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Viral Marketing
Marketing is all about getting an effective product or service message out to as many target customers as possible. The Internet provides an excellent method of “spreading the word” to an enormous population of online users. And spreading the word is what viral marketing is all about.
Viral marketing is a strategy that encourages individuals to pass on your company’s message to others. Viral marketing can be a highly effective means of leveraging the Internet’s large online population and ease of communication. The effect of this is a potentially exponential growth in the number of people hearing about your product or service, as one person sends the message to several others and they in turn pass the message on to several more. Viral marketing is the digital equivalent to word-of-mouth advertising, with the added power of ubiquitous and easy to use communication tools such as email, newsgroups and instant messaging.
For viral marketing to work, a few criteria (at a minimum) must be met: (1) you must provide something of value to attract attention, (2) you must target the appropriate audience, and (3) you must encourage others to spread your message.
Providing Something of Value
Few words in marketing have greater power than the word “free”. If you can give something away that has value to your target audience, then you will attract attention; and your target audience will want to tell others about it. The net result will be increased awareness of your product or service, and increased traffic to your website. Once people are on your website, they will see your product and service messages.
Many things can be given away that have value to your target audience. Some examples of these include newsletters, articles, e-books, contests, downloadable games, screensavers, “mail-a-postcard” services, premium items and many more. Be creative, and make sure that your website link is visible on all give-away items.
Target the Right Audience
Giving something away is only part of the equation. Making sure that the right people are getting the message is key. For example, placing links to your website on related or complementary websites increases the likelihood that people visiting your site will be receptive to your marketing message, and will find value in what you are giving away.
If you’ve written an article or newsletter on a specific topic, you can offer it to related websites as free content for them to post on their site. If the article is relevant and well-written, websites may welcome the content. Pick websites that are frequented by your target audience, and make sure your web address and marketing message is clearly visible. Do you have something innovative and newsworthy to communicate? Why not write a press release and release it to the many press release posting services. Effective press releases can be picked up by many related websites, driving additional traffic to your site.
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