December 17th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Companies have long desired to create a buzz about themselves and develop ways to spread their message around in a quick and inexpensive way. Enter, Viral marketing. The Internet answer to creating product or company buzz.
Viral marketing is aptly named because when employed successfully promotional content for a company is spread about the Internet like a virus. People hear this term tossed around often on the news, on the Internet and in everyday conversation but many have little to no knowledge of what it actually means. Viral marketing campaigns use existing social networking sites like, You Tube and Myspace to increase their brand awareness. Companies create a discreetly promotional marketing medium such as, a video, a game, a brandable software program, an image or occasionally even a text message and they encourage users to pass it on.
Initially, viral marketing was practiced by free web based e-mail companies. Hotmail was the first company to use a viral marketing campaign. They placed a link at the bottom of all the outgoing messages from their users to encourage the recipients of those e-mails to create their own account. This tactic did not originally have a name, but it was quite effective and many other companies began using similar methods for getting the word out about their business.
There are many keys strategies to creating an effective viral marketing promotion. However, there are six principle elements that any viral marketing promotion should have if it has any chance at success. Companies that wish to succeed in viral marketing must start by creating a product or service they are giving away, such as the aforementioned items. The viral marketing campaign also needs to be easily transferable so that users can easily pass it on. Companies that wish to start a viral marketing campaign must be prepared for that campaign to scale from very small to very large. For instance, if you set up a website that users will ultimately join after the viral marketing campaign that website must be able to handle the traffic created. It is pointless to increase your traffic or user base if you cannot properly serve or accommodate a large volume of people.
A successful viral marketing campaign must also capitalize on common behaviors and desires. People want to be cool, funny, rich and loved. Many successful viral marketing campaigns have been successful as direct result of giving people the perception or ability to achieve one of these things. For instance, if you create a hilarious viral video as a marketing tool people may pass it around, in the hope of being the one who introduced it to others.
Finally, a viral marketing campaign should always take advantage of others’ resources. Many companies accomplish this by affiliating themselves with another company to gain the ability to place a graphic, link or text on that companies website. Not only does this create exposure, but when done properly it saves your resources for other purposes.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I know, that term Viral sounds quite nasty. It sounds like some sort of computer virus; and we all know the dangers of those, don’t we? Companies like Norton Anti-virus have made their fortunes keeping viruses away from our computers. But no, in this case, the term viral is a good thing.
A viral video is the cutting edge of Internet communication. It means that you create a video, send it out via e-mail and postings on sites like YouTube, MySpace, Google Video etc. and thus generate interest in what it is you’re trying to sell. Websites like these get literally thousands of hits a day; people viewing the videos.
A well-done video, something that interests people and really catches their eye can spread just like a virus, hence the name. People tell others about it, the video gets more viewings, and can even end up being mentioned on the national news! Think about that level of interest in your firm; think of the potential income it can generate.
If you have a new company or an old one, you always have the same problem getting customers. Even a Fortune 500 firm is always looking to expand and increase revenue. With a viral video, you have the potential to generate a huge amount of interest in you and your company, and do it for very little money.
It doesn’t matter if you are trying to get a job, sell your latest novel, get clients for your firm or introduce a new product or service. The point is, today we live in a very visual society. Look at the young people today; they use computer and the Internet like the yellow pages and telephone once dominated the scene.
So, a good first step is to do a search online and see what sorts of companies are out there to a video package. You can get something as simple as one video, and then they’ll post it to the various websites. If you can do your own editing, you can save some money. If not, there are plenty of sites that will do that for you.
Or, if you want something bigger, you can get as many as five, ten or even twenty videos created; and the company will take care of all producing, editing, and then submitting it to the websites. A video about your firm could be on forty different sites. Think about the interest that could generate. If several thousand people see your videos and that’s being very conservative, and only one percent of them become customers, you’ll cover the cost of your investment, and make a little extra.
Of course, then there’s the continuing income. Think about it; those videos will be out there, on the Internet, generating more interest in you and your company. Over time, that could amount to a huge boost to your overall sales.
April 1st, 2009 at 12:00 am
Companies have long desired to create a buzz about themselves and develop ways to spread their message around in a quick and inexpensive way. Enter, Viral marketing the Internet answer to creating product or company buzz. Viral marketing is aptly named because when employed successfully promotional content for a company is spread about the Internet like a virus. People hear this term tossed around often on the news, on the Internet and in everyday conversation but many have little to no knowledge of what it actually means.
Viral marketing campaigns use existing social networking sites like, You Tube and Myspace to increase their brand awareness. Companies create a discreetly promotional marketing medium such as, a video, a game, a brandable software program, an image or occasionally even a text message and they encourage users to pass it on.
Initially, viral marketing was practiced by free web based e-mail companies. Hotmail was the first company to use a viral marketing campaign. They placed a link at the bottom of all the outgoing messages from their users to encourage the recipients of those e-mails to create their own account. This tactic did not originally have a name, but it was quite effective and many other companies began using similar methods for getting the word out about their business.
There are many keys strategies to creating an effective viral marketing promotion. However, there are six principle elements that any viral marketing promotion should have if it has any chance at success. Companies that wish to succeed in viral marketing must start by creating a product or service they are giving away, such as the aforementioned items. The viral marketing campaign also needs to be easily transferable so that users can easily pass it on.
Companies that wish to start a viral marketing campaign must be prepared for that campaign to scale from very small to very large. For instances, if you set up a website that users will ultimately join after the viral marketing campaign that website must be able to handle the traffic created. It is pointless to increase your traffic or user base if you cannot properly serve or accommodate a large volume of people.
A successful viral marketing campaign must also capitalize on common behaviors and desires. People want to be cool, funny, rich and loved. Many successful viral marketing campaigns have been successful as direct result of giving people the perception or ability to achieve one of these things. For instance, if you create a hilarious viral video as a marketing tool people may pass it around, in the hope at being the one who introduced it to others.
Finally, a viral marketing campaign should always take advantage of others’ resources. Many companies accomplish this by affiliating themselves with another company to gain the ability to place a graphic, link or text on that companies website. Not only does this create exposure, but when done properly it saves your resources for other purposes.
