Going Viral: Why Obama Would Kick Your Ass on Digg

Posted by Pete - 12/11/08 at 11:11:24 am

There’s a basic problem with how people think viral marketing works, so I’d like to take a couple of minutes of your time to correct it. In the Web 2.0 world of SEO goodness, we advise people to get links by creating compelling content. Except there’s only one problem with that - it’s not enough.

Writing great stuff is all well and good, but it’s not going to get people to come to your site. Obviously then, what you need to do is promote your content. Cue the submissions to Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and so on.

But you already knew you had to do that. So why are you still not getting any traffic? Simple: no-one is upvoting.

The Tipping Point People

In any social system, it’s a simple fact that not everyone will participate. Be it Wikipedia, Digg, or Flickr, most people are only there to consume. They’re not going to vote for things or add to the collective material. They’re just there to consume.

So if you want to go big on one of those sites, you’re going to have to appeal to the tiny minority of people who’re going to read your content, enjoy it, and are the kind of people who’ll upvote.

Sadly for you though, that’s not going to happen just by you submitting to those sites and then praying for traffic.

Getting Votes the Obama Way

If you’re going to get votes, may I suggest you look to Mr President Elect Obama as to how to do it. It’s famously been said that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Well, that’s close, but not quite right. It’s not what you know, but it also isn’t who you know.

It’s Who Knows You

This is where having friends in high places comes in handy. And by friend, I don’t mean someone you follow on Twitter. I mean someone who if you met them in real life, would buy you a drink. Someone you could call up and talk to, and they wouldn’t run away. Someone who actually cares about your success.

If you want to go big on a social site, you’re going to need help from the people who are going to vote your up. They’re also mostly the same people who’ll then shout out to everyone they know to do the same.

It’s How Obama Won the War

The secret to Obama’s success is simple: meet as many key influencers as possible, get to know them well, and then leverage their influence to bring others on board. You need to do the same. Start talking to people. Get to know the individuals who’ll help bring you traffic, in real life.

Just a word of warning before you go out and try and email everyone on Digg though; don’t do it because you want Diggs or Stumbles, do it because you want it to work both ways. You’re going to be building relationships here, and it needs to work both ways.

So what’s the secret to social success? Start small, be humble, and make friends in high places. That way, you too can rock the social world.

November 12, 2008 |