Around here, we like to discuss new marketing techniques. One that isn’t particularly new, but is really important to mention is Viral Marketing. As Seth Godin puts it, “Viral marketing is an idea that spreads–and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause.”
On the Internet, lots of ideas spread quickly… virally. A small set of people become interested in something and then pass it along to their friends. Those friends that are as interested also pass it along and so forth. The exponential growth is what we like to call “organic”, because you didn’t DO anything to make the growth happen. In fact, Godin points out that if you had tried to make it happen, it probably wouldn’t have.
Can businesses take advantage of this Internet phenomenon? You bet. In fact, many already do.
First, you need a “platform”, or a place where you communicate with that small (or not so small) set of friends that know and trust you. If you don’t have this platform and the dialog to go with it, then your idea isn’t as likely to catch on, because there’s no audience to get it started.
Next, you need the message. The message is your idea bundled clearly and simply. Just as important as the packaging of your message is the marketing thought that goes into it. Your message should market your business in some tangible way that matches your goals. Again, Godin says “Marketers are obsessed with free media, and, as is often the case, we blow it in our rush to get our share. We create content that is hampered or selfish or boring. Or we create something completely viral that doesn’t do any marketing at all.”
Now that you have your idea in a form that is easy to understand and compelling to spread, you are ready to launch it. Using the appropriate media and method is key here. An email to a list is less likely these days to gain viral growth, because so many people are tired of the spam and other boring emails they get. Passing a video along to a key set of friends on a social network is much more in tune with the times.
Once your message is off, then what do you do? You’ll like this part. Nothing. That’s right. The more you try to interfere, the less likely your message is to go viral. What you can do is listen. If you message is going viral, you’ll know it by the places that people put it.
Just last night, my friend told me that her message about a local event on green technologies was delivered to her by someone who was all excited and wanted her to get involved. She laughed and said “that’s my event!”
