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Viral Marketing Debunked, Part 2: 5 Viral Transmission Tactics to Make Your Content a Smash

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Welcome back to the second part of our series on viral marketing! In part one, we dispelled some common viral marketing myths and explained the value of viral tactics in a time when engaging consumers with traditional methods is becoming more difficult. This is not to say viral marketing is ‘easy,’ however, and the success of any viral campaign is largely dependent on two factors: the quality of the viral content, whether a video, microsite, widget, game, or otherwise, and the transmission tactics used to seed it.

Today, let’s discuss five time-tested viral transmission tactics that can be used to seed any viral content and how to make them work for you.

1 - Blog Outreach

One of the fastest ways to get your viral content seen by your target demographic is to secure coverage on influential blogs in your niche. For example, if your product is something targeted at moms, you would want to reach out to the most highly read bloggers in the parenting niche. If your product is targeted at college students, you would want to reach out to top bloggers in that niche, and so on.

When reaching out to key bloggers, a common tactic is to keep it simple and make your intent clear. Write a friendly email introducing yourself and let the blogger know what you are promoting and why you think it makes sense for their audience. Include a link to your content and wait for responses.

2 - Social Networking

Social networking is a powerful way to seed viral content. When you share content on a social network, you are sharing it as a ‘friend,’ and it is seen as more of an update than advertisement. Although setting up social networking profiles on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn solely for the purpose of marketing your viral content is not recommended, establishing a presence on social networking sites in advance of your promotion and maintaining them after the fact can work wonders to spread your viral message and brand yourself online over the long term.

Select the social networks that make the most sense for your brand and begin to grow your networks at least one month in advance of your promotion. Add relevant connections, establish two-way communication, pose questions where applicable, and share compelling content two to three times per week to build credibility. When it comes time to seed your viral content, it will seem as if you are simply sharing another ‘update’ with your network and your content is likely to be well received.

3 - Microblogging

Microblogging, a communication platform built around the sharing of short, text-based messages, has revolutionized social media by making it acceptable to connect with people you have little to no history with in the offline world. Although the same connections can be made via larger scale social networks, microblog networks take the focus away from the profile and put it on the conversation. With microblogging, what you have to say can matter more than who you are, and a well-turned phrase or highly relevant article can grow your microblogging network faster than you might expect.

Similar to social networking, it is best to establish your microblogging network at least a month in advance of your promotion. Creating a profile on Twitter is the obvious choice, and in some cases, may be all you need. While niche microblogging networks like Blellow do exist, anyone with a profile on a niche site more than likely has one on the larger, more popular sites as well, so use your resources wisely and go where the people are if you want a great response. Add connections and share relevant content to grow your network. If you’ve done your work beforehand, once it comes time to seed your viral content, it will seem natural to update your network with a targeted link, and people are likely to respond.

4 - Social Bookmarking

If you’ve ever shared a link with someone via e-mail, IM, Facebook, or Twitter, you understand the drive to share compelling content with your connections. Social bookmarking takes this to a new level and gives Internet users a way to organize, save, and share information using a set of tags or keywords that classify the content accordingly, also known as a ‘folksonomy’. This classification system makes it easier for Internet users to find relevant content based on its corresponding tags and popularity among other users, and popular bookmarking sites like Digg and Reddit allow users to rate content, the highest rated content given maximum visibility on the sites.

Driven by word-of-mouth, social bookmarking is inherently viral. While it can be difficult to control the fate of the bookmarks you submit, tagging your bookmarks with relevant keywords will put your content on the right track to being discovered. If people catch on, and your content is truly worthwhile, your bookmark will spread like wildfire, generating buzz, blog coverage, bookmarks, page views, and more.

5 - Digital Press Releases

When leveraging the power of a press release in a viral marketing campaign, the basics are still the same: craft a newsworthy release, keep it pithy (read: no more than 400 words), and submit. Paying to distribute your release on digital PR sites often allows you to target specific industries, geographic locations, and websites; take advantage of this feature if you want to get attention, because the people interested in your release are the ones most likely to talk about it.

When it comes to the timing of your release, however, things get a bit trickier. In the scope of a viral campaign, it is often smarter to use a press release to capitalize on buzz already created. Distributing a press release after you’ve already created a significant buzz with a PR stunt at an industry conference or a hilarious viral video can help generate more interest in your brand than distributing a release simply to announce your video would. Wait until people are talking about you and then use a press release to keep them talking. People will be more interested in your release if other people are interested, too!

I hope this article helps you better understand viral marketing tactics and how to make them work for you. If you have any questions about viral marketing or would like more information, please email viral@wpromote.com.

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Tags: blog outreach, digital PR, digital press releases, Microblogging, microblogs, social bookmarking, social bookmarks, Social Media, social media optimization, social networking, social networks, Viral Marketing, viral marketing tactics, viral seeding, viral seeding tactics
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The Truth About Viral Marketing, Part 1

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Image courtesy of longtale.wordpress.com

If you work in the advertising business, you’ve probably heard the term ‘viral marketing.’ People often toss around the term, but unless you’re someone who has worked on a viral campaign, there is a good chance you are confused about what it really means. To dispel any confusion and get you up to speed with one of the most effective marketing tactics at your disposal, we’ve put together a two-part series we hope will leave you with a better grasp of viral marketing, and maybe even a little inspiration.

What it isn’t

When explaining a concept as frequently misunderstood as viral marketing, it is often useful to start by defining what it isn’t. That being said, let’s start with the requisite debunking of two common viral marketing myths.

– Viral marketing is easy

Many people think viral marketing involves little more than making an amateur video, putting it up on YouTube, and emailing a couple friends. But that is simply not how it works.

Launching a successful viral campaign involves careful analysis of your goals, extensive research on your target demographic, and highly creative execution. There are always cases where a video or similar content ‘goes viral’ seemingly on accident, but without tactful consideration of the goals of your campaign or a long-term strategy for engaging users, the campaign is unlikely to gain traction or do anything to raise lasting awareness for your brand.

– Viral marketing is free

It is understandable that many people think viral marketing is ‘free’ because in many cases it appears marketers are using resources already available to them like email lists and social networks. But making most content go viral involves much more than blasting it to your email database and posting it to a social profile created solely as an outlet for your viral campaign.

In reality, viral marketing costs money to pay for things like concept creation and design, execution, planning, and the cost of seeding, which often involves paying for social bookmarks and ads on sites where your target demographic gathers. In addition, you must take into account the staff hours required to do the work, track campaign progress, and compile reports. You can also expect to pay for any premium content or collateral you create and all IT costs associated with creating a website, email campaign, or digital newsletter.

Now, for the good part - what it is

Viral marketing is the process of creating a compelling viral message, seeding that message, and making it easy and desirable for users to share your message immediately via online mechanisms such as blogs, email, and social networks as well as regular (read: offline) word-of-mouth.

The cornerstone of any viral campaign is stimulating content which can take the form of a microsite, social profile, video, or widget that educates, entertains, and/or helps your target demographic. When consumers share your message with others, it creates a buzz around your brand. This buzz is compounded each time your content is shared, creating a ripple effect and giving your viral campaign the momentum it needs to reach a meaningful number of people and make an impact. Finally, while the goal of any viral campaign is brand awareness and not sales, drawing the attention of a large number of people at once will drive interest in your brand and is likely to lead to sales down the line.

Why viral marketing matters

Print ads, billboards, and TV commercials used to be acceptable ways to reach your target demographic, but times have changed. In today’s media-saturated world, a large number of people are accustomed to ignoring print ads, tuning out billboards, and skipping TV commercials with DVRs and TiVo, making it difficult to spread your message if you rely only on traditional means.

Marketing virally helps circumvent the problem of media saturation and reach people while their guard is down, making it easier to connect and make a lasting impression. Likewise, while many consumers are weary of marketers, few will ignore a recommendation from a trusted family member, friend, or associate. In fact, there are many cases in which peer recommendations will swing an ambivalent consumer in one direction or the other. Rather than wait for consumers to discover you on their own and hope they have an experience positive enough to warrant a recommendation to their peers, marketing to consumers virally allows you to capitalize on the trend of peer-to-peer recommendation, giving consumers a reason to engage with and talk about your brand in the here and now. Plan your viral campaign to coincide with a new product launch, company rebrand, or PR blitz, and the immediate and tangible buzz you create will help drive your underlying initiative.

I hope this post enriches your understanding of viral marketing and its potential role in your marketing mix! Come back next month for part two of our series where we will dig a little deeper into the tactical side of viral marketing and discuss five ways to make your viral content a smash hit. In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like more information, please email viral@wpromote.com!

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