"Achieving Over 200,000 Registrations through an Informative Graphic" or "Infographic Success: Topping 200k Registrations"
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In the summer of 2011, a little-known tech company named Vizualize.me made a big splash with an innovative pre-launch campaign. The company, which aimed to provide a platform for creating and sharing infographics, managed to gather over 200,000 email sign-ups in less than three months, even before the product had officially launched.
The secret to Vizualize.me's success was a well-strategized approach to targeting their audience and creating engaging content. The company's campaign was based on an infographic resume, a humorous and memorably designed infographic that was modelled after Ashton Kutcher's resume.
To find their target audience, Vizualize.me asked potential users where they got their news. The company focused on smaller, niche influencer sites, such as design and tech blogs with a combined readership of a few thousand. These sites were more receptive to the pitch, making it easier to gain traction.
The campaign started with a few small bloggers sharing the pre-launch story and the Ashton infographic as an example. Interest in the story trickled upwards, with some medium blogs reblogging the story, and eventually the "big" media sites taking notice. The first "big" blog to contact was Fastco Design, followed by larger sites like Forbes, Mashable, and Techcrunch, and mainstream media such as NBC and BBC picking them up as well.
The company incentivized users to share the campaign by promising early access and asking them to tweet or post the site on social networks. This strategy proved effective, as 67% of signups were from referrals from other users. The company had a viral coefficient of around 2x, indicating a successful viral campaign.
To show appreciation for the bloggers and influencers who wrote about them, the company sent thank you notes to most of them, with hundreds of emails sent manually from a personal account. An infographic from Launchrock celebrated the successful campaign.
Contrary to popular belief, most stories actually travel up the influencer pyramid, from the small/niche bloggers to the big media sites, and not the other way around. Vizualize.me's pre-launch campaign is a testament to this, demonstrating that a well-planned and engaging campaign can make a big impact, even on a small budget.
The "Influencer Pyramid" formed by categorizing blogs by readership, with the blogs with the smallest readership at the bottom, played a crucial role in the success of the campaign. The majority of the blogs on the list were small and niche, and many had small but loyal followings. By focusing on these sites, Vizualize.me was able to reach their target audience and create a buzz around their upcoming product.
In conclusion, Vizualize.me's pre-launch campaign was a remarkable success story, demonstrating the power of a well-planned and executed launch strategy. The company's focus on smaller, niche influencer sites and the creation of engaging, shareable content proved to be the key factors in their success. The campaign serves as an example for other companies looking to make a splash with their pre-launch campaigns.
