Generating Traffic through Viral Marketing
Take a product, service or idea, stick a whizz-bang idea onto it, place this sizzling package in the midst of an infectious, entertainment hungry bunch of megaphone wielding enthusiasts and let them blast it out to the world. When others hear them they will be infected to do the same. It's just one of those things about a cool idea. This, in a nutshell, is viral marketing. It's the web-version of word-of-mouth marketing.
How does it work?
After the initial seeding the viral idea propagates itself exponentially, putting world dominance within your reach.
Since it is a friend that says the idea is great, and not some nobody with his eye on your piggy bank, it must be a great idea.
Then it is cool to buy all the merchandise and a status booster to pass on this great idea.
The effectiveness of a viral idea can be measured, so the idea can be tweaked to become even more infectious.
Viral ideas can suck out a tremendous amount of interesting information from a person's brain. You can then use this information, from time to time, to create more stuff to fill up the great emptiness of their existence.
What is needed?
You need a really, really great, cool, original and creative idea. The idea needs to be brilliantly implemented.
The initial target audience has to be very carefully selected and seeded in the right way.
All the information flowing from the campaign has to be captured, analysed and responded on.
What kinds are there?
Viral marketing ideas are usually in the form of a message, video or audio clip, game, user-generated content, event, or interactive tool or activity. They spread through the following methods:
Pass-along: People share things that made a big enough emotional bang inside their heads, such as something funny, entertaining, weird or shocking.
Incentives: Offer a reward for passing the idea on.
Undercover: Build up an explosive curiosity by not making it immediately apparent what the message really is.
I-made-it: Give people tools to create their own stuff and they cannot but share it with the world.
