In our previous articles we have touched on some topics associated with Online Marketing (through the Internet). In this case, we continue to explain fundamental techniques to achieve the success of Internet businesses relying on Online Marketing, and specifically on what is known as Viral Marketing.
Viral Marketing is a set of marketing techniques that make use of Internet media such as social networks (among others) to increase the sales of products / services or the positioning of a brand thanks to the propagation of the message in an exponential way or viral among those interested. The techniques involved to achieve viral marketing are of diverse nature, however, they have nothing to do with computer viruses, but are called viral techniques because of the way in which prospects spread the information of such products / services or brands. It is more similar to what is known as traditional word of mouth, but using electronic media. By doing it the right way, it is possible to reach large numbers of people quickly.
Viral marketing is handled through internet campaigns. Usually use is made of Blogs, Landing Web Pages, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter Accounts, Videos on YouTube, Games, Bulletins by Mass Emails, Sequencers of Campaigns by Emails, Affiliate Networks, among others. The objective is to generate media coverage through topics of high impact or interest. The idea is that people will come by and share fun and interesting content. Often this is done under the sponsorship of a brand or company that requires positioning a product or service in its target audience.
Thanks to the use of the Internet it is possible to manage viral campaigns that are much cheaper and more effective than campaigns managed through other traditional means.
As examples of viral marketing is the famous "pass it on." A message is issued (typically through email or with publications on social networks) and it is sought that those who read it tell others who in turn will tell others and so on. The oldest method of this is the nasty "chains" received by email. Now, for the pass to work, we must really broadcast content that is of great interest to the target audience (eg entertainment, success messages, etc.). This can be anything from text articles to videos.
Another technique is to create an incentive for the message to be passed from one person to another. This is known as "Viral Incentive". In this case, there is some type of reward that is provided when the person invites or informs another to follow or visit the person who generates the viral content. This is widely used to obtain the contact information of the friends of the original visitor in such a way that they are contacted on behalf of said visitor and not directly on behalf of the content generator. In turn, this is more efficient when the referral must participate in order for the referrer to receive their reward.
Covert viral marketing is another technique used. In this case, the brand / product or service is not directly indicated in the message, but content is broadcast that causes such an impact that those who see it try to imitate and therefore propagate it. This is known as “memes”, which has been defined as a pattern of information that, once it has developed, induces people to replicate that pattern, by imitation. The viral message is presented as an attractive or unusual page, activity or news. The idea is that whoever sees it believes that they have made an interesting, spontaneous and informal discovery and therefore wants to spread it.
The Networks of Friends or Fans are another mechanism used for viral marketing. In this case, internet tools are used to bring together those who are interested in a product / service or a brand, adding valuable content to them and interacting to generate a sense of belonging to a virtual community. Forums, fan pages, blogs, twitter messages, etc. are created. The idea is to attract fans of the brand / products / services and get them to involve their friends, thus obtaining more and more followers and therefore more and more prospects to be potential customers, or maintain the loyalty of existing customers. This is intended to be done through third parties and not directly through the brand itself in such a way as to increase credibility and community interest.
The generation of a rumor makes many people interested in knowing about it. If this rumor in turn creates controversy then it will have a greater viral effect. In viral marketing rumor management is used to increase the interest of the target audience towards everything related to it.
The ways in which it is possible to spread a viral marketing message are in multiple ways. From word of mouth, the issuance of mass email newsletters, email sequencers, the use of instant messaging (eg Messenger), microblogging (eg short messages on Twitter), management of groups or fan pages on Facebook, publication of videos on public portals (eg YouTube), Bluetooth on cell phones, among others.
One of the factors that attract more virality is offering a free product / service that is of great interest and attractive to users. Some examples can be: In the case of having written an electronic book, give away the first chapter of it when the person registers through a landing page. If it is a course, give access to the first classes for free so that people know the quality of the content. Present tempting offers where you get a lot for little (eg refer three friends to gain access to something of interest). Give away POP material (eg. Caps, glasses, mugs) to those who register on the page or to those who refer others.
To be successful in viral marketing, you must seek to fill a void that another does not fill. Analyze the market and find what is the available gap that will help to achieve the goal. In turn, we must offer the benefits from the customer's point of view and not from the characteristics of our products and services. The idea is to satisfy your needs and desires by approaching you from your own perspective as a potential user of our products and services. We must highlight the elements that differentiate us from our competitors.
Success for all…
