Internet Marketing And Viral Marketing by:Scott Lindsay
Viral marketing is a unique tool designed to create so much buzz about the article itself that even the largest sites will want to publish it.
Those who use this technique have seen incredible spikes in their site visitation simply because viral marketing can provide a quick boost in traffic.
In a campaign where viral marketing is successful traffic can go from a few hundred visitors to several thousand.
How does it work?
The idea is to create content that is so compelling that when you offer it free of charge you will find the content being used by large websites. Because you have links in your free-to-use article you will find readers who are interested in your writing coming to your website to see what you offer.
This has the effect of turning on a faucet. The traffic comes pouring in, but like most things in life it won't last. Attention will soon focus on other new articles. Viral marketing can be a bit like the "flavor of the month club".
So do I keep trying to create a buzz with new content?
Well, you can, but you also need to hope that other secondary sources will continue to carry and archive your viral articles.
Think of viral marketing like the spread of a virus. The hope is that your content will spread all over the Internet providing positive back linking opportunities for your website that will last much longer.
What sets viral marketing apart?
Viral marketing is often negative and controversial. It thrives on either raising the blood pressure of the reader or jarring the reader into considering something they have never considered before.
The articles need to be cleverly written with titles that grab the attention of the skimmer. These are individuals who scan until something catches their eye. In this case it could be a viral marketing article.
Why don't more people use viral marketing?
In my estimation there are three reasons people don't use viral marketing.
1) They don't know what it is. They may have heard about it before, but most have no real idea of what it is or how it works.
2) They don't know how to write a viral marketing piece. There really is an art form to the process of writing this type of article. It's a skill that can be learned, but many don't take the time to learn it.
3) The don't feel it represents their business well. The truth is the negative feel of viral marketing and the controversial nature of much of the content can make the use of viral marketing problematic for some business owners.
Viral marketing is a strategy that seeks to grab a share in the proverbial fifteen minutes of fame by rolling out a dynamic article that can improve traffic to your website for an extended period of time. The positive residual effect is in multiplied backlinks from sites that will carry your article long-term. The reason this is a positive for business owners is that a growth in backlinks is generally viewed as improved trust by search engines and they will reward your business site with enhanced rankings. The best result would be better overall sales.
Perhaps the primary consideration for using viral marketing would be whether or not the article is a positive reflection on you and your business interests. If not then viral marketing may not be a perfect fit.