How to Use Viral Marketing
The term “Viral Marketing” was coined by a Harvard University professor in 1996. Cut away all the mumbo-jumbo, it simply is a technique that uses existing social networks to produces increased brand awareness, and thereby sales. With the explosion of the Internet, viral marketing has become evermore sophisticated as the years go by.So, how do you go about a viral marketing campaign?
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Instructions
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Develop word-of-mouth recognition. It's human nature to tell our friends about a new product or service that we have found. It's in our nature, so why shouldn't we take advantage of it. If, for example, you have a website to promote, why not include a place where visitors can tell their friends about how great your website is. Furthermore, if you are offering a newsletter on your site, you might encourage visitors to ask for it by saying, “If you found the content of this site useful and you would like further information, please ask for a copy of my newsletter. At the least, please tell your friends about how helpful my site has been.”
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Offer an e-book that can be produced very easily that talks about the subject of your website. You can brand it as your own for distribution from your site. As well, you can have other sites “rebrand” the book for distribution on their sites. If you simply do not have the time or inclination to write one, you can get permission to use a collection of relevant articles from any number of 'article directories' that can be found on Google. Two such websites can be found under Additional Resources at the bottom of this article.
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Above all else, brand your website by using a catchy, memorable brand name. For example, my site markets writing services to the seniors' and baby boomers' market and is called Words to the Wise (see the link below), a viral marketing technique itself.
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Have someone else sell your products and services and give them a commission for their efforts through Affiliate Marketing. That means no marketing cost, no financial risk, and product awareness and sales that you could not achieve through any other means. The percentage commission they are paid will determine the amount of effort they will place against your product or service. Make affiliate sign-up a very simple process, and provide them with all the sales materials they need to be successful.
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These are just a few of many viral techniques that will help increase your web presence. They will also boost your traffic and increase your links. Used properly, these viral techniques will also spread your web site, product or service around the globe.What more can you ask for?
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Resources
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Comments
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Anonymous
Jul 13, 2011
Great advice. I would add that social media marketing can be an effective way to implement a viral marketing plan. Using Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. can give a business much more reach and impact than traditional marketing media. Our Austin SEO services company manages social media sites for businesses; and in many cases this has been more successful than paid search and tv ads. But we still see a lot of benefit from Word-of-Mouth Marketing and other traditional viral marketing methods.
