The folks at Google tell us there are (by far) more unique URLs in the world than there are people.
Most of them are of the .com variety — commercial sites that, in most cases, hope to sell something. With so much competition for web visitors, great word of mouth marketers are always looking for opportunities to earn referrals to their site.
Nothing too special. So why did it end up landing on popular sites like Reddit and launch a hunt to solve a mystery?
As it turns out, it’s the page’s source code that caused all the fuss.
Hidden beneath an otherwise bland catalog page is a series of wildly bizarre chunks of HTML code. (View the source code by right-clicking on the page and then selecting “View Page Source.” Scroll down to see the crazy code.)
And as it turns out, it’s not just a bit of random madness from a crazy programmer. It’s actually a representation of a mountain range near their headquarters. Read all about it here.
2/9 ConAgra Foods: Embracing a social media culture (Private member call) Click here
2/16 BlogWell San Diego: Starbucks, Clorox, USAA, TurboTax, Avery Dennison, Community Medical Centers, State Farm Insurance, and the U.S. Navy share case studies on corporate social media. You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal. (Public event) Click here
2/19 SMBC: Building social media to scale (Private member call) Click here
2/26 Microsoft: Learning (and playing) with Ribbon Hero (Private member call) Click here
The serious stuff is hard to share — even for your biggest fans. But if they think something will make their friends smile, it gives them a great excuse to pass it along.
Regardless of your industry, your business, or your brand, there is always some room for silly, remarkable, or surprising elements. Done right, these features become word of mouth carriers for your core message and, when forwarded, can take the serious stuff along for the ride.
How a word of mouth supergenius does it:
Odds are, if you try calling the Nestle Crunch Hotline (1-800-295-0051) right now, you’ll get a busy tone.
It’s not that they poorly staff their call center, it’s that they’re getting inundated with tons of calls — all for a good laugh.
When you first dial in, you’re initially greeted with the usual English and Spanish language options. But if you hold on long enough, you get a third option: Pig Latin.
It’s tough for even the most fluent Pig Latin speaker to understand, but as you navigate through the phone tree, you find options for things like “knock knock” jokes and the chance to listen to strange sounds.
At the end of the recording, callers are invited to check out Nestle’s ForTheKidInYou.com.
Come to BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media on February 16 in San Diego to hear Starbucks, Clorox, Intuit, Avery Dennison, USAA, Community Medical Centers, State Farm Insurance, and the U.S. Navy share case studies in corporate social media. You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal — in one afternoon, for just $250.
You’ll get practical, how-to advice on creating great content, getting management buy-in, educating employees, keeping lawyers and regulators happy, simple and ethical disclosure, and engaging fans. You’ll ask questions, discover new ideas, and get answers from people who have been there, done that — all in four hours.
In her BlogWell Atlanta case study presentation, “Embracing a Social Media Culture,” ConAgra’s Director of Public Relations, Stephanie Moritz, explained how ConAgra is approaching social media as a strategic opportunity.
Stephanie’s case study explained how they’re integrating social media across many aspects of their business, how they educated senior management through “digital immersion,” and how ConAgra uses five core elements to define their social approach.
This is GasPedal's blog about all things word of mouth marketing. We cover everything from the best word of mouth case studies to the latest research, focusing on the practical ideas you can use to get your fans talking about you.
The Social Media Business Council, formerly the Blog Council, is a brands-only community that helps large organizations build successful social media programs.
Take a quick look at this simple catalog page for Fujifilm’s binoculars.
And as it turns out, it’s not just a bit of random madness from a crazy programmer. It’s actually a representation of a mountain range near their headquarters. Read all about it here.
ConAgra Foods: Embracing a social media culture
Kraft: Building structure around social media management
BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media
SMBC: Building social media to scale
Microsoft: Learning (and playing) with Ribbon Hero