Viral Marketing with Steemit
This article attempts to initialize discussions about "Businesses with Steemit" suggesting a viral marketing model
Background
Steemit is a blockchain-based social media that rewards contents contributors directly through esteeming by other users. While it is achieving a meaningful success in the initial stage during the last four months with benefiting and attracting users, especially for individuals, Steemit still requires business models for entrepreneurs. This article attempts to initialize discussions about "Businesses with Steemit" suggesting a viral marketing model.
Viral Marketing
Viral marketing refers to marketing techniques that employs existing social network services to increase product sales or brand awareness (Wikipedia). It has advantages in cost-efficiency and faster feedback due to utilizing social networks. The most well-known form of viral marketing is product reviews on blogs supported by producers. However, if marketers, such as bloggers or Facebook users, hide the fact that firms give rewards for their reviews or posts, this type of marketing can deceive readers. Also, it is practically very hard to punish deceiving bloggers directly and immediately (e.g. how can we deprive profits from a blogger who lies about poor products?)
Steemit Marketing
A viral marketing with Steemit can resolve aforementioned problems. First, money flows are totally transparent and hence financial supports from companies to bloggers will be revealed to all users. Second, by downvoting a lying author, users can remove his/her financial benefits easily. Details of Steemit marketing is as follows.
- As a preparation, a marketing firm obtains enough Steem Power to reward viral marketers (currently 1k VESTS can give approximately $15)
- The marketing company announces a target product with a unique tag. There can be some conditions such as minimum word count, inclusion of photos, etc.
- Any user can participate the marketing with referring the target product with adding the tag suggested by the company
- If a post meets suggested conditions and includes the unique tag (surely mentions the product), the marketing company upvotes the post
- If other users think the review is useful and honest, they can upvote as well. However, if they think it is deceiving, they can downvote
Pros and Cons
The greatest advantage of this approach for Steemians is that this will attract a large amount of capital and will increase Steem Power reservation. In addition, users can have additional opportunities to monetize their social network.
However, if there exist intentional interruptions from trolls or competing companies by downvotings, this approach may not sustain. But these interruptions also require significant amount of Steem Power as well and their evil behaviors are easily discovered on the blockchain. From the perspective of large stakeholders, a.k.a. whales, this will increase the value of Steem in the long-run so they have no incentives to destroy this business model.
Conclusion
Viral marketing models based on Steem platform will increase demands for Steem Power and will benefit users. We need further discussions about other business models and their pros and cons.
Any of your opinions are more than welcome!
I have a great project for this coming up. We are a large US manufacturer and we have one brand that does 100 million annually. When I get back to my office in Princeton I plan on creating such a campaign on this platform.
We are thinking for proof of concept to purchase a large block of Steem so that participants may see we are able to fund their efforts.
We believe with our consumer product line and the press we recieve as a result we can tell both the story of our brand, as well as the story of steemit.
Since @ned is based in NYC perhaps we could work on doing a project together. In the past we have engaged 1000s of bloggers for our initiatives through affiliate, but believe in the future of Blockchain distribution through micropayments. We are a big fan of Fred Wilson.
Our other brand can do 50 million without the steemit platform and through traditional methods. With a system like you reference here in this article we can accelerate growth and bring national attention to the platform.
I have engaged the principals of our company on the idea. They had a hard time understanding affiliate marketing, but have seen the results. They trust my judgement as an ecommerce executive and we will run an internal skunkworks project on this platform.
Great post.
I have thought of something similar in regards to setting up a pool of friends to purchase steem power and dedicate one person to posting under 1 account. Sort of Steemit as a business with large Dolphin whale, Steem power.
I honestly do not know what Steemit could do but in the end I think that sort of business model would work.
Thanks for you info I hope you get your ideas undergo!
Regards,
I have been accused of being a paid shill on so many sites. Now I finally get to become one.
downvoted for being botbait.
@clayop in my opinion if steemit can be much more advanced then all going to come here, pro and cons here is no different than our everyday life sure there are pros and there are cons ..
steemit marketing trip was excellent and certainly is far more than thought the community steemit .. all what we post and comments we can get steem upvote and increasing power and therefore your post is very nice and can add insight about steemit ..
it's good post :)
wow good post brother
Hey Clay,
I see that mayor companies like Facebook or Twitter will eventually figure out some sort of way to compensate the users.
In today's world, sharing content without getting paid seems silly :)
in steemit we trust
Great article. I am actually working on a marketing model for my law firm as well. We are also officially accepting steem as a form of payment. Full steem ahead!!!
wow!!Great post!! Good luck on your posts!