Sandro Salsi’s Blog

Viral marketing is a phrase that has gained some notoriety in online business over the past few years as social marketing has taken hold of the world of Internet commerce. In short, it’s a marketing method or strategy that encourages people to spread the word. When this “word” is actively pushed forward, it has the opportunity to expand exponentially, thereby reaching a massive audience, just as a virus could spread during an influenza outbreak.

Many marketers seek to initiate a viral marketing strategy, or they try to make their product or services “go viral”, but this is possible only if you pay attention to some of the essential elements that must be present for success.

To start with, you must have a product or service that is saleable and scalable. It’s possible to create a “buzz” about almost anything, as all of us have seen from a variety of examples in popular media. For instance, who would’ve ever thought that several million people would log onto their computers and then go to a specific web page so that they could watch the video from a webcam streaming a pile of cute puppies sleeping in someone’s bed? Nevertheless, in real marketing terms you must start off with a product or service that can generate some excitement.

Many people feel that one of the best ways to create a viral marketing campaign is to start with something that’s free. The word “free” is definitely one of the most potent words in our language, and it usually creates focused attention of some sort. Consider giving something away for free in the knowledge that should your marketing campaign become effective, you will have the attention of large numbers of people to whom you may promote and potentially sell other products.

Whatever you’re selling, you need to be able to sell large numbers of it through your website development strategy. The ability to scale easily from small to very large is essential, as is your transmission method. You must plan ahead of time if you’re serious about creating a viral marketing campaign – and remember, scalability is very important. If you are not able to keep up with the demand, your initiative is dead.

If you really want to create a buzz about your product or service, it should have a certain element of “coolness” to it. What sets it apart – what is its unique selling proposition? Find something to create that spark, and you may also be able to feed off some current trends to help you. Consider researching “Google trends” online – it’s a great resource for learning about what’s hot, what may even be volcanic or what’s not.

Your viral marketing project should be able to utilise existing communication networks. Networking is very hot these days, and social networking within the Internet world even more so. Place your message succinctly into the correct networks to achieve your goal. If you really want something to go viral, you should try and take advantage of another network’s network. Construct great press releases and sew a seed in that particular area, for example.

Whatever product or service you’re using to initiate a viral marketing campaign, you must make sure that you have correctly implemented your back end operation. It’s no good giving something away for free or at reduced cost – creating a great viral marketing explosion, if it doesn’t lead you to significantly increase the sales of your keynote product or service. Many people have successfully initiated viral marketing exposure, but haven’t really benefited from it, as they didn’t have a clear overall strategy in place!

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an Experienced Executive Virtual Assistant who collaborates with businesses and individuals with the sole aim of accomplishing their professional goals. Want to learn more about these comprehensive online business building success strategies? Contact VMF Today!

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