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Viral Marketing is a buzz phrase that refers to marketing through a self-replicating viral process, much the way a human or computer virus spreads. The virus in viral marketing is the message which is in the form of games, branded software, video, e-books, articles, social media posts, tweets and photos. The viral message can be delivered word-of-mouth, but is enhanced through web technology and social media.
Marketing is about putting your business in front of the largest interested audience for the lowest cost per viewer. Viral Marketing increases your reach with less output. According to WilsonWeb, “Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence.”
Ultimate examples of viral marketing are those that replicate themselves indefinitely such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and PayPal. A perfect example of the classic Viral Marketing process involves hotmail (excerpt from WilsonWeb)
The Classic Hotmail.com Example
- Give away free e-mail addresses and services.
- Attach a simple tag at the bottom of every free message sent out: “Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com” and;
- Then stand back while people e-mail to their own network of friends and associates;
- Who see the message;
- Sign up for their own free e-mail service, and then;
- Propel the message still wider to their own ever-increasing circles of friends and associates.
Like tiny waves spreading ever farther from a single pebble dropped into a pond, a carefully designed viral marketing strategy ripples outward extremely rapidly.”
In the beginning, viral marketing was the term we used to describe the video that is passed round through social networks. Today, viral marketing is so much more. It’s about marketing in the public square of social media, and having your marketing message reach more than your intended target.
The connections you have are very important when it comes to viral marketing for the small business. The more quality connections you make, the more business impressions they will create. The more business impressions they create the higher likelihood that a consumer (or other business requiring a service) will make contact to purchase a good or service.
Advantage of Small Businesses
As a small business you are able to infiltrate your target market more deeply than a larger company, and the deeper, more significant relationships are better than weak ties. Larger companies have t spread too thin to reach the market, and are not able to engage at the capacity of the smaller businesses. Since everyone is online engaging, the marketing messages that get to people will be those of the small business.
Examples of Viral Marketing include anything that helps your message to spread.
A small business doesn’t need their video to be viewed 90 million times in order for Viral Marketing to be effective. The viral process is built inherently into the social media platform of Facebook, which makes marketing on the site all the more effective.
The goal for the marketer is to figure out ways to use the tools at our fingertips to make our message spread farther. I decided to look at biology to see if we can find any hints for making our marketing message spread better.
1. Virus (message) must find a host
2. Find host cells to take over
3. Insert DNA into host cell
4. Reproduce (must attach to host cell, cannot reproduce on its own)
After that, viruses are very mean and wreak havoc on the body, and that’s where viral marketing and human viruses part ways. Viral marketing is a great way to get your message across to a larger number of people than you original effort required.
Since our marketing message cannot spontaneously reproduce within people like a regular virus, it must have an element that causes people to talk about it, which makes it spread. The key to a good viral marketing campaign would have elements that makes the message, through whatever medium (video, article, e-book, song) spread more quickly, and to more people. What is the formula for a spreading viral message?
1. Very easy to transfer (one click)
2. Catchy
3. Answers “What’s in it for me?” Question of host
4. Entertaining
5. Shocking / Different / Unique
6. Real, Authentic (not fake, contrived)
7. Free valuable information
8. Exploits common motivations (ego)
9. Uses existing networks
10. Takes advantage of others resources.
Target those with high Social Networking Potential (SNP)
Create viral messages those who are “Network Hubs,” which means they have larger networks and are more influential. Reaching more influential people first will increase the power of your viral marketing strategies. Look for people who are very involved online in a number of groups, who have published items, who are well-tweeted and who get lots of comments and likes on Facebook. Influence is a main component of viral marketing.
Ask People to spread the message
If you don’t ask, you won’t get. If you want your message to spread, you must ask people to spread it for you.
Host contests
Contests are fun, create conflict resolution scenerios that are interesting and build community by getting people involved. Contests on Facebook are a great way to spread your existence throughout networks beyond your own.
Create an interesting YouTube Video or Series of Videos
YouTube videos are easily spreadable, but getting the formula right for spreading to the masses is not so easy. The good news is, that as a small business, you’re not going after the world, you just want to reach your target market. The key to appropriate viral marketing with videos is to make them interesting, informative, entertaining and consistent.
Create more impressions.
The more impressions there are online of you and your brand message, the more chances others will have of seeing your message and spreading it around to others.
Set up an affiliate program.
Affiliate programs encourage others to visit your website and learn more about who you are and what you do. By having an affiliate program in place, you can have those in your network selling your products and services for you.
Promote free content available on your website.
Offer free information available on your site in exchange for email address and / or contact information. This will cause others to come to your site, download the product, potentially share the content, talk about it and then you can market to them in the future via email newsletters. The key is offering valuable products that spread your message. Viral Marketing success comes from self-publishing free content that people want to share.
Make your message memorable.
The message of your marketing must be memorable, if you want people to share it. You can’t be boring, no matter how boring your product is. You can’t do what everyone else is doing. Your message must have an element of shock, or surprise or something that gets through their brain, and stands out among all the noise that’s online.
Keep your message brief.
Effective viral marketing boils down the nuts-and-bolts of what you’re offering in as few words as possible. It’s the brief messages that transfer from person to person better. Think of a memorable, catchy slogan to attach to your viral marketing strategy.
Include awesome graphics.
The web is a visual medium. You need strong graphics to carry your message across. Your graphics need to match the message to a tee, without leaving any room for mistakes. Your graphics need to be strong and convey value. The more you use graphics in an article, I have found the more often it is read and tweeted.
Offer incentives for sharing your content.
Give FREE content in exchange for people sharing your content on social networks. Whatever you’re giving must be valuable or people won’t do it.
Recommended Reading: “Ideas That Stick”
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212089/virus.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engagement_marketing
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_viruses_reproduce
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-deploy.htm
