Nowadays everyone seems to be talking about Viral Marketing. But what is it exactly? The problem with viral marketing is it is such a broad term. It really only became vastly popular with the proliferation of online video sharing services like YouTube because that’s when people were finally able to witness the sheer power of virility on the net. Well it is here now and we all need to embrace it!
Viral marketing is best known as a technique that uses social networks to increase brand awareness through viral processes. It is basically word-of-mouth for the Internet. Viral marketing isn’t limited to just social networking though. Think about a newspaper. When you get your paper, that is considered circulation. You may be one of 100,000 people in circulation. Readership, however, could be 300,000, because each person that buys a paper may have two other people on their household that also read that paper. If the news article is online, readership isn’t restricted by the number of people that can physically hold the paper. You may see an article online and copy that link into an e-mail to 50 of your colleagues and friends. Furthermore, you may share the article on a site like Facebook or Myspace where even more people will see it. You may post it on your blog, or share it in an instant message. Everyone that sees that article through you may link it to their friends. That is how online news articles become contagious - like a virus, hence the term “viral marketing”.
The funny thing is viral marketing has been utilized ever since the internet was born. The quicker you make communication between individuals, the faster a snippet of information can become viral. In the news article example, those links are shared in e-mails, instant messages, etc. These are tools that have been available for years. When Janet Jackson experienced a wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl in 2004, the clip was viewed by more people online then people that actually watched the Super Bowl that day. I remember distinctly seeing it live and then logging onto a discussion community I was part of to find the direct link to download it within minutes. That was one of the first examples of a truly viral video. Compelling content in videos can certainly increase their viral nature. Although, if marketed properly, anything can become viral. In order to drive massive traffic to a website, paid advertising isn’t always the best. Viral marketing is key.
There are five major types of applications that can be used to promote traffic in a viral nature:
Social Networks - The reason most people refer to viral marketing as something that is done over social networks is because social networks employ the major social components that are critical in successful viral marketing. The first being a base of users to consume the information.
Blogs- Like your own newspaper, blogs allow you to share information and the article links can be shared virally. Furthermore, nifty applications like Facebook’s newsfeed allow blog posts to be advertised to a significant amount of people without any effort. Blog seeding is a process by which your information is let loose and a network of bloggers will blog about it. Their users will read and share that information.
Status Updating Services - By updating your status on all your networks constantly, you are keeping in communication with the people around you. Not everything you say may be appealing, but the fact that you are at least talking is keeping you freshly recognized in your friend’s minds. Services like Ping.fm make is very simple to keep your status up to date across all of your social profiles.
Video Websites - As discussed previously, compelling videos can go viral very quickly so uploading a funny video to a site like YouTube may just get you exposure you could never dream of.
Recommendation Engines/User Voting Sites- Sites like Stumbleupon and Digg are great for getting your link recognized. It takes a little work, but what doesn’t? Don’t ignore the free social utilities that can really help you.
How do they all tie together? If you look at a social network like Facebook for instance, they have blogs (notes), status updates, and applications for uploading videos and sharing links. The newsfeed on Facebook helps distribute all that information to your network of friends and increase its virility. A smart photographer or graphic designer may upload their latest works into photo albums on Facebook because of the exposure those pictures will get in the news feed. Musicians may upload their latest tracks as music videos in an effort to promote themselves. The average individual may update their status to let people know they are selling their car or are looking for a job. A business owner may create a group promoting their business and invite all their friends to that group. I recently watched one of my groups pass the 100,000 user mark. By socially interacting with comments, users further spread the reach of the content in the newsfeed.
As an executive producer of Social Media Revealed, a DVD that opens one’s eyes to the importance of social media and viral marketing, I am a strong advocate of awareness of internet technologies that are freely accessible and easy to use to gain exposure. In 2006 I drove over six million unique users to one of my website and didn’t spend a dime on advertising. Viral marketing will forever be a part of my business model and I hope to see others implement it as a key strategy in theirs. If you have questions or comments please feel free to leave them.
