Definition of Viral Marketing
Do you ever recommend a movie, pass along an email, forward a video or photo to a friend? Nearly everyone has done one of those things. Those are the most common types of viral marketing. We have just advertised a product through word of mouth at no cost to the advertiser. That is the power of viral advertising. Like an epidemic, the message spreads with an exponential growth.
The origins of Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing has been around for a centuries. It may have been called by different terms throughout time. But in 1997, Steve Jurvetson, a venture capitalist, coined the term “viral marketing” to describe Hotmail’s marketing practices.Hotmail attached an advertisement of itself on each email. When a recipient clicked on the ad, it led to Hotmail’s signup page. It led to an exponential growth in Hotmail’s growth.
Viral Marketing Types
- Free.the most common type of viral marketing is free. Pass-along messaging by email is the classic example. Most people consider this as spam
- Incentive traffic. Rewards to spread the viral effects are the heart of a incentive traffic system. Affiliate marketing is the perfect example.
- Disguised. A popular subject is embedded with a message. A typical example is a viral video with a website branding.
- Buzz marketing. The most common technique. Gossip is the best example. It an be word of mouth or Internet based.
Methods of Transmission
The most common transmission styles for viral marketing
- Email. This is the most common example in today’s world. Examples are when forward messages such as jokes, funny clips and pictures that are branded with messages.
- Instant Messaging. Instant message services like AOL have grown dramatically lately.
- Web sites. Article Marketing with leads to other sites are the most common types.
Pitfalls of Viral marketing
Blasting an email out haphazardly will lead to a designation as spam. Spam marketing has negative connotations and may be more harmful than good. The size needs to be small and compatible. Large messages and messages that need special programs to view will fail to reach viral stage. The message must be targeted, small,and standard.
Next we will discuss the elements to successful viral campaigns.
