Sexy Grannies - Social Media Lessons Learned

Two days ago I experimented with social media and viral marketing. I expected a deluge of server-melting traffic and to reach thousands of new readers to my blog. Unfortunately, this did not pan out the way I had hoped and here I will try and address some of the reasons why.

The experiment in question was 20 Sexy Celebrity Grannies, which I hoped would have piggy-backed on the interest in seeing Helen Mirren, aged 62, in her bikini last week.

I hoped this article would create a “buzz” on the internet and get people talking about and voting for me on social networking websites such as Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit and others.

While the campaign was not a total disaster, indeed it has been my most successful article on this website. It received more than 60 Diggs and the best part of one thousand unique visitors via Stumbleupon but it was not the online smash I hoped it would be. Here are some of the reasons why and how I can create better campaigns in the future:

Out of Context Content

The article was about “sexy grannies” while AffiliateDragon.com is about succeeding online with your own business and internet marketing. Had the article been on a “lads mag” type website such as Nuts or FHM, it may have received a better response.

Weak Headline

I believe the headline to be one of the most important parts of a successful viral marketing campaign. It’s the first thing a potential reader sees and as a “hook” to encourage them to read further, it has to be absolutely spot on.

In hindsight, something like “Celebrity Grannies Who You Still Would” or even “20 Sexy Celebrity Grannies” would have been a lot more appealing than the headline “20 Sexy Grannies” I opted for. While the headline is short and memorable, it also seems a bit seedy and doesn’t tell potential readers it’s about celebrities who have aged magnificently rather than being a “not safe for work” list of dubious granny porn.

I fear this uncertainty would have put off a lot of people from taking a closer look at the article.

Not Enough Authority on Social Media Websites

The experiment was a harsh lesson in that not everybody is equal on social networking websites such as Digg. Some stories manage to get hundreds of Diggs within minutes of being submitted to the website whereas mine managed just 15 in it’s opening one and a half hours.

The only way to emulate this success is to build my Digg profile into being an “authority” account. I need to be active on the website, Digg stories and make friends. That way, whenever I have a story I want to explode, I can ask other people to return the favour. I need to do this on other social media websites such as Twitter and StumbleUpon too for maximum effect. If anyone wants to add me, please feel free to do so and I will return the favour.

I have plenty more ideas for content that is informative, entertaining and has the potential to do well on social media websites and submission by submission, I hope the results improve.