You might be thinking that while this is all well and great, your company isn’t like that. You can’t blend garden rakes or iPhones, much less make content that anyone will share.
But what’s important to remember here is that we’re talking about a BtoB blender company. It’s not exactly an industry inherently filled with content that goes viral.
It all started with sawdust
Not long after joining Blendtec, VP of Sales and Marketing, George Wright, took a stroll through the company’s manufacturing facility and noticed sawdust on the floor — an odd find for a company that makes blenders.
After asking around, George learned the sawdust was from tests conducted by founder and CEO Tom Dickson — and after seeing how excited the staff was with the tests, George knew he had to get it on camera.
They didn’t run out and find a production crew or big budget equipment — they just grabbed a simple camera, some materials to blend, and a lab coat.
Look for your sawdust
Look for the remarkable moments your company has behind the scenes every day. Show fans your R&D department, your field tests, your new product innovations, your community work, or your creative processes.
Not everything will be a viral sensation, but by keeping the production of your content cheap, you’ve got plenty of chances to keep trying until you find what works.
And remember: A great test of your content is to see what interests your own staff. They’re the ones who see this stuff every day — so if something catches their attention, your fans will probably be thrilled.
P.S. In one of the most explosive episodes in Will It Blend history, check out what a Blendtec blender does to Bic lighters:
Here are 6 tips from Blendtec’s VP of Marketing and Sales, George Wright, on the fundamentals for viral success:
1. There has to be something worth sharing
Your videos can’t be just funny or goofy — you need an inspirational or educational element. There has to be real value within the content in order for people to continue to share it.
2. Focus on business objectives
The goal is not just to “go viral,” the goal is to help a business message spread. If a million people forward a meaningless video, it does no good. Before you create your video, decide what you want people to do when they see it.
3. Include a “sponsored by…”
Always include proper disclosure. Sometimes companies think they need to hide their involvement to help the video spread, but that only serves to hurt both your reputation and your business objectives (see point number 2).
4. It has to be real
It’s easier to be authentic than to pull off amazing acting. Most of us aren’t actors, so it’s pretty obvious when we pretend to be. A huge part of Will It Blend’s success is that Tom Dickson (the guy featured in all their videos) is Tom Dickson — the founder and CEO of the company.
5. Support interactivity
Get you fans involved by using their ideas to make your content better. When Blendtec requested ideas on what to blend next, thousands of fans asked them to destroy an iPhone. The payoffs of supporting interactivity is that it builds advanced demand for upcoming content and that it helps fans take a little ownership in the content they love so much.
6. Offer simple subscriptions
One of the best things about great viral content is that it gives you the chance to earn permission to send your stuff to fans again. Through simple YouTube subscriptions, Blendtec can now share their new videos with more than 200,000 subscribers on day 1.
P.S. Check out Tom blending an iPhone (this video alone has 7.5 million YouTube views):
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.
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