subject: Is Viral Marketing For You? [print this page] Is Viral Marketing For You? Is Viral Marketing For You?
A successful viral marketing campaign has been the Holy Grail for many businesses who are trying to look for ways to bring huge numbers of people to their site. However, while the last few years have been full of success stories, it's important to remember that for every viral marketing campaign, there are far, far more that fall flat. We only really hear about the campaigns that managed to crack the code and go viral, but you can rest assured that plenty of time and money has been poured into various schemes that aim to capture the public imagination, and then don't.
When something is said to have 'gone viral', it means that a certain idea or concept has been taken to heart by the general public, who then enthusiastically share the content with all of their online contacts. Normally highly amusing, viral content can reach a huge number of people in a very short amount of time. Therefore, it's hardly surprising that many businesses are keen to harness the potential power of viral videos, photos and songs - but the key thing for marketers to remember is the fact that viral content is largely successful for its sheer randomness and spontaneity.
Often, marketing departments who sit down to try and create something that will appeal to internet users across the world will find themselves at a disadvantage. The last thing your average net user wants to do is pass on content they think has a hidden agenda. This means that if you're trying to promote your company through a video that's packed with zany events but has a deeply promotional message, your campaign could end up backfiring on you horribly. The best way to avoid this is to be open, as a little up front branding could save you a lot of trouble.
The other big problem with creating viral content is the fact that it's extremely hard to predict what will appeal to people enough to cause them to forward it on to everyone in their address book, and what won't. Many viral marketing promotions are based around video content, especially with humorous content, but games can hook people successfully and could make it easier for you to avoid stealth-marketing accusations.
You could also consider releasing free, branded software, images or ebooks. Giving away something that appears valuable can increase your chances of appealing to your target audience, and they may be more likely to want to share it. Don't forget that word of mouth can have a massive impact on your brand temperature though, so if you promise or suggest free content, make sure you deliver it.
Done well, a viral campaign can draw a large number of visitors to your site or give your brand awareness and an almighty boost. But it's such a hard thing to achieve, you'd be wise to continue to invest your time and energy into alternative methods of improving your traffic, rankings and brand, including SEO, paid search and social media campaigns as well as offline and TV marketing.
