With Neil Godin

Today let’s look at a live example of how social media can ‘directly’ impact sales in a (very) big way. Our case in point is an old fashioned bricks ‘n mortar business called Blendtec Inc., in Orem, Utah – manufacturers of, well, blenders – those common, everyday machines we use to grind things up in our kitchens.

What? Since 2007, Blendtec has swept the social media sweepstakes by running short, amateurish videos on YouTube titled, ‘Will it blend?’ In these wildly popular videos, CEO Tom Dickson dons a white lab coat and protective goggles – and blends everything from golf balls to iPhones and 2×4′s – using his $399 ‘entry level’ blender. The videos are a riot. Have you see them? If not, go (now) to this link, and check them out. If you have seen them, take a moment to have another look. This is important. Go on, hit this link. (We’ll wait for you).

Why? These videos have been seen by nearly a hundred million viewers (their recent iPad video alone has been viewed almost 8 million times – and their very latest production – featuring a vuvuzela in honor of the World Cup – has already been seen more than 600,000 times. While these stats are impressive, even more impressive is the impact the videos have had on sales. Sales increased by 500% in the first two years – and have now exploded to 1000%-plus, and climbing.

How? I chose this example because it is so well known (Tom has appeared on Jay Leno; he’s been interviewed by hundreds of media outlets – and has even been featured on the History Channel) – and – because Blendtec is an ‘ordinary’ business like yours and mine – and – because the how-to’s are essentially so simple (1. Shoot a video. 2. Post it). Now the question: Could you and I do something similar? I’m thinking about producing short ‘Marketing Dangerously’ videos showing the creative, catchy, funny and edgy things that companies do to promote their business. (Why not write a comment and let me know what you think?). Now over to you.

Tom Dickson proves that any of us can do it – all you need is a great idea. Got one?

Tipzntrix: Not only have sales risen ten-fold at Blendtec, the company has also set up a separate website (and profit center), where they sell ‘Will it blend?’ souvenirs (check it out here). They had also received over $50,000 in internet ad revenue as of 2009 (I wonder what that number is now).

________________________________________

Welcome to the 90-Day Marketing Dangerously Social Media Challenge

Where we are doing our best to answer one simple question: Can social media work for business?

For the 90 days of our social media challenge, Marketing Dangerously is running blog posts and newsletter articles three days a week that relate specifically to using social media to build business (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we continue to run our T’nT (Tuesday and Thursday) articles on how to promote your business generally.

Why are we focusing on social media for 90 days?

If you’re in business you’ve been told you “have” to be on Facebook…you’ve “got” to be on Twitter – or at least on LinkedIn – not to mention YouTube, Digg, Squidoo, Reddit, MeetUp, Naymes, Plaxo, MySpace. STOP.

And, if you’re like most of the business people we talk to, you don’t “want” to be on any of these sites. You don’t want to hear that someone’s heading out for coffee — or how (badly) they golfed on the weekend. But. Is tweeting nuisance messages “really” using social media effectively? What about using Twitter (and Facebook) for nothing but sending and receiving valuable business messages? What about joining customer groups on these sites – handing out helpful advice.  And providing links to your website or blog – and links to sources of other helpful advice – positioning yourself as an expert?

Would that work? Or would it just be a waste of time?

During this 90 day challenge we are posting three times a week to our Marketing Dangerously blog (and newsletter), challenging you each time with a new social media task — in our quest to answer that question. By the time we’ve completed the challenge we (and you) will know if using social media — of every kind — and in every way — can generate sales of our products and services. And, of course, we will share what we learn with blow by blow descriptions of what we tried; how it worked (or wallowed) and what you can do to implement these ideas in your own business. Our blog is at: http://www.neilgodin.com/marketingdangerouslyblog/

20% of all sales go to Kiva, our favorite non-profit!

Yes. Fully twenty percent of all product and service sales during the campaign are being contributed to Kiva, the world wide organization that arranges micro-loans to micro-entrepreneurs in the developing world. Entrepreneurship is our passion. Promoting entrepreneurship (vs. charity) in the developing world goes beyond passion. We are darn near fanatic about supporting and promoting this cause. And we hope you stay with us.

Neil Godin, Jonathan Christian, and The Marketing Dangerously Tribe
_________________________________________