Viral Marketing Techniques
Posted on March 19, 2008 by
Rosanne Lim 
Internet Marketing 
6 Comments
Some marketers underestimate the power of viral marketing; this may be the biggest mistake they will ever make when it comes to online promotion. A word of warning though, viral marketing is not the technique for impatient marketers who want results now. This is because the “virus” will take time to spread until its sheer number makes it impossible for anyone not to notice it.
There are several elements in viral marketing that you should take time to explore, among these are:
1. Free Products/Services – the word “free” catches everyone’s attention. “Free” is the most powerful tool in a marketer’s arsenal. Even big websites such as MSN and Yahoo gives away free services such as E-mails and private messengers.
2. Easy transfer or sharing to other people – “viruses” will only spread when they are easy to transmit. The media that carries your message should be easily transferable and replicated (eg. graphics, software download, etc); this is the reason why the internet is such as good place for viral marketers. Online communication is also instant and inexpensive.
3. Takes advantage of human motivation – clever viral marketers take advantage of human motivational factors. For example, Napster became incredibly popular because people wanted to be “in”.
4. Makes use of existing networks – all people have networks both online and offline. A person’s online network can be seen in his e-mail list, number of MySpace friends, and his regular blog visitors. Viral marketers can use these networks to get message across.
5. Use other people’s resources – using the resources of other people can widen and improve the impact of your message. For example, affiliate programs such as Amazon.com would not be as successful as it is if not for the number of associates it has.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You will be entered into our Monthly Competition with a chance to Win some great Prizes! You can also subscribe by Email.Related Posts
Nice tips! Another thing I’ve found useful is to offer downloads that are embedded with my URL/affiliate links/marketing message/etc, and encourage readers to pass it along to their friends.
If the information provided is valuable, quite often they will. And thus your network will grow.
Enjoy,
Barbara
Definately. If you have something people are interested in, slap your link on it.
Great post Rosanne.
If you have your own products to sell, you can increase the viral power of a free give-away by allowing those giving the freebie to brand it with their own affiliate link so they can make a profit when others buy through their link.
One viral report I did this way resulted in over 6,000 new customers in a 1 year period, just by being passed along by others hoping to get an affiliate commission.
It’s a win-win situation.
An interesting recent example of viral marketing is an email sent from John Hopkins University with interesting tips on preventing and fighting cancer. The email seems to have done an excellent job at spreading itself all over the internet!
The best part is, this viral campaign does not market a product, it markets a public service message! The email informative, provides information that I for one had never heard of before, and ends with this elegant yet powerful last sentence… “This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.”
This post was featured in today’s Daily Blog Summary–a daily summary of the top 50 Make Money Blogging blogs.
great post here. thx. i like these techinques.