Viral marketing is a method that makes the audience of the message pass it on to others. In basic viral marketing, there are three essential factors – the messenger, the message, and the environment. If viral marketing is to be successful, all three must be properly done. There are a variety of approaches to achieving viral success, such as offering free products, targeting the right audience, posting videos, focusing on social outreach, and emotionally engaging people.
As a business strategy, viral marketing can be used on its own, or be implemented into a greater marketing campaign. Today, it is a technique used by both small and large companies. However, it is particularly appealing to small businesses, as it tends to be cheaper than traditional marketing methods.
Nowadays, there are energy drink corporations, video game creators, movies, and even political campaigns using viral marketing in order to create a marketing buzz.
How does a Viral Marketing Campaign Work?
It’s actually very easy to come up with a viral marketing campaign. All that needs to be done is to create the kind of content that is attractive to a targeted audience, upload it on the internet, and plan out the first steps on how to get it flowing. Then, all that is left is to wait for it to start getting shared all over the place. Quite often, virality just happens on its own. Someone uploads a piece of content, and all of a sudden, it’s all over the internet.
When it comes to videos that brands create with the intention to become viral, there are two forms – the obvious and the concealed. The former means that the person watching the video knows that they are looking at a piece of advertising content. The latter hides the brand’s intention until the right moment comes to reveal itself to the viewer. In this case, it is very important that the user doesn’t feel tricked or cheated, because it will only turn the campaign against the marketer.
Basically, it’s important that a business does not turn into a spammer and shares their content like crazy. Repeating the message enough until it turns viral “naturally” is the right way to go.
What are the Advantages of Viral Marketing?
When it comes to viral marketing, it comes with a lot of benefits that every company should take into consideration. For starters, it isn’t an invasive approach. It is the very user that decides whether they are going to participate and share the content with other people or on other channels.
Second, the cost of such a campaign is low. Basically, the audience does all the important work for the company, so the costs of message dispersion turn quite low. There is no longer the need to invest in an advertising space.
Third, a viral piece of content has the potential to reach an enormous audience all over the world, without the need for the company to invest money. Basically, a viral piece of content reaches a wide audience on its own, and can greatly benefit both individuals and companies.
Finally, viral marketing helps with brand building. Creating the right content makes people connect with it, and therefore, raise awareness and form a relationship with the brand.
Is there a Formula for Going Viral?
The fact is that viral marketing is quite a trend today, and every company plans their content strategy with the desire for the content to go viral. Still, it is essential that a business sees virality as an aim, not the result of the campaign.
So, the question arises – is there a formula for going viral, or is it all just about serving the right piece content at the right moment? After all, there certainly have to be variables that have a particular impact, and understanding them is the only way to truly create an effective viral marketing campaign. These variables are originality, timing, interactivity, creativity, a human angle, and customer experience.
However, there is also another important aspect of viral marketing. Its how a company incorporates a logo design. A logo is, in fact, a lot more than just a name or an icon that is placed on letterheads, billboards, and other promotional items. A logo is a brand icon that people carry with them every day. It’s a symbol that people remember and resonate with. When a person forms a connection with a brand, the logo itself becomes the messenger. People aren’t even aware of its virality until they look at themselves, and see how many brand icons they are carrying wherever they go every day.
In Summation
Viral marketing is one of the largest marketing trends lately, for both small and big businesses alike. It comes with a number of benefits, including low costs, reaching a huge audience, and building the company’s brand. Sometimes, a piece of content becomes viral on its own, but quite often it is the company that has to give it that initial push in order for it to explode and conquer the market.
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