Viral Marketing
The term viral marketing is a fairly recent addition to the marketeers vocabulary but the concept has been around for a very long time. However it is undoubtedly the growth of the Internet and the very recent explosion of social networking sites in particular, that has raised both the term Viral Marketing and the concept itself to new heights of importance in the world of marketing.
Via the Internet there now exists the means by which marketing messages can be spread very quickly and extremely cost effectively into target audiences around the world. Achieving the sort of reach and penetration that an effective viral marketing campaign could deliver using more traditional market methods would be very costly exercise indeed. As such, Viral Marketing it now recognised as a form of marketing in its own right and should always be at least considered as part of any marketing strategy currently being planned.
Defining Viral Marketing
With traditional marketing, very simply the marketers market (advertise/sell/inform) and we – the consumers – listen (or watch) There are many ways in which that fundamentally one way communication takes place - adverts on TV, radio or in print, sponsorship of events and good old freebies. In general traditional marketing works pretty well, it must do otherwise companies would not spend billions of £’s on it each year. And that is the main challenge with traditional marketing - the fantastic cost.
Enter viral marketing – viral marketing turns the old cost models on their heads. With Viral marketing instead of a business paying to get it’s marketing messages out through traditional methods the use of viral marketing means that the recipients of that marketing message spread that message for free! This happens whether they realise they are doing it or not. This means that the marketing message spreads through the target audience (and often beyond it), just like a virus.
But what triggers an “outbreak”. Well that’s the $64,000 question isn’t it – there is no set formula that will guarantee your message “goes viral”. But the bottom line is that the viral marketing agent – the actual element (be it a video, an email or an image, a game or even a shouted catchphrase or chant) that is passed on – should follow three key principles:
It should be Free – history shows that by far the majority of successful viral marketing campaigns have been based on viral agents that were free. Whether it was a game, a video, a quiz or even a complete service (think of Facebook!) It was the fact that the agent (product) was free was crucial to success. Don’t forget the true business value of viral marketing does not lie in the “agent” being passed around rather it is the message/advertising and “buzz” it generates in the marketplace.
Keep It Simple - If people can not easily and quickly pass the agent on then your campaign will stall and die out. You need the agent to be passed quickly to as many people as possible – you need to create that upward spiral of interest in the social networking arenas – the agent has to reach a critical mass point otherwise it will fail. So at the core of virtually all previous successful viral marketing campaigns, the “agent” has always been quick and easy to transfer.
• Make It Relevant - Generally the successful viral marketing campaigns have exploited a subject, interest or issue that the public is already interested or concerned about and are already discussing. Whatever the agent for the campaign is (be it video, e-mail, image, game etc.) if it is current and relevant, then it often becomes a natural extension of a subject already being discussed.
Whichever way it is achieved, getting a message to “go viral” is any marketing managers ultimate goal because the benefits of achieving a successful viral marketing campaign are so significant.
The Benefits of Viral Marketing
Saving Cost
The first and most obvious benefit of viral marketing is that it costs comparatively little to get your message out. This means that larger companies can use a viral marketing campaign to deliver their marketing message very cheaply and to still supplement those messages with traditional marketing without blowing budgets.
Smaller companies, without large marketing budgets, can use it as a standalone campaign to raise awareness without facing prohibitive marketing costs. But it isn’t just about saving costs...
Reaching your Target Audience
All marketing campaigns are seeking to hit a specific target audience – i.e. those most interested in their products/services. Unless you are a new business of course then companies already have customers who already bought into their product or service. It is important to point out that a successful viral marketing campaign does not necessarily have to result in your marketing message being spread around the globe. (Not that many would complain if it was!) With viral marketing one key objective is getting existing customers to spread your message around their friends and peers. It stands to reason that generally the friendship groups and peer groups of existing customers are likely to share common interests and are likely to be the sort of people that fit your target market profiles. Getting your marketing message circulated through this “specific” section of the population still qualifies as a highly successful viral marketing campaign.
Reaching a very Wide Audience
In general terms the cost of marketing varies depending on the number of people you are targeting. If you are a small local business you may take adverts in a local paper with a circulation of 10,000 for that you may pay between a few hundred or a few thousand pounds. Taking a prime time advertisers slot on national TV because you want to reach out to a national audience and you’ll be paying several hundred thousands.
A successful Viral marketing campaign however, which is capable of reaching many millions of potential customers ,can be delivered at virtually no cost (relatively speaking). One classic example of successful viral marketing – which many people may not have considered as viral marketing – is Facebook. Facebook grew by word of mouth and was getting well over 100,000 new members daily, all without spending on marketing. That is the power of viral marketing. How ironic too that Facebook itself has now become such a potent element itself in helping to create other successful viral marketing stories.