The AP had an interesting story last week on how Cloverfield owes much of its success to the intrigue created by the online buzz before the movie even hit theaters.
So how can we (churches) create some viral marketing? Leave your amazing ideas in the comment section ...
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Monday, January 28, 2008
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8 comments:
That's the million dollar question, isn't it Vince?
As a guy who is planting a church, I have thought about this. I'm hoping for a good idea to just hit me. Preferably not while cutting my own hair. Imagine the massacre.
It seems videos are popular for buzz. I also think something unchurchy for the community would be cool. Or some sort of viral marketing campaign with mysterious codes and websites, ala DaVinci Code.
One thing is for sure- it should be something unique, unexpected, or remarkable. I'm interested to read what you and others think.
The hair cutting massacre sounds like a good viral video...
I think websites like Facebook and MySpace have yet to have been used to their full potential.
Other than that I think if you are trying to create a buzz, you have to look at more subversive forms of advertisement.
Greg is onto something--the social networking sites. I know of very few churches besides mine that even have a MySpace page.
Sometimes parody is a great way to create buzz. YouTube is filled with spoofs of things. It looks like the ones that get attention are the ones that are immediate, outrageous, and well done. It would be pretty stupid to do a parody of, say, 300 now... but a parody of "Meet the Spartans" (a parody of a parody... yikes) would be... but barely. If you can parody something that ties in with your church, a sermon series, whatever, and learn how to use the system to get the most hits, who knows?
Or do like Forefront did and flood the local area businesses with pizzas and the boxes just had Forefront is coming and keep people hanging for more. I know if I got a free pizza or doughnuts and the box just had a mysterious note I'd be stoked on the freebie and wonderig what this Forefront thing was. Youtube, Myspace, and Facebook are too big to be effective I think. It's too easy to get lost in there. You need to target the people group you are going after and meet them where they are and if you are promoting something that they may not really be into you neeed to win them over.
How 'bout combining the free pizza/donut stuff with any viral stuff? Leave the note, including the web address.
It's possible to use some of these site's search options to "target" certain demographics within a certain geographic area. I have a friend who does music ministry who generated lots of buzz for his personal MySpace music site. He knew how to make the system work for him.
I think the key, however, to using social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook is, well, the social network--people in our churches with active accounts who create the buzz. It all comes back to relationships (even if they're of the cyber kind).
The most successful viral marketing campaigns are those that aren't passive, but require the audience to participate. For instance the Lost Experience associated with the TV show Lost, and Year Zero, a promotion for Nine Inch Nails recent album. These viral campaigns were massive puzzles that people had to cooperate to solve. Both involved conspiracies, cover-ups, and a hint of the supernatural. If you want to get people talking about it, make them look for the information. Don't make it impossible, but don't make it a gimme either.
The only problem I would see with constructing such a campaign for the church is what I call the "Ralphie decoder ring effect" from A Christmas Story. Once folks find out it's just a commercial for a church, they might be more turned off than anything.
this is sooooooo true!!
The only problem I would see with constructing such a campaign for the church is what I call the "Ralphie decoder ring effect" from A Christmas Story. Once folks find out it's just a commercial for a church, they might be more turned off than anything.
We've had a church MySpace page for almost a year now with very little traffic. However, we are only a church of about 200 regular attenders and members. We also have not targeted locals as much as we could/should due to the time it takes to add friends. And then they may not add us anyway. But, we have a presence there that will hopefully impact at least one.
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