Maybe TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year will get business leaders in Iowa to realize the power of YOU.
Yesterday, I posted on the un-virality of the Greater Des Moines Partnership attempt with their Do More Marketing Campaign.
Just to be clear, they allow – and hope – we all share the items they’ve produced. They just don’t make it easy. Without RSS feeds or share-able links to items on YouTube, Flickr or iTunes – it’s almost impossible unless you know code.
You cannot force viral marketing. You can design an empowering and inviting plan, but – if it’s worth sharing – you need to make it easy for the user to spread the message.
Chris Brown (who alerted me of the TIME award) saw the clip I shared and had her own take on this very thing. She’s in Ohio. So now her audience knows Des Moines.
If you give the tale room to roam, there’s no telling how long the tale will reach.
So what to do…what to do:
- RSS Feeds. Don’t think about it anymore. Just do it. Then DO MORE.
- Member Contest. Have a member contest where companies that belong to the GDMP can submit their own videos/songs/slideshows about why Des Moines is a great place to work and live. Put these on YouTube/iTunes/Slideshare – then on your site (in that order).
- Non-Member Contest. Have a separate contest where non-member businesses and citizens can submit their reasons for living and working in Des Moines.
- Blog. You think I wasn’t going to mention this tool? Engage in the conversation by leading the conversation. Events; Awards; Welcome New Members; Announce New Job openings…ideas are endless.
The people already have the power of branding Des Moines. You won’t be giving them the power – you’ll be acknowledging that you "get it" and become a resource or value for the business and residential community.
Here’s what they have to say:
- Des Moines photo sets on Flickr
- Des Moines videos on YouTube
- Des Moines- a bit of everything from Technorati
And even a couple of sites that could be examples:
So here’s the gauntlet, a call to all Iowa Blogs and bloggers:
Create a video or song or slideshow or whatever you want that we can share on the Internet. Tell me why you call Des Moines or Iowa home. Post it on your site and let me know. I’ll also post it here.
After all, you have the power and the reach. YOU are TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year.
Whatever You Do, Do More (Better).
Disclosure: Everything I’ve said here, I’ve already said to the GDMP. I’ve also said it to the four businesses I recommended join the GDMP in the last year (they did) and the one saved from cancelling their membership (they didn’t).
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