Free Marketing: 101 Low and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business, Online and Off

CHAPTER 48

DO SOMETHING VIRAL

If you are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to do something or see something interesting or shocking enough to garner the interest of the masses, and if you catch it all on video, then congratulations—you could go viral!

There just isn't a proven magic formula that will guarantee you'll be overnight famous, but I'm not convinced that those fifteen minutes of fame would do much for you in the long term anyway.

It's certainly not worth trying to fake your way into fame.

Have you ever watched the show America's Funniest Home Videos? Is it just me, or is it pretty easy to tell when someone has tried to make an over-the-top video look candid, but it was really all just a setup? For me, the fun of the show is trying to determine which videos are authentic or accidental, and which ones took 14 different tries to come across as accidents. It's hard to fake that type of reality, so don't waste your time.

Rather than trying to force the issue with viral videos and messages, I suggest you just be your authentic self and create quality content. From time to time you will see an opportunity to be overly generous in how you give of your time or services, and your customers will notice. It's those types of gestures, and commitment to customer service, that will lead to viral exposure for you and your business. Let the crowd do the work for you. They love to tell good stories and spread them around. You just do what you are good at while being as generous as possible. ...