How to build powerful marketing strategy for viral marketing
Rajendra Zadpe
Viral marketing is a promotional technique that aims to spread a campaign quickly and widely. When using this marketing strategy, content is created to encourage sharing by an initial target audience. The goal is to make it appealing and approachable enough to inspire the masses to engage.
While viral marketing tactics have roots in word-of-mouth marketing, they amplify the power of peer recommendations by using social networks and other online channels. Viral marketing messages don’t just spread from person to person. When one person shares, you gain hundreds or even thousands of eyes on your campaign from their followers.
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When people think about VIRAL MARKETING, they think that it’s an almost impossible thing, Right?
Many people think that it requires spending thousands of dollars and lots of time to create amazing content and it still needs a hell of a lot of luck.
But, today I will share with you few super simple viral marketing techniques that will help you to drive more traffic and sales.
These techniques don’t require lots of time, don’t involve with spending large amounts of money and they absolutely do not rely on luck.
If you do not use online viral marketing techniques or not familiar with them at all, then you are putting your own business at a disadvantage by missing out on millions of potential visitors to your website or blog.
Before explaining the viral marketing techniques, let me describe what the Viral Marketing is all about.
What is Viral Marketing?
I believe we have all heard the phrase “It went viral”.
But, what does that mean?
Viral Marketing is a method of creating buzzwords or marketing pieces that are attention-grabbing and memorable in our modern, always-connected world.
This method of marketing utilizes social media, text messaging, videos, and other person-to-person methods to spread information about an article, product or service instead of just creating a commercial advertisement and putting on radio or TV.
When something goes viral, it’s spreads extensively and rapidly from one person to another.
With the Platforms like Facebook and YouTube, sharing videos, images and stories to thousands even millions of people, can happen in minutes.
Viral marketing simply is the process of letting other people do your marketing for you without them even realizing it.
Hope you got the idea about viral marketing and now I will jump right into the viral marketing techniques.
The Best Online Viral Marketing Techniques
Viral Marketing Technique #1: Target the appropriate audience and channels
The very first step to develop a viral marketing campaign is to find out who your targeted audience are and where your target audience lives online.
Nothing goes viral on its own, you need to send the right message to the right people. Your message needs to create the interest, if you want them to share with others.
The channel is equally important as because if you are marketing in a wrong channel then you won’t be able to reach your targeted audience. If you are unable to reach the targeted audience then you won’t be able grow the interest.
Let me give you a specific example here-
If your targeted audience is women aged 18-24, middle-class, single then it might be a good idea to incorporate Pinterest into your marketing channel to go viral.
Because, Pinterest is a marketing network where 80% young women is active there.
Viral Marketing Technique #2: Create videos
Another excellent way to go viral is by making a video. A video can make your viewers engage in your product and experience.
If you add a video on YouTube or Daily motion, then you can share that video with your friends. If they find it interesting and useful they will share it as well.
Eventually, the video becomes popular, it can end up spreading all over the internet.
Moreover, if your video is really interesting then people will embed your video on their websites or blogs.
As a result, people will not only watch your video from video sharing platforms but also they will see your video from different websites. This will make it even more popular.
The thumb role for making a video viral is the more shocking, memorable or funny your video is, the more likely it is to go viral.
Viral Marketing Technique #3: Offer valuable product or service for free
Who does not like something valuable for free?
I don’t think so you will get many people who would say they don’t want to get something valuable for free.
That’s why, “Free” is the most powerful word in a marketer’s vocabulary.
Most viral marketing programs offer valuable product or service for free to attract attention.
Wilson’s Second Law of Web Marketing is “The Law of Giving and Selling”. (WILSON, 2012)It means once you give away something, you sell something.
By giving away something valuable you may not profit today or tomorrow but if you can generate people interest on you then you will profit soon.
But how?
Here is the process-
Free generally attract the visitor’s eyeballs. Eyeball then see the others desirable things that you are selling and increase their desire to buy!
Eyeballs bring sales opportunities, valuable email addresses and advertising revenue.
That means if you want to earn something; first you should pay for it.
Viral Marketing Technique #4: Create emotional appeal
Viral marketing can’t make much of an impact unless it has got an emotional appeal. Viral marketing is 100% about emotions.
That’s why this is the most effective technique among all viral marketing techniques.
Now the question is how you can create a very strong emotion?
Here are some of the points you have to follow to create emotion. You need to-
- create something which is filled with love or hate
- either be an idiot or a genius
- create something that will make people happy or insanely angry
Viral Marketing Technique #5: Do something unpredicted
The title explains itself.
If you want people to notice your marketing campaign, you need to do something unpredicted – something different.
People won’t bother to have a look if they know someone has done it before. People always want to see or learn new things.
Forget about trying to make it looks cool – everyone does that.
Forget about trying to promote your product/service as just being great – others are doing that too.
Let me give you an example here, an unpredicted advertisement is one the most effective viral advertisements.
A bear being attacked by a man. Was it expected?
No, Not at all!
To recap, viral marketing techniques are always changing as they have everything to do with trends. By implementing the above 5 proven viral marketing techniques you can make your marketing campaign or content viral. If you have any viral marketing techniques of your own, please feel free to share in the comment below .