Since blogging is a key viral driver of Social Media Optimization I wanted to share our latest RAMP project. Working with GotVMail (as well as being a customer 🙂 RAMP helped strategize, build, deploy and optimize a widget and supporting experiences for their Gary Busey on Business viral marketing campaign being launched today. That’s right, business advice straight from the mind of Gary Busey. Egats!
Certainly there is nothing more viral than video. Video widgets present the ability to continually add new content once a person has expressed interest by embedding the widget or forwarding one or all of the content pieces. But there’s a lot more to think about and execute on than just throwing some videos on YouTube. Ultimately, like everything else in digital marketing, your success is predicated on the quality of your content. Of course the arbiter of that quality is the audience. As it should be.
GotVMail created this awareness campaign in-house. The project was a collaboration between RAMP, GotVMail and a couple of great Portland, OR companies, StepChange Group and SplashCast. Here’s what we created:
http://web.splashcast.net/go/gen/1/skin/HIUC3514XC/sz/wide_nochat
| Add Gary Busey on Business – Featured to your page |
Traffic is being driven to this landing page and there is the requisite Facebook, MySpace pages as well as a hub of all the video content, Google err, YouTube.
On the analytics side we’ll be looking at how the various experience nodes drive virality both overall and cross platform. We’re also looking at the impact this has on brand awareness/interest and look to calculate an ROI. Fun stuff. I hope you enjoy some of clips. Rave on!
**Testimonial** Since this viral video marketing experience happened to me just today I thought I’d share it.
On April 9th I got emailed a YouTube link to watch Tom Morello share the stage with Bruce Springsteen a few nights earlier in Anaheim for “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” Even with a shaky camcorder the quality of the performance, sound and picture were quite capable of sharing the enjoyment of an incredible 8 minute collaboration and a searing solo.
Today I noticed on iTunes that a video of the performance was officially released along with a few other gems from the recent Tour.
Recalling the video I made the $10 purchase without hesitation.
That’s the power of an audience when you have a distribution platform like YouTube. Now, while I may or may not have purchased this anyway, being a fan of both Tom and Bruce, this user generated awareness to quality content certainly increased conversion rates for more fans than just myself. That’s Social Media Optimization my friends.
The best part of all, my entire $10 went to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. Props to Bruce, Sony, iTunes, YouTube and the fan that made this experience possible.
“Bootleggers, roll your tapes!”
-Bruce Springsteen taking the stage at the Roxy, Los Angeles, July 7, 1978
jonathanmendezblog.com 
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