MKTG Week 4: What is a World Wide Rave?

 Introduction

What is a World Wide Rave? You may have heard the term before, and although it almost sounds like the fancy title of an exciting new video game or science fiction novel, it is indeed a phenomenon any business professional hopes to create. A term coined by David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, a world wide rave can also be thought of as going viral, particularly since most stories today gain publicity on the internet.  

 

If you have gained a wide awareness among thousands of people, you have successfully created a world wide rave. If thousands of people know who you are, or what you're selling, or the service you offer, that is a world wide rave. If people beyond your local community are passing your story along in their day-to-day lives and you have become someone who many people recognize without having to ask, you have created a tremendously successful world wide rave.  

 

We all know of names and brands that seem to rise into public awareness almost overnight. They become widely recognized, even famous. Maybe they have been working in their craft for years but have only recently become a commonplace name. Think of celebrities such as J.K. Rowling or Sabrina Carpenter or brands such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola. It took all of them time before they became as well-known as they are today. This is true for anything from pop media to television shows to a product name.  

 

Many believe that this kind of viral sensation is due to sheer luck, or having the right connections with the right people. It would be a lie to say that that hasn't been the case for a good deal of people. But there are other more important factors, and as Scott says, "anyone can create a world wide rave". With the power of the internet, it's easier than ever to spread your story far and fast.  

 

I want to do more this week than just list the tips, however. Instead, I want to analyze a real-world example. I don’t know about you, but having examples always helps me understand information better! Maybe it’s because I recently dipped into a nostalgic watch of “What Does the Fox Say?” from 2013, but this song is one of the best examples I can think of for a story going viral. Why not analyze how a very silly but very fun song became so well-known so quickly?  

 

Nobody Cares 

To quote Scott in The New Rules of Marketing and PR, "nobody cares about your products." Nobody cares how many times you say that your product is the best on the market. People care about themselves, and they want something that will help them, be useful to them in their lives, or entertain them.  

 

One of the reasons “What Does the Fox Say?” became so popular is that the Ylvis brothers were not trying to get people’s attention. The irony of the story is that they created the song as a demonstration of how terrible they were at their craft, a sort of anti-hit. But in their efforts to not care about touting their music skills, they created something that became highly entertaining to millions of people.  

 

Have the right goal in mind. Don’t try to demonstrate your excellence. Instead, focus on how that excellence will help, serve, or entertain your potential consumers.  

 

Stop Interruption Advertising  

For far too long, promotion methods have been mainly what Scott refers to as, “interruption and coercion”. The goal for many companies was to grab people’s attention and persuade them to be interested in their products/ services. Calling attention to discounts, for example, is a commonplace tool used. But again, nobody cares about these things. What they do care about is how your product can help them, and if you simply educate them on these details rather than list all the reasons why you are the best, your efforts will be far more successful. People want to be informed, not interrupted. That is the true key to drawing more consumers.  

 

Although it is a song and not a product, “What Does the Fox Say?” is an excellent example of something becoming popular simply because it exists. Again, it wasn’t designed to be a hit and was not promoted so. But although the song was not forced on anyone, the world quickly found it and shared it on their own as it went viral.  

 

Give Everyone Access  

In my opinion, this is one of the smartest, and easiest, steps to creating a world wide rave. You need to allow your story to be accessible to everyone. Have you ever read a news article or taken a quiz online, only for the process to be halted mid-way by a notification asking for your email or a payment? Many people will simply stop perusing the material because of this restriction.  

Because of restrictions like these, less people consume the content entirely, less people share it with others, and as a result, less people know about it.  

 

Let your content be freely accessible to everyone, and you have a much higher chance of becoming well-known. The Ylvis brothers first debuted their song on a TV night show, and later created and posted a music video for it on YouTube. Both places were free and completely unrestricted locations where anyone around the world could view and listen to the song. Having the music video on YouTube also made it easy to send and share with others, anytime and completely free of charge or personal information.  

 

Be Where You Need to Be 

That brings us to the next tip, which I believe is particularly important in today’s online era. Your content needs to be where your audience is. Think about the people you want to reach and the places they spend the most time in virtually. Maybe your audience is more focused on people aged around 40 and above, who are more likely to be on Facebook versus Instagram, most popular for high school students or 20-somethings of today’s age. The Ylvis brothers posting their music video on YouTube was a wise decision, as the online platform reaches viewers of all ages and backgrounds around the world and is the most used, well-known video sharing site.  

 

Create a Share Trigger 

The vital power in going viral is that people share your content with others, creating a wider awareness of you and your story. It’s a cyclical effect that repeats itself and determines exactly how successful your world wide rave becomes.  

 

But for your content to be shared, there must be some reason that people feel inclined to share it in the first place. It should have some point of importance, value, or humor that causes people to want others to see it as well. In the case of “What Does the Fox Say?”, the obvious trigger is the humor of it. The song and video are absurd in a way that you can’t help but laugh, and yet also be entertained at the same time. There is another trigger as well, the song’s obvious appeal to children as an audience.  

 

Lead People to More  

One of the biggest powers of the internet is that when people find something useful or entertaining, and wish to learn more, all it takes is the press of a few keys or buttons to make it happen. If people enjoy your content, they will naturally want more. Make sure you don’t leave them hanging. At the end of your blog post or in the description of your YouTube video, include a link to your website page or one of your social media handles. Make yourself someone who is easy to find plenty of information about on the internet, and as we’ve said before, the more people are informed about you, the more they will be interested.  

 

In the case of “What Does the Fox Say?", the Ylvis brothers made sure to offer more content for their fans. As the song’s popularity grew, they created a music video for YouTube, and then a children’s book using the lyrics.  

 

Having more content also makes you more likely to be found on the internet. This kind of search engine optimization is so important! One of the contributors to the popularity of “What Does the Fox Say?” was Google’s little Easter egg. Any time one searches “what does the fox say?”, the browser responds with trademark sound effects from the song.  

 

Conclusion

Hopefully, learning about how the most successful world wide rave is produced inspires you to begin, whatever your craft or product or project. Create a podcast. Film a YouTube video. Write a blog post. Whatever you do, utilize the power of the internet, have these six tips in mind, and you can make your own world wide rave, completely from scratch.  

Until next week!

Marielle