Google Project 10 to 100th – Ultimate Marketing Scheme
Google had just launched new project titled 10 to the 100th.
Never in history have so many people had so much information, so many tools at their disposal, so many ways of making good ideas come to life. Yet at the same time, so many people, of all walks of life, could use so much help, in both little ways and big.
If you have an idea that you believe would help somebody, we want to hear about it. We’re looking for ideas that help as many people as possible, in any way, and we’re committing the funding to launch them. You can submit your ideas and help vote on ideas from others. Final idea selections will be made by an advisory board.
Google is giving $10 million for ideas. Everyone is free to submit and vote when ideas are posted live. If you want to vote, sign up for voting notification here.
The Ultimate Marketing
Google has positioned itself as an angelic company. The “don’t be evil”, though accidental (at least they say it is), is now turning to “don’t be evil and help everyone”.
I support this project 100% (who doesn’t?), but believe there’s a larger strategy behind the curtains. Something that is well worth $10 mil that Google is dishing out.
Word of mouth marketing.
Word of mouth is the best marketing there is. When person recommends something to friends, it’s person’s trust thats on the line. It’s all subconscious and here’s how it works.
John went to a massage and came out felling 10 years younger. He’s happy as a baby rabbit. He’ll tell his friends, because he cares and wants them to experience good things (assuming he has good friends). If John’s friends visit this parlor and come out happy, they’ll mention it to John and give him “cudos” for finding the place. John will be double happy.
What if it sucked? What if a greasy guy with big hands “beat” their bones and called it massage? John’s friends would share the experience and would think twice before listening to him again.
Less trust.
It’s all subconscious, but that’s what our brains go through on the background. Before recommeding something, you’ll quickly analyze it and decide if it’s worth mentioning.
This is why word of mouth is so effective. People do not recommend “crap” to their friends, because there’s a degree of trust on the line. Only best gets word of mouth, and Google’s $10 million for ideas is one of those things. Who doesn’t want to share an idea and potentially get funded?
And what happens when “Marry”, tells “Katy the Yahoo user” about this? Katy will think it’s cool and will check it out. She will find Google way cool and give it a shot at searching things… she might even change her preference from Yahoo.
$10 million is quite cheap for potential branding and advertising Google can get with this project (considering cost of media for the big boys).
What Can We Learn?
Super internet brands are formed by users, not advertising. Google is a great example. Facebook, Myspace. Minimum advertising, yet top 10 brand, largerly grown from word of mouth.
In SEO world it’s SEO book. Though Aaron spent thousands on advertising, he pumped even more into content and tools to create positive word of mouth. Now he’s undisputed top 10 SEO.
Adapting this strategy is though and expensive, but if you can – go for it. You’ll struggle like a bum first, but wear a crown afterwards.
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