[DAY 85 OF THE DEEP END PROJECT]
Rebecca Black, a YouTube singer released a song in 2011 called Friday. It went Viral with 300 Million View and received extensive Media Coverage.
It’s also called The Worst Song Ever.
Yikes!!
According to Wikipedia, it even surpassed Justin Bieber‘s “Baby” as the most disliked YouTube video.
Then why does it still continue to rake views?
TRIGGERS.
Jonah Berger, author of Contagious : Why Things Catch On talks about Triggers as one of the six principles behind ideas going Viral.
How is this related to Rebecca Black’s song, Friday?
In a research done on ideas, videos and services that went Viral, they discovered that there was a spike in the views of Rebecca Black’s Friday on a certain day in the week?
Can you guess what day it was?
Ummm…..Friday!!
Now the song was equally horrible on a Monday, a Wednesday and a Friday. So what was the reason behind this spike on a Friday?
You guessed it, Triggers.
As Friday rolls around, people get reminded of the awful song and as bad as it is, it drives them to look it up on YouTube, share it with co-workers and even share it on Social Media!
Fascinating right?
It is and you can use it in your Marketing as well!
Before I share with you how, let’s explain what a trigger is.
Trigger, according to Jonah’s book, is anything in the environment that you can associate yourself too so that people can keep you “top of mind, tip of tongue,”
I love using Triggers so much that not only do I use it in my business (I’ll tell you in a minute how), it’s also a part of my Content Creation Framework that I teach in my Program – SEKS & THE T (kinda like Sex and the City)
T is for Triggers btw.
And if you pay close attention to my Marketing, my Copy, my website and even my Branding Pics, you will see traces of it spread around.
Wanna take a guess what it is?
Game of Thrones …..Mother of Dragons!
It’s no secret that I love Game of Thrones and Mother of Dragons is 100% my Alter Ego, but I don’t stop at that.
I talk about that.
In my Branding.
On my website.
In my Content.
In other words, I took something from our environment and associated my brand with it.
And can I tell you, how many memes, gifts, messages I receive when people see anything Game of Thrones related?
It not only makes them think of my brand but now I’ve created something that sticks. That’s memorable to people.
When I do an intro and say “ I am Deepshikha aka Mother of Dragons”, people remember that.
It makes them curious. It makes them check me out, join my Facebook Group, follow me on Instagram.
Everytime I reinforce it, the connection goes deeper.
Another example that became a trigger for my brand is “Rich Lady Behavior”
Anytime people in my community take care of themselves or indulge in something they love, they tag me with #richladybehavior.
It makes them think of me!
So how can you use triggers in your Marketing to stay top of mind? Remember when you are top of mind, you will be tip of tongue.
A few things to think of when you are choosing a trigger for your Brand:
- Choose something that’s from your environment and most people are aware of it aka choose something that’s either popular, current, evergreen or known to your Ideal Customers
- Choose something that you won’t get bored of in 2 months. You need to stick to your triggers to make them stick. People need time to create brand associations. If you keep changing your triggers or don’t talk about them enough, people won’t keep you top of mind
- Make it a part of your Marketing. I advise that all your content and branding should reflect that trigger. Don’t make your entire website Schitt’s Creek specific, if let’s say you are choosing that as a trigger. Instead, sprinkle it around.
Still thinking what your triggers could be? Here are some ideas:
- Colors. Your main branding color could make a good trigger. Just make sure it’s a color you love!
- Your tagline. We use “every Wednesday we sip Rosé and smash the Patriarchy” for our podcast, How to Womxn : Buck the System. Live Your Truth. This does two things, it reminds them my podcast has a new episode every Wednesday (which is a trigger in itself) and it also enforces another minor trigger I have (Rosé). People legit think of me when they drink Rosé.
- A show, a book, a famous movie, a current movement (BLM, Equal Pay, Climate Change, Me Too) or your favorite hobby/quirk.
Some more examples how you can successfully use triggers:
If you love Harry Potter, you can make a HP Quiz as a lead magnet or sprinkle it in your Content.
If you are into Tarot Cards, you can do a card pull once every week.
If you love Playing Guitar, you can do an Insta Story as you play it.
The possibilities are endless.
Over to you now, what trigger would you be using to make your Marketing more memorable and fun?