Unless you crawled out from under a rock, you had to have heard about the recent ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
You may have known someone who participated. You may have even been challenged yourself. It was so widespread that you couldn’t miss it, especially if you spent any time on Facebook or YouTube.
Businesses should pay close attention to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
They can learn something about marketing from it. In fact, it was a brilliant way to promote a cause.
Here are some tips you can take from the challenge and apply to your own business .
1. Single Goal
One main reason the campaign was so successful is that it focused on a single goal – to raise awareness and money for ALS.
The early expectations were not that it would go viral but that it would benefit a cause the originators cared about. They were personally involved and knew someone with the disease.
Businesses must set goals they care about and focus on those instead of getting sidetracked with too many ideas.
2. Simple Rules
The Ice Bucket Challenge was simple.
You didn’t need a lot of fancy equipment or to go to a special place. Just a bucket of ice water and a video phone would do. Since most people have a social media account, it was easy for them to participate.
Businesses must make their marketing campaigns simple with rules that are easy to follow. They can appeal to more people if the challenge isn’t difficult. It gives the mental message of “anyone can do this.”
3. Short Deadline
Perhaps one of the biggest secrets to the Challenge’s success was that you only had 24 hours to do it. This was long enough that anyone could find time to participate but not so long that it would be forgotten.
Businesses must promote a sense of urgency with their marketing methods. If there is no deadline, there will be little motivation to do anything. In the person’s mind, he or she can always do it later. This often results in not doing it at all. Any successful marketing campaign should include a deadline.
4. Make It Fun
As the article, Â18 Reasons the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is Your New Standard in Digital MarketingÂ, says, it’s important that the challenge is fun. After all, who wouldn’t want to be doused with ice cold water on a hot summer day?
The fun doesn’t stop there.
Every participant can be a little creative in making the video as long as the basic criteria are met. And when it is over, you get to challenge your friends to do the same thing.
Businesses must remember that it is easier to get people to do something that they want to do. Convince them that your challenge is fun and they will get on board.
You may never achieve the level of success with any digital marketing campaign that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge had, but you can learn a lot from it.
Use those tips in your own marketing efforts and you will see better sales results.
Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
About the Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including business and marketing.
