Buzz Marketing with Blogs: The Flickr Song: A Fan’s Love Ballad

The Flickr Song: A Fan’s Love Ballad

If you’re interested in this book about buzz marketing, you’ve got to take a moment to learn from these fine folks. One of their fans recently created a song about the service, and Flickr posted it on their blog. Here’s why that’s a good move.

I know I’ve posted about Flickr recently, but if you’re interested in this book about buzz marketing, you’ve got to take a moment to learn from these fine folks.

How many companies do you know that:
a) have their fans recording good songs [links to an MP3] about their products?
b) those songs don’t involve the words “[company] sucks big-time”?
c) post the songs on the company blog and share it with the world? Can you imagine Paramount linking to the best Star Trek fan fiction? (Maybe they should!)

Sure, I know there are plenty of songs that mention products. Think of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” as one significant example. But Prince was already becoming an established artist, and Chevy didn’t immediately rush tell the world about the song. (They have, however, recently used it in their ad campaigns.)

If you listen to the words of the Flickr song (lyrics below), you can discover part of why Flickr’s is so successful at using buzz. This isn’t a just song about Flickr and its API and feature set—that’s the sort of thing a marketing department might try to make into a jingle.

No, this is a song about this guy and all his friends. Flickr just happens to be the “place” where they meet—a virtual “Cheers” bar. Flickr, by extension, becomes a part of this guy’s friendship circle. And the way that Flickr’s staff anthropomorphizes the site in the site’s blog further creates the idea that Flickr, the service, is your “friend.”

Turn your customers into friends (with each other, and with you)—not with gimmicks, but with actions and fair treatment— and you’ll be floored at how helpful your customers will be for you. I mean, think of how far out on a limb you’d go to help a friend.

Lyrics to “The Flickr Song”

Emdot, Oldhamedia, Tomahawk’s Kid and Jetblasts2K,
Duchess, Yoshia, Homingpigeon, Silverstar and Rav-Rav
Charlottewebgal, Underbunny, Meta4, and Tisay
Selkie is naked again!
I love my Flickr friends
I’m addicted to their images and photostreams
I love my Flickr friends
They’ve crawled under my skin and into my dreams
One More Pernod, Pandarine, Juli.P and Roger B.
AsciiArtPaul, Sebastian’s Belle, and Smiling da Vinci
Off My Front Porch, Solea, Atari Girl and Aikterese
Selkie is naked again!
I love my Flickr friends
From now on I’ll be surfing their brains
I love my Flickr friends
They keep me coming back again and again
Etolane, Shoegazer, McArtist2, and Kariobinja
Fion, Spacecake, Dreamtiger and Vinathegreat
Airchild, Coffee Break, Ring Xie, and Awfulsara
Selkie is NAKED AGAIN!
I love my Flickr friends
I love their art and the light they bring
I love my Flickr friends
Can’t get enough of their Flickr thing
CherryVega’s hair is red
CherryVega’s hair is white
CherryVega’s hair is blue
CherryVega’s hair is…….
I love my Flickr friends
(I love my Flickr friends, it’s troooooo)
I’m addicted to their photostreams
I love my Flickr friends
(I love my Flickr friends, I do)
They’ve crawled under my skin and into my dreams
I love my Flickr friends
(I love my Flickr friends, it’s troooooo)
From now on I’ll be surfing their brains
I love my Flickr friends
(I love my Flickr friends)
They keep me coming back again and again and again!

Disclosure: I have a Pro Flickr account I paid for myself. I was not mentioned in the song.

Posted by Travis Smith on 01/25 at 11:36 PM • Marketing

Comments

hahahahahahahahahahahaha! great work! I am passing this on to my Flickr contacts! I LOVE MY FLICKR FRIENDS!

Posted by Peek on 02/12/05 at 09:47 AM
Thx,but i think i will let u despaired!:)i love u forever too!

Posted by Ring on 04/07/05 at 08:16 PM
Flickr is an addicting & wonderful place.

Interested in more Flickr Fans? I have started 2 rings for just that :

Both titled “Blogs That Flickr”, you can follow the link here to our homepage.

Dedicated to fans of The Flickr.com photo sharing interface. Listing Flickr members who blog. For those who love the community of fellow Flickr users. And that wish to let it be known.

International Members & Non-English Blogs Are encouraged to join. Come Join The Flickr Revolution!

Posted by Blogs That Flickr on 05/09/05 at 04:28 PM
This is so sweet!Lovely!

Posted by Aspasia on 06/03/05 at 01:07 AM