This is not a post about referrals in marketing, but it is still about references.
Oprah Winfrey often recommends books in her TV show and usually the titles she chooses sells like crazy.
A few days ago she praised a tool called, Kindle, an e-book reader Amazon has been selling for about 1 year.
“I’m telling you, this is simply my new favorite thing in the world” – she said.
On the same day, the visits to the site of Amazon rose 6%, says Hitwise.
80% of all Kindle mentions on blog posts were also mentioning the name Oprah!
On the day that Kindle was quoted in the program, the search for the word ‘Kindle’ increased 479%, according to Google Insights.
So, What Can We Learn From This?
In terms of believability, there is a strong assumption that a woman like Oprah is a book-carrying, Kindle user.
She reads, she is smart and she is credible.
Anyone can easily imagine her reading and using the technology.
Good Deal – Celebrity ->Endorsement->online
Celebrities for online marketing campaigns
It’s extremely popular in the advertising environment to use celebrities to endorse mass marketing campaigns. Celebrity endorsements remain a popular tool for marketers.
The right celebrity, at the right time, for the right brand at the right price is fantastic.
However using a celebrity who has no “believability” with your brand is money and time down the drain.
Now, let’s flip the coin to - Engaging with an Online Celebrity.
Nowadays there are many online celebrities; people like Seth Godin, Perez Hilton, Daily Kos (Mr Koz), Michael Arrington, Harry Knowles, Darren Rowse, and many more.
Question: Is it worth it to build a business relationship with Bloggers?
My answer is…
1) Meet Mr. Frank Warren,
he’s the editor and creator of http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
If you don’t know, his website works like this – Got a secret? Write it on a homemade postcard and send it to PostSecret.
Since its inception in 2005, the project has collected and displayed upwards of 250,000 original pieces of art on its blog.
Audiences have fallen for the formula:
Two books of the postcards have been published, a third is on the way and in 2006 the site won six Bloggy awards, including Weblog of the Year.
For his part, Warren hasn’t kept himself a secret: he’s appeared on Today, 20/20, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Fox News and more.
Beautiful Idea – You’ll both enjoy the romance
Who was the first book Editor to approach him? Who was the first company who saw value in approaching a blogger with great material and saw a potential business out of this?
Opportunities?
- How about art galleries exposing the material?
- How about Hallmark engaging with the website?
- How about the movie industry?
ahhh…so many ideas…
Do you have any suggestion?
Cheers
Lucio Ribeiro
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lucio, great post.
I read the book, bought from Amazon. Emotional and touching.
Great book