What You Can Learn From Cisco's B2B Viral Video Campaign

“Last spring, when we did our first viral campaign to drive awareness around a product launch, we focused on the tools,” says Brian Ellefritz, Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing at Cisco. “We said, ‘Let’s do something on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc.’”

The problem? The Cisco marketing team failed to cross-promote the various tools, which caused people to end up  at various dead-ends. In other words, there was no “next step” in the marketing process.

“We got a total of 6,000 video views for the entire sneak preview campaign,” reports Brian. Instead of viewing the viral campaign as a failure, however, the team sat down and figured out what they could do better.

For the company’s November 11, 2008 product launch, the marketing team used social media tools to drive awareness around a video campaign featuring the ongoing saga of bumbling ace reporter Ira Pumfkin – who is charged with finding out what kind of product Cisco is launching.

This time around, however, the team cross-promoted all social media elements, including:

Tech Edge Weekly blog — The blog includes the video segments, a link to the Facebook Group page, and the main “Get Ready” product launch page.

Facebook Group — A “support group for uber user Internet addicts,” the Cisco Facebook page includes over 1,000 friends plus feed from the Tech Edge Weekly blog and a link to the Twitter profile and the “Get Ready” launch page.

Twitter profile — Tweets include Tech Edge Weekly updates (and links) and the “Get Ready” Web page.

YouTube videos — Each “Cisco Launch Investigation” video includes links to the blog site and the “Get Ready” launch page.

“Get Ready” Launch page — The official launch site where people can sign up to receive additional messages from Cisco.

The team’s work paid off. As of Friday, November 7, total page views for the video were nearing 40,000.

The Cisco marketers were also very diligent about monitoring blogs and Twitter for feedback — and contacting people as appropriate.

“With viral, you learn as you go,” says Brian, in response. “And, you have to be responsive to who is talking to you.”

And that, my friends, is why this campaign isn’t about “page views” but is all about listening to the market place. 

When I posted about the first Cisco video, Brian left a message on my blog saying I could contact him about the Cisco campaign. We talked by phone for a good 30 minutes. When I told Brian I was really interested in the B2B video aspect of his campaign, he not only gave me the backstory — he gave me two other examples of how Cisco is using video for B2B. Both examples are fabulous and will be topics of future blog posts.

Brian and his team did a great job cross-promoting the various elements of their campaign. But here is what they really did right:

1. They didn’t send out blast emails informing thousands of bloggers and journalists about their video campaign — Instead, the team let conversation grow in true viral fashion. I initially learned of the campaign via a tweet by David Meerman Scott. David found out about it because the Cisco team linked Ira Pumfkin’s first blog post to influential bloggers — including David. Clever!

2. The team personally followed up with bloggers — I’ve had numerous PR flacks contact me on behalf of their clients to see if I’m interested in talking to their clients, reviewing books, or doing podcasts. When I say “yes,” I never hear back from these people. Brian not only found my blog post (another aspect of marketing at which many companies fail), he reached out to me in a personal fashion. And, he did so through a blog comment rather than an  email (which I probably would have ignored).

3. Brian gave me his undivided attention — Not once during our conversation did Brian push his agenda, insist that I write about the product launch, or overwhelm me with a bunch of jargon. He was refreshingly open about how Cisco is still learning how viral works and made me feel like a vetted journalist from a big name publication. When I hung up the phone, I sat there in stunned amazement.

How cool is that? Kudos, Cisco and Brian, for a job well done. I’m now your fan-girl for life.