Viral Marketing Initiatives
As marketers, we are always wondering how to reach our target market and get the best results. How to captivate them, how to engage or even educate them. But this task is no as easy as may sound. Every single day, a campaign appears, and brands are eager to add customers.
What is Viral Marketing?
When we talk about viral marketing the first thing to come to our minds is the ability to make something well-known very quickly. So, how can we make something viral in marketing? What is viral marketing? According to Investopedia, “viral marketing seeks to spread information about a product or service from person to person by word of mouth or sharing via the Internet or email. The goal of viral marketing is to inspire individuals to share a marketing message to friends, family, and other individuals to create exponential growth in the number of its recipients (Kagan, 2019).” Thanks to the Internet and social media, we can make use of likes, shares, or memes to increase the virality of the message.
Characteristics
In order that a video or any content become viral, it needs to have certain characteristics:
. Humor: Creates a positive memory of the content in the mind of the viewer. Makes it easy to remember.
. Interactive content: Produces engagement with the viewer and also increases the value they place on it.
. Relevancy: Must be relevant to the viewer’s life, otherwise there is no chance of interest.
. Easy to share: Facilitates viral growth. People are busy, so they are less likely to share something if it is not simple to do.
. Have social commenting: Enables people to share their thoughts and increases engagement.
Thanks to the Internet and social media, we can make use of likes, shares, or memes to increase the virality of the message. Viral marketing differs from traditional marketing. Technology helps to spread the brand message. The good point of making something viral is that later when you want to promote this message again, you don’t need to spend much because a level of awareness is already present. You will reduce costs and increase sales because people already know what you are talking about.
Going Viral Examples
The campaign made many years ago by Old Spice became viral and helped the company to increase sales by 107%. Even though many years have passed, this is still a reference to explain viral marketing.
Other examples are commercials that we see in the Super Bowl. The famous video of “The Force” did by Volkswagen was shared and re-shared and seen millions of times on social media by the audience.
Another example of viral marketing is the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.” Even if the ASL Association existed a long time ago, it was not well-known until the videos spread across social media. The association raised awareness and was able to get people to make donations for supporting their cause.
References
Kagan, Julia (2019). Viral Marketing. Investopedia. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/viral-marketing.asp
Module Eight Overview (2021). MKT-655 Social Media Marketing Strategies. Southern New Hampshire University. Retrieved from: https://learn.snhu.edu/d2l/le/content/596254/viewContent/11223323/View
