Seven Energy Centers of Social Media

Shelly Milam wrote a great blog posting on the launch of a beta product for Appcelerator that generated a 3,500% increase in web site traffic, a 400% increase in Twitter followers, and 10,000 downloads in the first few days.  

The results are so astounding that we've spoken about the techniques with other marketers and my peers in the PR industry.  The response is almost always, "Wow, that is phenomenal."  Then, the questions usually come as to how it's possible to get such a huge increase in web site traffic.  For many people, an explanation of the techniques don't add up to end result.  Of course, these people are doing the math wrong.

No, of course they can add.  They underestimate the more subtle effect of reaching a tipping point and having information go viral.  There's a point where other people start to generate and pass on information to their friends.  To reach this goal is elusive.   Many people feel that the path to the tipping point is murky and nebulous, hidden from the eyes of the average marketer in the Valley. 

To make thing easier to understand, I've developed seven centers of social media energy resting on a foundation message platform.  The message platform must be solid or the energy centers will fall and crumble.

Here's a quick and easy roadmap that will show you how to get to the tipping point.

Foundation - The messages must leverage existing buzz.  In the case of Appcelerator, we leveraged existing buzz around RIA development.  We focused in on Adobe Air because it was getting the most press.  In particular, we focused on a message that Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch was talking about in October.  He said in a video that there will be 100 million users of Adobe Air by the end of 2008.

1) Media - The first energy center is traditional media.  This includes developer publications, influential bloggers, IT trades, business press, investor publications, and other publications that can be reached through traditional PR techniques including direct email outreach, phone, IM and press releases.

2) Analysts - The second energy center is formed around industry analysts.  We briefed a number of industry analysts prior to the launch in order to get their opinion before we brought the information to the media.

3) Community Generated Content - The third source of energy is from engaging with the larger community, generally bloggers that produce information.  The key is to engage with the blogger community, not to pitch individual bloggers.  Most PR people will approach bloggers in the same way that they approach traditional media.  This is effective to some degree, but a wasted opportunity in many ways.  The best way to engage with a large number of bloggers is to become part of the community, to have insights, and opinions that are shared with other bloggers in comments, on your own blogs and in direct communications.  Some bloggers work like reporters and want to be treated as reporters.  These people can be grouped with traditional media and approached in the same way that you approach traditional reporters.  However, most bloggers are enthusiasts, not reporters.  These techniques are being extended to Twitter and YouTube content creators.  Similar techniques are used to encourage people to speak at shows.

4) Vision  - The fourth center is the channel you create to show the vision of the product.  A quick way to showcase the people and explain the vision is to create a  vision video.  Companies should create a video that highlights the two key people behind the product.  The video should ideally be 2-3 minutes long.  Other channels for the vision might be a comic book, a graphic, or a podcast.  Or, a combination of the techniques.

5) Technology Highlights - The fifth center is the channel used to showcase the technology and superior features of the product.  Appcelerator used a series of screencasts.  The videos are easy to make.  People in the company can generally do this themselves with tools like Camtasia or Jing.  If the company staff create the video themselves, it is important that the process and messages be managed by a central person that is overseeing the entire launch message strategy.  Usually this is a marketing person.

6) Existing Online Community - The sixth center holds the power for viral ignition.  They are a catalyst that must be treated with care.  The existing online community of users is the most likely group to pass the new product information along to their friends or peers.  Appcelerator used a combination of blogs, Twitter, and direct email to a mailing list to make the community feel that they were getting more information, earlier.

7) Personal Outreach - The seventh center is within the founders of the company.  The executives know the company and product the best.  Their potential customers want to buy products from people, not from a distant brand.  Especially when a company is small, the executives must make themselves known as people.  Jeff Haynie, CEO of Appcelerator and Nolan Wright, CTO, personally sent email and commented on blogs.  They went above and beyond the typical commitment level of an executive to make themselves available for briefings.  During the launch, Page One analyzed blog, Twitter, and comment messages and made recommendations to the Appcelerator executives on where to focus their attention.  However, in the end, it was their commitment that drove success and inspired everyone else to be successful.