Recently I showed you the free hugs video that has swept the Internet, and I asked you to look for the marketing lessons from within that example.

Today I am going to share with you the answers of what marketing lessons we can learn from the video.

Marketing Lesson 1 – Be Passionate

Have you ever heard the phrase: “Do what you love and the money will follow”?

The reason this is true is because passion is the single most important factor for success in any form of life. Especially in business.

This video is pure passion and emotion, and it captures it well. So do what you are passionate about, and the rest will simply slot into place.

Marketing Lesson 2 – Be Authentic

Let’s be honest, this campaign will be replicated by marketing agencies from all over the planet. But none will have this level of success, and that is because they are doing it for the wrong reasons.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with doing things for money, it can often be seen through if you try to portray it as something false.

Marketing Lesson 3 – NEVER underestimate the power of social proof

Do you notice how at the start of the video people are ignoring him, yet once the first person hugs him, the people near by suddenly want to get involved.

This is social proofing, which is essentially the art of making people not want to miss out on what EVERYONE else is already doing.

For example, if all the people in your office love a particular TV show, you may feel left out by the fact that you haven’t seen it. Or perhaps all of your friends have the new iPhone? How does that make you feel?

Marketing Lesson 4 – Viral Marketing Can Go Global… FAST

I don’t know the full background story on this video, but I am betting he was discussed by news and media people all over the globe. Not to mention thousands of bloggers. Viral can spread a message far and wide, so don’t underestimate the power of a good message.

Marketing Lesson 5 – Novelty Works!

We all spend so long trying to create great, informative and intellectual content, yet novelty content can often be a LOT easier to make into a success. At Streetlessons we have had many successes, yet some of our most pointless and weird posts have been the biggest hits.

So there you have it, 5 marketing lessons you can learn from the free hugs video.

Dean