For first - Ruben and I do 200m annualised impressions on LinkedIn - all organic/earned media, low cost, low time - we understand that platform (we don't know all platforms) as a mathmatical system and so it's understanding the platform that is key NOT any one post itself. So in many regards you're factually bang on. It's more like Prices Law ie 10 in 100 or or 100 in 1000s. So cadence is much more important in these mathmatical systems. Other systems perhaps very different. When you review a quarter of posted content then many answers are in that review. Ie topics people genuinely care about that are unexpected or extremely obvious etc and you can sharpen your
There are a number of discussions to be had with business owners about going viral and seeing a spike in sales, but it's almost a disservice to make it sound as if any business can do it.
First, for every video that goes viral, there are 100k that don't.
Second, going viral doesn't necessarily guarantee future success; it can just as easily be 15 minutes of fame.
Third, the business owner has to be prepared to fulfill the onslaught of orders (inventory, additional workers, access to capital).
Fourth, and probably most important, is the mindset of the business owner. It may come as a surprise, but not every owner wants to become an entrepreneur. Most are happy with being small business owners. About 15-20% (in my estimation) are what I call "passionate" business owners. They want to grow, but in an organic and sustainable manner.
The idea of creating a viral video is most attractive to entrepreneurs and people looking to get rich quickly. For all other business owners, I suggest they execute their existing plans and be prepared if something suddenly goes viral (in a good or bad way). That falls under the "What If" section of their GPS Plans.
Fourth - many business and business owners love what they do, how they do it and are totally focused on certain qualities within the demand side and the supply side that small incremental %s of growth is what they want. Many of them won't want to be too much in demand (I know one who eye rolls when his phone rings 😂) this post probably isn't for them as they don't want a spike or to turn that spike into a scalable system (they probably get business via "word of mouth" which is terrific and also earned marking via a brilliant reputation with customers).
Thanks Chris for your thoughtful replies. I appreciate them and found a few new takeaways. Happy to continue this discussion, or any other topic in the SMB space, as talking with others who see the market from different angles is the best way for me to learn.
Third - totally agree again. Selling more than you can supply or provision (in software) is what we call at Notion as "success crisis" - unbelievable success in one part of the business that exposes a weakness in another. The spike in success is good but the fall out is bad and can cause PR issues. Metaphor - too much ice cream gives you brain freeze but is recoverable. Sticking a jet engine on a car can result in death ☠️ or a survival event.
Second - totally agree. This is simply marketing and leveraging platforms plane and simple. Success is typically a behavior set that people develop and nurture over time NOT a viral post
For first - Ruben and I do 200m annualised impressions on LinkedIn - all organic/earned media, low cost, low time - we understand that platform (we don't know all platforms) as a mathmatical system and so it's understanding the platform that is key NOT any one post itself. So in many regards you're factually bang on. It's more like Prices Law ie 10 in 100 or or 100 in 1000s. So cadence is much more important in these mathmatical systems. Other systems perhaps very different. When you review a quarter of posted content then many answers are in that review. Ie topics people genuinely care about that are unexpected or extremely obvious etc and you can sharpen your
Curious to learn more about viral marketing for early stage startups and small businesses. Interesting topic.
There are a number of discussions to be had with business owners about going viral and seeing a spike in sales, but it's almost a disservice to make it sound as if any business can do it.
First, for every video that goes viral, there are 100k that don't.
Second, going viral doesn't necessarily guarantee future success; it can just as easily be 15 minutes of fame.
Third, the business owner has to be prepared to fulfill the onslaught of orders (inventory, additional workers, access to capital).
Fourth, and probably most important, is the mindset of the business owner. It may come as a surprise, but not every owner wants to become an entrepreneur. Most are happy with being small business owners. About 15-20% (in my estimation) are what I call "passionate" business owners. They want to grow, but in an organic and sustainable manner.
The idea of creating a viral video is most attractive to entrepreneurs and people looking to get rich quickly. For all other business owners, I suggest they execute their existing plans and be prepared if something suddenly goes viral (in a good or bad way). That falls under the "What If" section of their GPS Plans.
Fourth - many business and business owners love what they do, how they do it and are totally focused on certain qualities within the demand side and the supply side that small incremental %s of growth is what they want. Many of them won't want to be too much in demand (I know one who eye rolls when his phone rings 😂) this post probably isn't for them as they don't want a spike or to turn that spike into a scalable system (they probably get business via "word of mouth" which is terrific and also earned marking via a brilliant reputation with customers).
Thanks Chris for your thoughtful replies. I appreciate them and found a few new takeaways. Happy to continue this discussion, or any other topic in the SMB space, as talking with others who see the market from different angles is the best way for me to learn.
Sounds good. I'm posting and publishing every day and so we'll see each other again I'm sure - have a great day 🌞
Third - totally agree again. Selling more than you can supply or provision (in software) is what we call at Notion as "success crisis" - unbelievable success in one part of the business that exposes a weakness in another. The spike in success is good but the fall out is bad and can cause PR issues. Metaphor - too much ice cream gives you brain freeze but is recoverable. Sticking a jet engine on a car can result in death ☠️ or a survival event.
Second - totally agree. This is simply marketing and leveraging platforms plane and simple. Success is typically a behavior set that people develop and nurture over time NOT a viral post
All great comments - I'll share my thoughts for each
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Going viral is just the start...the real challenge is having the systems in place to scale and keep the momentum going too :)
That's 100% correct - it's not a post or a video - it's a highly repeatable system
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