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Viral marketing
Viral marketing is about word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth has been a recognised part of the marketing mix for many years. We all use and buy products as a result of recommendations by friends. Word-of-mouth is sparked by provided users with an experience that is good enough for them to want to share the benefits with their friends.
The Internet places word-of-mouth marketing on a different level, as it is so easy to pass content on to others. If you want to tell your friends about something that you have seen online, you can send everyone in your address book an email in a few seconds. That is a very powerful thing. Viral marketing is about seizing that power and using it as an effective part of your marketing communications.
In the beginning
In the dot.com boom years viral marketing was probably the most widely talked about and most misunderstood aspect of Internet marketing . The high profile generated by the a small number of "virals" gave many marketers the mistaken belief that it was an easy way to generate a massive return with a minimum input.
If you came up with a great viral idea, this was true, but then again if we could all come up with great ideas we'd all be running Microsoft or Google or You Tube! The truth is that these high profile successes were the tip of the iceberg and for every success story there were a hundred flops. In order to succeed your viral content had to stand out from the rest, it had to surprise, excite or shock. Most of the things that "went viral" weren't marketing at all, many of them were definitely x-rated and there were very few that you would like to connect with your brand.
There is a risk to this sort of viral marketing, either that you waste your money on a flop, or that you damage your brand by using unsuitable material.
High budget possibilities
The current landscape for viral marketing in many ways reflects the marketing mix. There are your high budget extravaganza's which build on the ability of the UK TV advertising tradition. Good adverts entertain, they provide aspiration. People love them and talk about them. When they are able to, they pass them on to their friends. Remember the Levi's ad in the laundry - today that would "go viral" (search for "levi laundry" on www.youtube.com and you can see that it has!).
Web 2.0
But there is also a lower level of activity, which is very much on the increase. The massive growth in "user generated content" (UGC) has cause a massive increase in word-of-mouth communications. People feature things they like on their personal web space which acts as a personal endorsement to their visitors. Sites like www. Myspace.com and www.youtube.com are full of these endorsements, which visitors do act on. A recent article in NMA states that "Retailers get more traffic from social sites than search engines"
The power of viral is growing.
The usual suspects
In addition to these more exciting aspects of viral marketing, there is the bread and butter of email. The most common way for people to refer websites or content is by email. So make sure that you encourage visitors to refer your site and make it easy for them to do so. Incentives will also help, whether overt (send to 6 friends and get £15 is one I recently got from Boden) or more subtle incentives like competitions. And don't forget, everyone likes to share a good purchase or a bargain. If people are looking at products on your site or have bought something from you, it is quite likely that they will know other people who will also be interested. Make sure there's a "send a link" button.
Relevant resources ...
The Next Small ThingMicrosoft runs viral for web developers
MySpace builds community around new Fiat 500
Bob Dylan launches viral campaign for hits collection
Retailers get more traffic from social sites than search engines
EasyJet uses viral drive to promote online hotel service
Selected UK Internet Statistics 2008
