Archive of tag "Easter eggs"

Word of Mouth Tip #28: Give people a reason to visit your website

February 8, 2010

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.

How a word of mouth supergenius does it:

Take a quick look at this simple catalog page for Fujifilm’s binoculars.

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.

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Your word of mouth topics don't have to be complicated

August 5, 2009

TopGear animal testedAll word of mouth starts with a topic.

We’re not necessarily talking about expensive, elaborate stuff. We’re talking about things that make customers smile, that surprise them, or make them feel special.

It’s the secret menu that only insiders know about.

It’s the unexpected, hidden features you don’t advertise.

It’s the goofy tag in your shirts that everyone blogs about.

The Lesson: If you’re stumped on coming up with something new for everyone to talk about, you’re probably trying too hard. Often, the best topics are simple, genuine gestures that show both your personality as well as your appreciation for your customers.

Photo from Monster-Munch via FFFFOUND!

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How the hidden surprises create word of mouth

June 10, 2009

wolframalphaThe hidden features, surprises, and humor are fantastic topics that help fans talk about your stuff. When Wolfram Alpha recently launched, a lot of the conversation wasn’t about the power of the “computational engine,” but rather, the hidden Easter eggs in the form of a few goofy responses the site gives you for certain queries.

For example, entering “how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” prompts the response, “a woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”

There are dozens of others, with lots of folks still sharing new ones they find.

The Lesson: It’s hard to talk about the serious stuff, but the hidden surprises are fun, simple topics that are easy to share.

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