Kairon Gnothi

Seth大神上月的旧文. 冬天来了, 某猫很懒.

就viral marketing和WOM是不是一回事来说, 其实偶咋一看到题目, 又想到是Seth大神口吐莲花的时候, 心里想的是:”应该是有点什么区别吧…”

然而, 大神神就神在, 偶看完之后, 反而不觉得两者有什么不同了…

1. VM是新术语, WOM是陈词
(某猫: 这个…貌似不算我们要讨论的区别)

2. VM是不断复制不断扩大的WOM过程
(某猫: 问题是, 有谁限定过WOM的范围吗?)

3. Marketer都在开始的时候作为启动力, 但是在VM的过程中就fall out of the loop, 不会在这个过程中有什么动作.
(某猫: 其实WOM过程中marketer也不在loop中的. 当然,如果各位看官不承认以上第二条, 那么这一条当偶木有说…)

4. 最后,对于各位marketer来说, WOM是更易上手,更易控制的方式. 而一次成功的VM无异于中大奖
(某猫:那是, 1米长的多米诺骨牌容易还是1000米长的容易啊…况且还是四面八方的多米诺.可这个也不算本质区别滴说.)

上述呓语有力的说明,在term或者jargon这种事情上, 某猫是不折不扣的守旧派. 听到蓝海世界是平的, 病毒营销2.0之类的话, 猫就有撞墙的冲动…虽然猫拿这些玄乎的东西撑面子的时候也不少. 也许正为了此, 神才创造了jargon, 并为之祈福.

以上观点, 敬请赐教.

===========为命运之不公而痛哭流涕的废话分割线====================

Is viral marketing the same as word of mouth?
by Seth Godin

I got a note From a college student last week, explaining that his professor told him he couldn’t use the term ‘viral marketing’ in a paper. It doesn’t exist, apparently, it’s just a new-fangled form of word of mouth.

I found the interaction fascinating (“I’m not certain what benefit is gained by arguing with an instructor” is my favorite quote From his teacher) but I got to thinking about whether the instructor had a point.

“Viral marketing” shows up 2,000,000 times in Google, “ideavirus” shows up 200,000 times. Of course, you could argue that just because millions of people are using a term doesn’t make it legitimate (though you’d be wrong).

Anyway…

Viral marketing [does not equal] word of mouth. Here’s why:

Word of mouth is a decaying function. A marketer does something and a consumer tells five or ten friends. And that’s it. It amplifies the marketing action and then fades, usually quickly. A lousy flight on United Airlines is word of mouth. A great meal at Momofuku is word of mouth.

Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn’t have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus.

This distinction is vital.

For one thing, it means that constant harassment of the population doesn’t increase the chances of something becoming viral. It means that most organizations should realize that they have a better chance with word of mouth (more likely to occur, more manageable, more flexible) and focus on that. And it means, most of all, that viral marketing is like winning the lottery, and if you’ve got a shot at an ideavirus, you might as well over-invest and do whatever it takes to create something virus-worthy.

And yes, I happen to think that arguing with the instructor is a very good idea.