Viral Marketing

August 16, 2008

The generic globe logo used when Firefox is co... The trick with viral marketing is to not only create something that goes viral, but to have a goal and outcome for it as well.

A good example of this was when I signed up for a simple piece of software that would monitor the blogs I like so that I could comment faster on the good posts.  I do not remember how I first found out about it, but it got me on the guys list.  Later I joined a broader system that was a monthly fee.

No, this is not a huge viral marketing example like Hotmail was.  Instead, it is interesting because it was fairly viral and it was targeted to his audience.  He knew exactly what his audience would be interested in and he wanted to grow his list of people that were likely to buy his other products.

Not a trick - it was good marketing.  A good give-away that generated a list of people willing to pay for more down the road.

Too often, something goes viral and people refer to it as viral marketing.  Unless it has a marketing goal it is just a popular thing.

Here are some examples of Viral Marketing goals.

  1. Email List Development - This is probably the big one.  It is easy to integrate and you can get a lot of value in the future from your list.
  2. Up sell - of course, if you up sell too hard you are probably not going to go viral.  Unless you are Frank Kerns and very obvious about it.
  3. Branding - If your video just went viral, you are probably not getting emails or anything.  Hopefully it is strengthening your brand and getting people to go do a search on you.
  4. Traffic - Your viral marketing item may have all kinds of links back to your site for case studies, instructions, a forum for users, etc.  It depends on your product.
  5. RSS Subscribers or Twitter Followers - If your viral item is interesting, you can encourage other people to follow your twitter or rss to find out about updates and new items.

Viral Marketing Ideas

So what things can go viral?  Here is a list of the common ones.  Before you assume you know exactly what everyone wants, go look at sites that list these kinds of things and see what is popular.  Youtube for video and download.com for software.

  1. Free Software
  2. FireFox Toolbar
  3. Funny or (highly) informative video
  4. PDF Download - Report or Case Study
  5. Blog Theme or Widget
  6. Friend option in web service (Like LinkedIn, Plaxo)
  7. Audio Recording
  8. Deal too good to be true (For real, not just telling them that)

OK, I am sure there are more but this give you a good idea.  Remember, Viral Marketing is not about getting the most video views.  It is about having a goal and a target and giving those people something they have to spread to their friends.

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- Thank You!

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

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Comments

6 Responses to “Viral Marketing”

  1. Viral Marketing Article « Ron McDaniel on August 16th, 2008 1:06 pm

    [...] 16, 2008 · No Comments This is a quick note to let you know about a viral marketing article I just posted at the buzzoodle [...]

  2. Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters on August 17th, 2008 6:41 pm

    Creating a hook (viral or consistent content) that gets them to my site and keeps them coming back isn’t easy. I’ve been afraid to just stick to one thing and go with it. The more I read this blog and other marketing blogs I realize that I just need to lay out a plan and stick with it. If if doesn’t work after a few months, I reevaluate and decide where to go from there.

  3. 7 Proven Ways to Generate a Ton of Traffic! on August 24th, 2008 4:10 pm

    [...] Viral Marketing | Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing [...]

  4. Viral Marketing | Marketing Mastery Advisory Board on September 5th, 2008 12:19 am

    [...] More Information read: Viral Marketing Tags: Internet Marketing, Marketing, viral [...]

  5. Alimuddin @ Internet Viral Marketing on October 15th, 2008 12:59 am

    “….goal and outcome for it as well.” well said…

  6. Jason Verdelli on March 20th, 2009 9:04 am

    I am personally a big fan on creating incentives and automating the way people forward information to others. Give people that are within your inner circle and give them an incentive to forward your video, coupon, flyer, offer, etc. to others. You will find that they will appreciate your incentive and will gladly forward it to others. What ever way you automate this, make sure the message is tailored to allow the next person who receives it to send it off to someone within their inner circle. This is also a great way to grow your email list. - Jason Verdelli

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