Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [89]
In one extreme case of a consumer review sparking a full-fledged run on a product, even so much as to create a subculture of Internet humor, is the Three-Wolf Moon T-shirt review on Amazon.com (Figure 8-8). One enterprising reviewer took the time to explain the virtues of a black T-shirt with three wolves howling at the moon. He made claims of women unable to resist him when he wore the shirt, which led to others making similar claims such as wearing it for weeks without the need to wash it, supermodels throwing themselves at the wearers, how it boosts self-confidence, and its power at the local Wal-Mart.
Figure 8-8: Three Wolf Moon short-sleeve T-shirt
Within only a few months, the number of additional reviews grew significantly, increasing the sales of the shirt. As of this writing, there are more than 1,700 reviews for the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt. Interestingly, the one-star reviews are just as entertaining and promotional as the five-star reviews. In addition, YouTube videos have been made as a tribute, as have additional shorts to complement the numerous requests of customers.
The user-uploaded images of people wearing the shirt are entertainment alone. From before/after photos to Photoshop-tweaked pictures of the shirt on Superman to an entire Marine company, all sport this phenomenon of a T-shirt. That proves you never know how these things will happen or why. The buzz created by the reviews created momentum, and the T-shirt spent nearly 200 days on Amazon’s Top 100 List. It was also written about and linked from user-created YouTube videos, Wikipedia entries, hundreds of blogs, and hundreds more news sites. Six months after the original comment, Amazon was selling the T-shirt at the rate of 100 per hour. Sales increased 2,300 percent. The State of New Hampshire’s Division of Economic Development designated the shirt as the “official T-shirt of New Hampshire Economic Development” in honor of the company responsible for the shirt, The Mountain, located in New Hampshire.
Travel
The travel trade has been turned upside down since the 1990s with the growth of the Internet and social-sharing networks. Currently on Flickr, I can view hundreds of geotagged photos of almost every location on Earth. Photos from all over the world have been uploaded by travel enthusiasts, photographers, and people who are simply sharing their experiences. Before embarking on any type of vacation, you can go to Flickr and see the exact location, down to the square foot they were standing upon when they took their pictures! (See Figure 8-9.)
Figure 8-9: Geotagged pictures on Flickr
Travel and tourism agencies can take advantage of this type of “conversation” that happens on photo-sharing sites while people are comparing, commenting, and creating common interest groups for these images.
Of course, this is not just limited to the travel and tourism industries. Any business that has a product that simply needs to be seen can use Flickr as a marketing vehicle. In fact, there is probably a group already dedicated to it! There are classic car restoration companies, custom boat builders, cake decorators...the list goes on. Simply by finding your audience in the places they are comfortable sharing and discussing their interests, you can increase your reach.
There are multiple stories of everyday people discussing products they have either enjoyed or been disappointed in. Those consumers have been far ahead of corporate marketing departments and have had a far greater reach. They are setting the stage for the customer experience rather than the company that produces the product.
Wednesday: Tell Your Story
Stories sell. People love good stories, success stories, company stories, and startup stories. Stories can communicate information about a business that a fact sheet never will. Stories involve building a personality and a unique voice; they connect people to knowing who you are, rather than viewing a faceless website.
One of my favorite experiences in consulting was my time with Mid America Motorworks. When I met the president of