trying. Much spaghetti will hit the floor.... but when it sticks to the wall.... Watch out. That is the holy grail of which all dreams are made.

Have A Great Day.

thom

Please Help Me Win A Free Vacation

Dear Reader of My Blog:

I need your help. I entered an online contest sponsored by HomeAway (a company that helps owners of vacation homes connect to those who want to rent them, based in Austin, Texas). The prize is a one week rental of a very cool beach house along the California coast.

The winner is selected via votes. (Yes, they will want to capture a real email address for your vote to count).

To enter the contest one had to write a blog post for the contest. I did that here.

Click Here to see my entry into the contest and to register your vote. And tell a couple of friends. The only way to win this contest is to get your extended network engaged to vote. Voting ends January 15, 2009.

Thanks. I wish I could take you all with me to the beach (sorry, the house is not that big), but I promise to share more stories of how my older brothers tormented me when I was a kid (you need to read the original entry for the contest to understand - It is funny).

UPDATE - There are only 32 folks in this contest, thus my chances of winning are very good... but the whole thing is based on the number of votes. One of the people in the contest has over 8000 followers on Twitter, thus he has a MUCH bigger platform than I do. Alas, I could win, if you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, etc......

Have A Great Day.

thom

HomeAway $5K Dream Vacation Getaway Contest

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The whole world is the oyster for this vacation paradise contest and I pick a beach house in Santa Cruz, California? Yep. One reason. Memories.

I was raised in Southern California and every summer my parents rented a house in Newport Beach. One of my earliest memories was getting to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag on our annual vacation. Wow, how cool! (yes, as a grown up I now know that the youngest kid got the worst sleeping conditions on vacation - dirty, sand covered carpet and an old army surplus sleeping bag - but to me it was an adventure).

I remember my siblings rolling me up in the sleeping bag when I was three-years-old and tossing me around. Disoriented they told me they had placed me on the top shelf of the closet, and if I moved I would fall. I cried. My mom found me rolled up sobbing in the bag on the floor of the living room while my brothers had gone out to play in the surf.

My older brothers were soon gone away to college and beyond (with that last story you probably think I did not miss them!), but those childhood memories of a week at the beach are burned into my brain.

We have not recreated the beach trip for our kids. A week of carefree exploring the coast with the sand between their toes, picking up treasures of rocks and seashells would be magic.



We live in Texas, so a week in California during the heat of the summer is a dream getaway. My brothers live nearby Santa Cruz and I might let them come visit us and enjoy the view.... if they apologize for that whole sleeping bag thing. But the cool part is that my 94-year-old Dad now lives 30 minutes away from the beach at Santa Cruz. Thus, I could drive him over the hill to enjoy the swanky house with his grandkids!!

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Click here to see the house I would rent if I won and go vote for me in the HomeAway contest.