SMX East Recap and Viral Marketing Strategy

October 15, 2008
 

Following SMX East, Scott Polk and Virginia Nussey sit down to talk about what they learned from the conference. Scott was in the booth and found that a smile and a hello went a long way. In the session rooms, Virginia heard a lot of great information regarding personalized search, the dreaded Google monopoly and the insights into human behavior provided by searcher data.

Then Virginia talks to Brent D. Payne, SEO specialist and manager for Tribune Interactive. Brent explains his tactics for evangelism and getting buy-in, pointing out that the time and way you approach management is critical. He also points out the strengths and drawbacks of working on SEO for a large enterprise company and the social media efforts he has seen his traditional media company embrace. Before signing off, Brent talks about the Big Watah grassroots campaign and some of the lessons he took away from SMX East.

Susan Esparza then joins Virginia and Scott to take a further look at how the Big Watah event highlights the power of viral marketing. From a small buzz to a conference phenomenon, the viral tactics that took place in spreading the Big Watah meme hold lessons that companies can learn from. While this example took off almost effortlessly, it may take companies many tries before they find that perfect concept, but such an effort is more than likely worth it.