How to promote your genres like a boss

This semester is coming to a close, and we still have a few things left to handle.

Be sure to keep up with the Week by Week and the Course Policy sheet for requirements.

Project #3 will be determined, not only by your genres but also your completion of a 1,000 word+ process report. It will be graded along these parameters:

Genres: Did all three of your genres meet the minimum requirements?
Process: What was your decision-making process while putting together this project? Why did you select those genres? What audience were your attempting to reach and why? What were your style and design choices.
Promotion: Where did you promote your genres? Why did you select these areas for promotion? How did people respond? Did you make changes to optimize others' response to your genres?

You should have already begun the process of promoting your genres. In fact, genre promotion should have begun after Peer Reviews, as instructed on your Week by Week. In the event that promotion is slow or not producing results, here are some suggestions which should help.

Ever meet a person who is really good at sales? Like they have convinced you to hand them money, and you aren't sure what they did or how they did it, but you are less money and now own something you hadn't thought about buying an hour before.

For example, Informercials. I love watching good infomercials. Often, I find one to keep on as background noise, and the next thing I know, I am looking to throw down good money on something I had no intention of buying a half an hour before.

The best informercials on television right now are:

Flex tape, or Flex seal (basically any of the Flex products)

My Pillow

Window Wonderland (or what I call, nightmare fuel)

Salesmen can get a bad reputation because of their uncanny ability to separate you from your money, but don't place all the blame on them. Instead, learn their tricks and use them to convince as many people as possible to look at your genres.

Here are the top 10 things salespeople know that you can use for P3.

You miss all the shots you don't take. Sales people know that the process of attracting people is a numbers game. Most of the time, you will only see a return on 10% of the interactions you attempt. This means the more people you attempt the engage, the more return you will see. If you follow 100 people on social media, you might get 10 people to follow you back. So make it a game. Follow 20 people a day for the remainder of the semester and track how many people respond.
A smile goes a long way: be approachable: Notice how salespeople are always smiling. At the mall, on car lots, in your cell phone store. They are smiling because they want you to feel welcome. Make your genres as welcome and inviting as possible. Even though you might be presenting serious topics, make the topics as approachable as possible. Creates spaces where people feel comfortable spending time.
No one has rejected you yet: the worst thing you can do is the convince yourself that no one likes your genres. Do not let self doubt take charge. So until you hear otherwise, tell yourself: my genres are amazing. Everyone loves what I created. This is your new mantra.
Not trying is more embarrassing than looking foolish. This is an extension of the "You miss all the shots you don't take" bullet point. Not trying, being embarrassed to show your friends, family, strangers what you created is not going to help you succeed in this project. Especially because you have not created anything to be embarrassed about.
Be personal: Don't be so caught up in being professional that you are afraid to be personal. In the previous two projects, you were asked to be objective. That is not the case in P3. You are allowed to take a side, to connect with the genres on a personal level. Don't be afraid to be excited, invested, connected to the material in order to convince others to do the same.
Be everywhere: The Big 6 Social Media accounts are - Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Linked in, Pinterest, Instagram. How many of these accounts are you using to promote your materials. If you are not promoting on all six, ask yourself why.
Make friends/not enemies: You want to cultivate an interest in your topic to strangers. You lure more people with positivity than negativity.
Take advantage of your entire network: You are members of different campus groups. Many of you live in dorms or halls with email lists and message boards. Tell people what you are doing and make it easy for them to find you. Not telling them, "Hey, I need people to like my posts for my grade. Please like." I mean, some people will respond to that. But more people respond to a person's enthusiasm for a project. Get amped and others will get amped with you.
Push. Don't shove: Encourage people to look at but don't force them. Don't beg. Don't bribe. Don't connive. Don't click bait.
Believe in your product: This is key. People can tell if your enthusiasm is fake. Your topic is one you have working on for a long time. It is part of your brand. You believe in it or else you wouldn't have pursued it for as long as you have. Celebrate your hard work by telling people what you created.

How do you get something to go VIRAL?

The term viral marketing originated back in the dawn of the Internet to describe a digital composition which is infectious and contagious. Let's begin to examine one of the first viral videos.

The Hampster Dance was a website which was only full of rows and rows of hamsters dancing to a single loop of a dance track. The rows were infinite. No matter how long you scrolled, you never reached the end of the page.

Back when offices were first embracing the Internet, particularly email, employees would receive a link in the mail from a friend. They would go to the website and witness the never-ending scrolling of hamsters dancing to this one song loop. They found it annoying. But it was a particular type of annoying. Is was annoying without being obnoxious. And the joy of the video was not receiving it, but sharing it with others who had not experienced it. You delighted in seeing their confused and annoyed face.

But why did something so annoying catch on so quickly? It could be its simplicity. Hamsters dancing. The color scheme is clean: white background with grays, browns and black outlines. The animation is simple. And the song is different but still familiar.

This is the original song which the creators of Hampster Dance sampled for their website. It first appeared in the 1973 version of Disney's Robin Hood. It was written and performed by country music performer Roger Miller. Miller was a very popular singer/songwriter in country music at this time, also providing the voice work for the Troubadour Rooster in the film. Office workers in 1997 would have been very familiar with the 1973 Disney's Robin Hood because they would have watched it either in theaters or in the many television airings on The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC.

Nostalgia is a powerful trigger. Think about the songs you listened or movies you watched when you were younger and how you cannot be convinced they are imperfect forms of art because of your memories associated with them. This is why Hampster Dance is annoying without being obnoxious. It triggers that nostalgia.

What does a successful marketing campaign need?

A messenger - don't assume it is you. You might have the message, but consider who is delivering that message for you. There is a reason celebrities are used in the ASPCA ads.
A Maven: A maven is a person who is an influencer. People look to them for guidance on what is cool, popular, important and stylish. This is not necessarily the same for every audience. While Kylie Jenner might be a maven for fashion, RuPaul would be the maven for transgender rights. If you can get a maven to represent for your genres, then more people will be attracted to it.
A Social Hub: this is the person who knows the most people. They have the most Facebook friends, they have the most followers, they have the most friends and associates. People want to know the social hub. Get a social hub sharing your genres, then you will get the most eyes on it.

Use these for promotion of your genres. You have a friend who everyone looks to, ask them to post your genres on their social media for you and report to you the response. Got a friend who has a ridiculous number of followers? Ask them to help promote your genres.

Also, make sure you have compose a genre which others feel compelled to share. Do this by:

Delivering humor
Giving someone an ego boast
Being incredibly useful (or resourceful)
Playing on a meme
Being dramatic
Being provocative (but SFW)
Evoking a smile
Sparking emotional engagement of some sort

Remember, the best way to get people to notice your genres is to promote them, follow your audience, use hashtags, make everything easy to access (in two clicks or less) and be vigilant.

Don't forget:

Peer Review Evaluation P3: You must write your evaluation of your group members for P3. Go to Canvas, download the form, complete it and upload it back to Canvas. Must be uploaded to Canvas by 11:59 pm on 11/27

If you are revising either P1 or P2, you must have it uploaded before Wednesday November 29 before 11:59 pm. If you have not contacted me and reviewed your draft for revision in Office Hours, then you may not have access to upload.

Twitter assignment : Post at least 10 Tweets on your own. Tweets must relate to genres or other relevant course topics. You are encouraged to engage with your other classmates via Twitter by commenting and asking questions. [Due before 11:59 pm SUNDAY 12/3]

P3 1,000 word report: Due Sunday, December 3 before 11:59 pm. Requirements are posted on the Course Policy Sheet.