Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Viral Marketing 101

By Stephen Grisham Sr.

There are a lot of potential advantages to using viral marketing. Viral Marketing is effective for online as well as traditional "store front" companies. Well thought out viral marketing campaigns are successful because others will talk about the site or business to others, possibly even millions can become aware very quickly -- hence the association with viruses. Viral marketing promotions can be both affordable as well as remarkably successful. They consist of communicating by word-of-mouth as well as different methods of directing audiences to your site.

First of all, always remember to keep your viral marketing campaign smooth and understated so as not to annoy nor drive potential customers away. The secret is to present one-of-a-kind, practical content that users will feel compelled to share with their loved ones. It is human nature to spread the word - for example a humble novel can suddenly explode into popularity after the miracle of word-of-mouth.

Set up an uncomplicated "tell a friend" section. Be sure it is easily accessible and insert it on every page, but DO NOT send emails to the friends after the first contact - if they later want to, you can add them to your mailing list; this way they will see you are not a spammer - and above all don't be pushy and don't be annoying.

Offer eBooks, wallpapers, backgrounds, icons, widgets, and small fun applications, like flash games. Make certain these are stamped with links to your webpage.

Put a clever brand name or logo on your site or product. This should be listed repeatedly on your site and on every item you sell.

For those whose website content changes or is updated frequently, be sure to implement RSS. Superior RSS feeds are registered and shown by a variety of sites online.

The campaign must target emotions and elicit the need for action. Be determined, and you have to be dogged with your persistence, but do not cross the line into being pushy.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment