Viral marketing techniques entice others to spread your message for you. Every time we log onto a social media website, use a search engine, or even check our email we become hosts to a different strain of viral marketing attempts. The companies infecting us are trying to create such a buzz about their message that it spreads like wildfire; affecting everyone it comes in contact with (just like a virus.)
A successful viral campaign can be thousands of times more effective than a non-viral one. Why? Because the reachable online audience is almost unlimited. More than 30 billion pieces of web content are shared every month, including blogs, articles, videos, social media, search engines, TV, radio and email, creating the perfect environment for a campaign to go viral.
One way to demonstrate the real benefits of using viral marketing techniques is to look at an example of a company that has dominated our computers…and our hearts. In July 2010 Old Spice launched the first video of their viral campaign, with the gorgeous Isaiah Mustafa as the new face, and body, of Old Spice. Within 24 hours the video hit 6.7 million views, and within 36 hours that number rocketed to 23 million. Old Spice sales increased 107% by the end of the 52-week campaign. While results like this cannot be expected from all content that goes viral, it shows just how much a unique and entertaining idea can push a company to the top.
Making It Work
These benefits can’t be ignored, so the next step is to ask, “How can I do it?” The steps to a successful viral marketing campaign range from as many as 22 to as few as 4 depending on whom you ask. The most significant and consistent steps can be boiled down to 6.
1. Create A Message- Make your message memorable and interesting. Don’t be neutral; inspire emotions from the audience, whether it’s love, hate, happiness, or anger.
2. Be Unique- Do something unexpected that will catch people’s attention. Nobody cares about watching a video of a boring conference speech, but a video of a shirtless man offering you diamonds on a horse? Absolutely.
3. Don’t Just Advertise- Don’t let your product be the focal point of the message. Create a “hook” then reel them in.
4. Be Accessible- Make it easy to access. Don’t require users to do any extra work, like register or download specific software. Use communication networks that are already in place to spread your message; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, etc.
5. Bond with Comments- Allow your followers to influence your next message. Monitoring their comments will give you more information on what they want, while allowing comments to influence your campaign entices more to people to share.
6. Promote Sharing- make it quick and easy to share your message, or people won’t take the time to do so. Include all social media and email options.
Let’s Make it Hot!
While all of these steps are crucial to creating a thriving viral message; the sixth and final step may be the most important. A great campaign means nothing if it’s not being shared. If you want it to become red hot, you must make sure you incorporate any and all means of spreading your content. For example, remember to include all of the most common social media badges to promote quick and easy sharing.
Another way to spread of your virus is through email. The trouble with email sharing is, you must type in or copy/paste every address you’d like to send to; a process most people won’t waste their time on. You can eliminate this friction point by using a referral program that allows users to access their personal address books directly from your website. By integrating CloudSponge into your referral form, you can further increase the reach of your campaign by opening up another means of transferring your virus. There are currently 3.6 billion email accounts today, which is expected to increase to 4.6 billion by 2016. Think of all the possible prospects!
Tips
Some final tips to help your campaign get hot, hot hot:
• Use a URL shortening service to shrink your link. This promotes sharing as it takes up less room (great for Twitter and LinkedIn posts where you only get 140 characters).
• Leave extra room in your post to allow people to add their own comment when sharing.
• Keep it short: not everyone has time to read a 10-page article, or watch a 5-minute video.
• Use a URL shortening service to shrink your link. This promotes sharing as it takes up less room (great for Twitter and LinkedIn posts where you only get 140 characters).
• Leave extra room in your post to allow people to add their own comment when sharing.
• Keep it short: not everyone has time to read a 10-page article, or watch a 5-minute video.
Most importantly, do not simply expect something to go viral just because you followed all the “steps”; it comes down to equal parts of luck, magic, creativity, planning and promoting.