SmallBusinessNewz

Evoking curiosity can be one of the most effective forms of marketing. When people see something they want to know more about, they are bound to pursue that information.

Not only does this type of campaign inspire people to learn more about the product on their own, it tends to work exceptionally well as a buzz-generating viral campaign.

The thinking here is that if it is interesting enough for one person to want to know more, it is interesting enough for that same person to mention it to other people.

A recent example that comes immediately to mind was the first teaser trailer for the film Cloverfield that came out at the beginning of the year.

The Cloverfield Strategy

The Cloverfield buzz began the night the mega-hit Transformers was released in theaters, when the exciting preview was shown without indicating a movie title. Everyone was wondering what it was. In fact, I probably heard just as many people talking about that as I did about Transformers after its opening.

Of course everyone ran to their computers and tried to find out more online, which inevitably led to a huge viral campaign on the Internet leading up to the movie's release, which did quite well I believe.

Obviously not many small businesses will have the resources to pull off a marketing campaign of Cloverfield magnitude, but that's not to say you can't learn some things from it.

You Do Have Resources

Luckily with social media and the web in general, this type of marketing campaign is much easier than it once was. Just look at various Internet phenomena from throughout the years. The Star Wars Kid, the Chocolate Rain guy, etc.

If you can create this kind of buzz with your marketing, it can make your small business stand out in a sea of competitors.

People will write about it. If it becomes big enough, people will even parody it (that's when you know you've really done well). Most importantly, people will want to see for themselves.

Jennifer Laycock spoke at the Small Business Marketing Unleashed conference back in April, highlighting some fundamentals of viral marketing.

I'd love to hear stories of viral campaigns that have worked for you. Please share.