Viral marketing (word-of-mouth marketing) is a really cool thing. Just think about it... instead of spending an insane amount of money on newspapers ads, TV commercials or banner ads, you spent nothing - and let your fans do all the work for you.
With viral marketing, your campaigns will suddenly get a life of its own - and start to spread like a virus. Everyone want to see it, and when they do, they all want to share it.
It is immensely powerful, usually having 500-1000 times greater impact than what you get from regular advertisements.
There are a lot of tricks to viral marketing. Here are 7 important ones:
The most important trick of all is to create a very strong emotion. You need to have an opinion, to express an idea with commitment and dedication. You want people to:
You want people's blood to be pumping of excitement.
Forget neutral, trying to please everyone, supporting several target groups or any of the many ways to be unbiased. Viral marketing is 100% about emotions.
This one explains itself. If you want people to notice you campaign, you have to do something different - something unexpected. Forget about trying to promote your products as just being great - everybody does that. Forget about trying to make it look cool - everyone else has "been there, done that".
Remember the bear being attacked by a man? That was unexpected - and it is one the most effective viral advertisements ever.
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...and above all - never be a copycat.
One of the biggest mistake companies make is when they think viral marketing is just advertisements that people share - it is not. Traditional marketing is about promoting your product, showing how good it is, giving it center stage - and generally being incredibly selfish (and possibly using supermodels or movie stars). But guess what, nobody cares about you!
Viral marketing is all about a good story. When BMW put out BMW Films, the main ingredient was not the cars, but the story. Replace the car with another one, and it would still be great. When Sony made their Bravia TV ads, the product was not even seen - yet everyone remembers it.
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Forget about you, your product or your company. Focus exclusively in creating a good and interesting story. Sure, you can add you product into the mix, but it must not be the most important thing.
People have just seen your campaign. They think it was interesting, unexpected and their emotions has reached a high level - you have their complete attention.
Now what do you do?
If you do like most companies you will simply do nothing... and that is a big mistake. When you got people's attention you need to act, and one the best ways of doing that is to give them more - make sequels. This can be many things;
Never leave people standing with nothing.
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BTW: Forget about countdown releases - i.e. releasing a new episode every 2 weeks. People's attention span does not last that long. Give them everything now!
Sharing is what viral marketing is all about. Everything you do to make that easier is going to improve your campaign. That means that you need allow people to:
Note: This also easily be overdone. You do not want to clutter up your page with a zillion "share me, dig this etc." icons.
Another important element is to connect with your audience. Remember you got their attention, they are excited and now they want talk. Comments is one of the most effective ways to do this.
Keep in mind that the best viral marketing campaign is one that creates a strong emotion. This means some people will really like it - while others will get very angry. You have to accept both in your comments, and you have to welcome both opinions. But, at the same time you must prevent individuals to wage war against each other.
It is not a sin to delete comments from people who attack another person, or if the comment is off-topic. But, it is a sin to delete comments from people who just have an negative opinion.
And, most importantly. Connecting with people through comments means talking back. Do not add comments if you do not want to participate yourself.
Viral marketing is also about your campaign getting a life on its own - spreading like virus. In order to do that, in order to become "viral", it needs to be free.
Never add restrictions to the mix.
Viral marketing is never about exclusivity. It is about getting it out there for everyone to see.
There is a common message in all of these tricks. It is that you need to make it right - or not do it at all. Only the best viral marketing campaigns make it - the rest literally sucks.
If you have any tips of your own, I sure would like to know about them! Also, If would very like to see any cool viral advertisement that you might know.
One of the first really successful viral campaigns in the "YouTube age"
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Not originally designed for viral, but stupid Germans and fridays quickly changed that
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Again, not designed for viral, but the unexpected elements made people share it
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A true viral campaign, showing artificial beauty - and it worked!
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Another true viral campaign. worked too!
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A very funny movie by Coudal Partners, making fun of advertising companies.
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A movie I made to promote my report on "Actual Browser Sizes". It was seen by about 800 people within the first few days - but with only limited viral effect.
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Viral campaign from HP
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This program is skyrocketing right now, Because we all want to make money, and we all want to know what other people do on our computers when were gone. Especially our "Oh so faithful boyfriends/girlfriends." http://www.realbizzopponline.com
I would like to take my time and compliment you on this fantastic article. Your step-by-step explanation of what most companies, groups and individuals require in order to successfully promote themselves and their products was quite fascinating! The way I like to think about viral marketing is that there are approximately 6.5 billion people in the world today and each one of them in some way, somehow, somewhere is connected and lest we forget that Internet is one of the greatest tools to reach most of them. This article has personally helped me reconsider several factors regarding my advertising techniques and in turn I have discovered my mistakes, most of which are fixable in due time! Thanks again.
Another cool bravia ad parody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4lBt4UTCyM (with watermelons)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qRvXh_0HbU (with fruits)
Like they say, plagiarism (or parody) is the most sincere form of flattering.
Great article, I am involved with what I believe to be the largest viral marketing company ever, so I thought I would put a shamless plug as well. Check out http://www.vmdirect.com/scooba and take a look at the next microsoft.
Don't forget about http://www.bunchos.com ... targeted at English speaking audiences, but, oh surprise! (hint: change the website's language)
The article is fine, but your Baekdal Monkeys
"viral" *really* sucks. Clearly, you aim to raise
negative emotions... (-;
Rule #8:
Rules don't work in viral. Everything that's been done and especially written about become obsolete. Every time you have to come with a different way to engage with your target.
I recently found a very interesting website:
There you can purchase ad space for your Blog etc.
Writer, Project Manager and Interaction Designer
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http://www.orkut.com became huge in not a very long time, they werent public til a while ago, and only people with invitation could've registered! this contradicts your rule 7.
Not really. Orkut marketed themselves trough exclusivity, which is also an effective marketing strategy. I just do not thinks it is an effective viral strategy.
Viral marketing is only one of many ways to successfully market your product.
Dash, Thanks! BTW: That is cool looking myspace design!
Someone, Catch-a-cheat, Ralph: Thanks for the links!
Oj,
your Baekdal Monkeys "viral" *really* sucks. Clearly, you aim to raise negative emotions. :)
he he, actually I was just trying to be silly one Sunday afternoon. It was fun to make, but I know it is now the best viral ad in the world (and I did not follow most of the tricks on this page...).
Ivan,
Rule #8: Rules don't work in viral.
Good one, and probably true. But, I do not consider these "tricks" to be rules.
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Jack, that reminds me of that guy who raised a million dollars selling single pixels:
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Heh, A person over at Digg and two other people (in emails) wrote that I was probably inspired by Seth Godin (some indicating that it was a bad thing...)
Yes, I am. Seth Godin is very talented and writes very good books. In fact, he was one of the first people to introduce me to viral marketing with his book "Unleasing The IdeaVirus (free to download).
That was our thinking exactly!!
What is the £10000 question?
Our BRILLIANT IDEA!!!! :) .... or :( still waiting to see..
The humanopinion.org £10000 Education Award
We figured we don't have much money for marketing, so we thought the best way to do it was to take what money we could scrap together and use that for something good. We figure rather use it to generate some interest and on the development of a person, (a student or scholar) instead of marketing in the traditional media and having it all go to landfill in the end.
And if it does not work.... well we will have a fairly unknown site and paying some students bills, which is better than having an unknown site and £10000 in deleted and discarded print...
The jury is still out though :) At the moment we feel kinda stupid! But it is good for a laugh, you have to smile at these things.
http://humanopinion.org .... blatant plug (has to be done)
Nice article .... makes me chuckle... at this point in time in six months... I may be morbidly depressed :)
This is a great article, a similar method to your point number 2 is being used by the folks at http://www.srilanka.com
Take a look at http://www.surfyp.com. Some good marketing tips are listed as mentioned in this article.
I'm surprised that no mention was made of the original viral campaign on the web, or at least the first that I can think of:
Crappy Blog - $10
Stupid Design - $2,000
Hitting the front page of Digg - Priceless
Interesting and trendy, but how do you measure the effectiveness? Don't take this as criticism, but many interesting and plausible theories turn out to be less effective than surface appearances suggest.
Do you have data or references to back your claim of being 500-1000 times more effective? As we say in engineering, "One test is worth a thousand theories".
Interesting viral for a UK Hotel in a renovated prison
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Tom, I do not have an scientific evidence to support my claim of viral marketing being 500-1000 times more effective.
But, think about this:
A normal TV ad is rarely something you remember, let alone ask other people to see. Even if you do see it yourself, it is not very likely that you focus on it exclusively (most likely you are thinking about when the commercial break is over so that you can continue watching CSI, Alias etc.).
With a viral ad you watch it with much greater attention, you will remember it, share it, talk about the next morning at work, blog about it and possibly even bookmark it.
Even without considering how many people that see it, the effectiveness is staggering. Normal ads are usually just something you want to get over with - while viral ads are something you want to spend time on.
Also, think about the branding aspect. People will not share your ad, unless they like it - they have become fans. I would rather have 100 fans that promote what I do, than 10.000 viewers that simply watched my commercial one evening.
For instance, I personally think Sony Bravia TVs are cool ...but the only reason I know about them is because I watched a bunch of bouncing balls...
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Paschal, funny! Reminds me of Ms Dewey (a Microsoft viral thingie)
Great tips, but humor is generally the best way to make a viral marketing campaign.
Well, this page worked very well as a viral marketing example. I picked it up on DIGG, watched the BMW commercial (which is the best short film I've seen ever - and does make me want to buy the damned car), and have forwarded this page to a film group with about five hundred members, and a book publishing group I run with about 500 members. I learned a huge amount (which I think is a _core_ element of viral marketing - density of content).
Thanks!!!
N.
You said: "Forget neutral, trying to please everyone, supporting several target groups or any of the many ways to be unbiased. Viral marketing is 100% about emotions."
There's a serious danger in what you advocate here. I realize that what you're talking about is marketing. But one of the founders of PBS once said, "the message of most commercial media is, 'Ha ha, made you look!'"
When those kind of opinionated messages are always screaming, yelling, and blasting us to get our attention, the kind of balanced, thoughtful discourse that keeps a society civil is in danger of being lost.
Metaphorically, my grandmother said it well, "don't turn up the TV too loud, or you'll never hear the baby cry."
Are you willing to examine the ethical effects of the tools you're pushing?
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Nancy, thanks! I have also noticed that more 260 individual blogs now link to this article - many of whom have embedded some of the viral examples with their blog entry. Not to mention that this article have attracted more than 5,000 unique people within the last 8 hours alone - of which most of them have seen one or more of these ads.
Steve, I am not sure that I fully understand what it is that you are trying to tell me - that, or maybe I just see things differently. You indicate that viral marketing is about "ha ha, made you look" - it is not, and far from it.
"Ha ha, made look" advertisements are indeed common, but since they literally waste people's time they do not turn people into fans - thus it will not be shared (no viral effect).
Viral marketing is not about wasting people's time, it is instead about giving something that want to spend time on. Sure, it does attract attention, but I must admit that I do not see why it harms our civility.
Take a look of the ads in this article. Many of them improves our lives. The BMW ad tells us a story about people who show us what is wrong - and that there are some who dedicate their life to make it right. The Bravia ad makes us happy because we see beauty and life. The Escalator ad reminds us that maybe we are too lazy for own good - maybe we should exercise more.
Sure the "stupid german" ad is a bit different - fun though.
Ask yourself this: Is it ethical to always be political correct? to always behave like perfect gentleman. Sure, I do NOT want to see ads that encourage hatred, violence or discomfort. But, I believe that we sometimes needs to be pushed away from the norm.
Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what's right- Isaac Asimov
Notice: Comment updated - forget to add "NOT". I do not recommend hatred, violence or discomfort!!!
I think the basics of this article are good - stir the emotion, and give people room / opportunity to add their own touch to your idea.
Would anyone remember the "priceless" campaign if it wasn't for the thousands of cheesy homemade versions bombarding your inbox?
Hi Thomas, have you seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYHK4xeyA-E ? Based on the katamari damacy game :) But, isn't the problem with this viral webmarketing that not a great deal of people remembers what the commercial was intended for? For instance, I know this one's for an insurance agency... but if you ask me which one, I'd have to watch the whole ad again. It doesn't get 'stuck in my mind' the way the ad itself does. Will I consider this agency the next time I'm on the lookout for one?
I speak spanish , very bad english follows.
I believe what makes those spots makes are that yo has been referred to them, somebody with flesh and bones picked, with no particular intention to sell you those products. Someone shared that, and you are involved since you must press play to watch it, It's your descition, not that from the tv network. or from the publisher. the normal advertising is imposed to you. All this videos can be normal adds. But they change since the message is other than to sell, and you can press play to see it or not.
And that's all the magic with viral marketing, make you part of the process.
good post.
This is a great article. I am really impressed and learned a lot. Your insight is impressive and the manner in which you put it together was clear for us non-techies. Thank you!
Thomas,
Could you provide some details on the song you used in your "baekdalMONKEYS" ? The ad did look fun, was not as bad as some have suggested, but the soundtrack was what kept me interested more than anything.
Thanks for nice collection of viral ads, it was fun. Some of them are not so great, as unfortunately your ‘monkey' ad didn't appeal to me as viral at all.
Viral is fun or shock (John West is great ad). Viral is something you WILL share with your friends. Unfortunately working on budgets and under deadlines we all say ‘that is good enough'. It's not! If you wouldn't share similar content with your friend - don't create it in first place. What I'm saying is - there is a lot of crap on net and in media - as creative people, let's try to do our best job ever each time - or don't do it at all. Or find another job. Start selling tea. As me ;)
Well actually I'm still art director - so I'll try a little bit more. And I admit - I still didn't get to level of making real viral... Only the best will win.
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Jake, The sound for BaekdalMonkeys was Dizy
Dean, Yes - the whole "that is good enough" idea does not really cut it, if you want to go Viral. It does not have to be really expensive or take a lot of time - but you need to be able to dedicate yourself to making it. And, you cannot do that if you have a zillion restraints or more than one job to complete that week.
As for the BaekdalMonkeys then it really is not the best example of a viral add. The two biggest problems, I think, is that it has a very limited audience AND they have to know the story behind it to fully appreciate it (if you don't it is more or less pointless).
BTW: The story for baekdalMonkeys was that I was doing a study on browser usages, and a lot of people asked how the data was collected.
Is this your site http://webtrafficdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/18/viralmarketing/
Or just some spammer copy/paste?
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Scalenger, It is not mine...
Viral marketing is always as effective as others say it if it would be done properly. It is effective, yes. However, it can also get tricky. The article is just about that--telling us on how to get about with viral mareketing. Nice work.
Thanks very much for these tips. It's really interested.
I've recently come across a different kind of viral. A new fancy on-line petition by Amnesty International. It's a virtual trip to Guantánamo, inviting people to travel to Guantánamo to close the detention centre.
I am really impressed with it, and I don't usually like this kind of petitions. I recommend you have a look to it. And of course join it!
Hi,
I work in a Brazillian viral marketing company, called Riot . Your article was very helpful for us. Thanks a lot.
Best regards,
Walt=er
Thanks for the tips! Will apply some of them in my next production... http://VideoLane.com
Fantastic tips! I've tried to use most of them. We are trying a new FREE way to network business at http://rolaweb.com/
Well, Got good information about 7 tricks to Viral Web Marketing....... With viral marketing, your campaigns will suddenly get a life of its own - and start to spread like a virus. more Information click marketing
People now days have relized viral strategy are very powerfull. Less effort but with exponential feedback. I think that why Tell-A-Friend has started its own war :)
I love your example on the Nissan blogging. What an ingenious way to advertise their products!
great tips, we put some of them to use in this little viral plus a few more,
This is surely one of the best compilation of best viral web marketing techniques, ever published on any website.
This is another example of a wonderful and creative marketing campaign by http://www.sukip.com
They are calling it the Media Hunt Experiment...
Go have a look at http://blog.sukip.com/2007/05/30/the-media-hunt-experiment/
hi nice articel, can you give me a comment on a film i made about social conciousness. this is one clip off many. and i like to know iff you have any ideas how to get this going. now people only laugh about it. are there trick in how to be spotted on You tube for example?
Great tips! I should try them one by one, put them to work.
Cool article. Like the videos a lot. Not the typical viral marketing tips you see everywhere else. Will try to use them in my marketing!
Cheers,
Stuart Stirling
Great blog, and nice article.... I really like the tips...
Thanks for putting this out there!
Blessings,
JB
Interesting!
This article seems to be alive for last one year. And that is impressive.
I came across another creative viral message - the Dylan Viral. Check it out at http://www.dylanmessaging.com
This could be a good case to analyze.
Dear Thomas,
Reading your point of view (5), We think "WOMM delivered via Internet download is out of business" according to our experience obtained from Social networks analysis; on-demand real-time video sessions with the familiar "follow the link" solves the problem of time dispersion over the network...
Kind regards,
You have very interesting thoughts there.
Regarding sequels, I placed made a page in which the YouTube clicks change randomly everytime you enter the web page.
I simply add more clips as tie passes and modify the "Last modification date" placed in the web page text.
Regards,
KobiT
This commercial for WRANGLER was so rude that TV couldn't broadcast it. perfect for viral!
Here is what happens when you lock a trader in the basement too long...
Good Information on Viral Web Marketing. The more you know, the more save, the more you get the word out.
D&E:O)
great !! wonderfull story
Good work!
was nice reading your article!
cheerz.
Well, i am not here to put my links. Beyond business in mind; simply as a reader, i must say the copy was really well. I am learning. Kip posting Thanks.
I recently found a very interesting website Thomas,
Will apply some of them in my next production
Thank You
Great article
hey i love
i love this website
Back links are very important and when you can embed that link into something viral like free templates you are able to build an empire.
Awesome summary dude trying to come up with some ideas for a new art website - given us lots of ideas here.
Cheers for the link to Seth Godins ebook, going to have a read right now.
Thats true. no matter how to fine tune your websites or how much money on ads. Viral Web Marketing is probably one of the low cost and effective way.
This article brought me clarity on what I need to do next with my advertising. Now I'm asking myself what in the hell would I do in the viral vein using my design? Thanks for the thousand yard stare.
Paul
Didn't link on the last one? In the words of Homer Simpson, "stupid computer."
The advice in the article seems to be very helpful. Unfortunately it seems that they reference companies with huge budget. How does viral marketing work for smaller budgets?
Great article! Thanks for posting.
Thanks for your viral post. I enjoyed it well. Text is better than videos.
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Ays, take a look at HP's viral campaign FingerSkillz. All takes is to have a good idea - money is not nessesary.
You have posted nice stuff. I am inspired form thins and going to try it. Thanks.
i think the campaigne aladygma is working good
Fantastic tips on viral marketing. I will take these thoughts and share them on my ventures moving forward.
A couple highlights that got me thinking was the opportunity cost to emotions and the interesting Escalator and Smirnoff video. Thanks a lot!
Excellent, just excellent. Copy Goes Here was fantastic. This really gets the mind working about some cool viral stuff. Love the blog.
You can also take advantage of social news sites like http://www.subbmitt.com to post a link to your article or video. It's good publicity and people read and share the links.
Viral. The most misunderstood idea in marketing today. Viruses spread when they have a host to connect to.
Great Article! A good way to initiate the flow of creative juices is to look at the most viewed information on the net. It would be good to check Google and also look at Digg and some of the other social sites to see what is moving at the time that that you are ready to pursue your viral project.
Just finishing a paper for my uni and your excellent post helped me a lot. Thank you.
This has to be one of the most impressive free trainings I have seen in 14 years of marketing online. Well done!
Rex
@Mark: Eh, true, but you can just as easily download white noise for that. Viral marketing is a lot different from what you're suggesting.
Great post! I love it. Word of Mouth is definately the most powerful marketing method in the world. It is really enjoyable to watch these videos.
Fantastic tips on viral marketing,impressive free training,I am inspired form thins and going to try it. Thanks.
hotmail.com, one of the first great examples. Very simple concept, very effective deliver.
I like the embedded videos
I am looking more documents taking about viral marketing.
Thanks for sharing this great article.
Beautiful article full of great tips and easy to follow advice on viral marketing! Thanks a bundle!
Since you are actively writing about web video marketing tactics, I wanted to introduce you to the Web Video Marketing Council (http://www.webvideomarketing.org).
The WVMC recently celebrated its first anniversary with an enhanced website featuring free resources for marketers who want to engage in web video marketing. The WVMC monitors news, trends, technologies and applications related to all aspects of web video marketing including web video email, video blogging, viral video campaigns, video microsites or "videosites" and related analytics software.
Thank you for your time.
Best,
Lauren Barrows
WVMC Associate
617-314-9156
really it is grate article. we got lot of info and tricks from this article, We are seo freelancer, freelance web designer, and website marketing. this article will help us to upgrade our knowledge of SEO.
Good advice - all of this is good advice. Just don't do something dumb like Zipatoni did with their fake PSP blog.
my fave viral campaign was the one for cloverfield...unless i'm completely slow i still wasn't able to pick up what the hell that monster was lol kept me guessing all the way (didn't see the movie - so guess it wasn't THAT effective rofl)
Thanks for a great article.
Really good read, I've been inspired by this.
Thanks!
Jorg.
Hi Thomas
Thanks for all the good advice, I just released my first viral video and have the next in the series ready to go now.
Please have a look and tell me what you think.
All the best
Alistair Patterson
http://www.fantasycouriers.com
P.S Write some more we need the help!
Interesting to Viral Marketing:
"First inspire, then play"
Frank Magdans 19.07.2008
The maker of Internet puzzles Aladygma about indie games, web art and Viral Marketing
viral video. I have a new website coming soon. You can access old website by http://www.materialgirls.us (selling name) or new by http://www.abysmemories.com
thks and keep up the good wo
miriam
Hello everyone,
I am doing a research on Viral Advertising.
This article has helped me a lot and I would like to thank the Writer of the article.
I would like to have more information and links regarding research in sector of travel.
Can you help me get some more insights on the topic for better and in-depth research.
Great tips, but humor is generally the best way to make a viral marketing campaign.
Humor is only half of the battle...they laugh, share it and move on. The question is what is your best case action commitment? They pass it on? They sign up? They buy? If it's only awareness then yes humor accomplishes that. Look at thelimited.com (you can vote for me while you're at it!)
http://www.thelimited.com/ultimateoutfit?pbb_qsi=6317877&;=PPIMEMAIL
They started this today, and already have over 4000 entries...just entries (best case scenario as they will return) and they had over 200,000 visits today. Why...they are offering a prize, allowing women to be creative, making it easy to share and connect with other sites. So find what makes your clients tick, then work it to your advantage. My two cents... And yes vote for me!!!!! Ha!
Love the escalator advert / video. Brilliant!! And even the escalator mechanic got stuck!!! So hilarious.
Thanks for all the tips and advice. One day maybe I'll make my own viral advert and contaminate the world with red bubbles, artwork, photography and written work. Our online community is already addicted, why not the rest of the world?
I have made a jigsaw puzzle in flash and want to upload on sites where people can play and download...
I made this as viral marketing tool... can anyone suggest sum sites where i can upload it?
We've all come a long way marketing with web video advertising. Here's a fun viral video I made in 1999 for a now-defunct e-commerce company.
Makes fun of offline spots for Pets.com, who's character is now marketing Auto Loans from Bar None: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08NKZSszJo
Never got off the ground virally. Any ideas why?
I love the article, I am wanting to do some viral marketing myself and I found this post to be very useful. I agree with some of the other comments above, it has to be original, once someone has done it it won't work as good the next time. You have to catch people off guard, something they didn't expect that makes them notice it and share it.
Thanks for the tips. I have been trying to tackle this concept of viral marketing for a while now. It's just a really tough topic to wrap your head around. I think the reason why is that you can't "force" people to engage in viral marketing. You have to just attempt to follow these concepts as best as you can and they fight to make things so great on your site that people will WANT to share your site with the world. I know of one sure-fire way to make this happen. One way that people will for sure share your site with the world. I wrote a post about it on my blog. Let me know what you guys think...
Attention- NOT Boring!
I spend last few days on searching for inspiration to our start up ( http://neighboro.com ) viral campaign. With our extremely small budget, to make it real impact we have to be very creative. But how to get inspired (without medicaments) if most of the marketing tutorials preach the same retired ideas? This is the first site that made my synapses active. Thanks- Good Job!
Very good article. I enjoyed reading it and got many ideas about viral marketing. Very insightful.
I agree that humor is the best way to make a viral marketing campaign. People need humor
Hi, Really I appreciate your work, I totally agree with you..
emotions play a vital role in spreading the messages..
Thanks for that nice post....
I like the break down of viral marketing. I think many people try to capture the definition of viral marketing, but it seems that as soon as someone finds a system that works for them, the system changes and grows. It's kind of like the housing bubbles. Eventually, after the level system has reached its variable potential, it blows. Once a technique is posted, its outdated. It does not mean that the particular strategy no longer works; it just means that the shadow won't be as bright as the source. Great points. I look forward for the next innovators.
I've been thinking of doing a funny commercial or funny game, but I can't come up with anything that I could call viral. I actually found this blog looking for a company that specializes in that kind of thing. Anyone know of one?
Great points. Even better comments. Everybody seems to be talking about the million dollar questions of viral marketing. In truth many people say they have/make/specialize in viral marketing but in reality few do it with using a push distribution strategy outlined like the comotion group uses.
Like its being said, there aren't exactly formulas for this stuff but you can categorize the videos to see what styles generate the most attention.
We are continuously breaking down the top viewed virals and organizing them in our catalog at http://www.aboutviral.com. Before you start brainstorming your [hope to be] viral know your core [those who be initially prone to share] audience and then decide the contents direction so you can really understand what parts of the video are going make it attractive. Sometimes people make videos and because THEY make it they get so attached to it and thinks its soooo great when reality it just a case of the "its your own kid syndrome" clouding the overall vision.
Hey, I read this article and I just wanted to say you have some really good points there. I will need to come back and definately read it over until it is commited to memory. I am a newb at online marketing and am greatful for people like you who write articles for others' better education.
I have bookmarked this page.
great!
Benny
p.s. visit my page and maybe even shoot me an email and I wouldn't mind chatting with you some more, create some sort of online partner/friendship. Serious!
When providing a product or service free, The word
Free
is the most persuasive word in marketing. Most viral
marketing campaigns give away a product or service to
gain prospect's interest. Eg. Free e-mail service, free
software, free info. etc. Then, when you have their
attention, and build their trust, you can sell something
related to their target niche. However, if you hit them
with a sales pitch first, chances are they wont be as
interested.
This has been proven time and time again.
Now,
most people have around 5 to 12 people in their
close network of friends, family and work colleagues.
On the internet, nearly everyone has email addresses
in their contacts list, and favourite websites stored
in their web browser. Utilise this fact in your marketing
campaign. For example, when you give away a free product,
ask the recipient to provide the email addresses of others
who may be interested.
Many viral marketing websites now provide a friendly
"Tell a Friend" feature which makes letting your contacts
know that much easier.
Viral marketing has come a long way since the day of Hotmail.
Today, most viral marketing websites take hold extremely
well, and benefit all parties involved. Everyone wants to
take part in something that is catching on like wildfire,
and especially when it proves to be rewarding for all
involved.
A great viral marketing website or service should
be used as a way of building customers, and driving traffic
to your website. It's simply a win/win situation for
everyone!
Viral marketing costs very little, in fact if you go to
the right places, it can be free. Given that, and the
huge potential for increased profits with less effort,
your marketing campaigns should always involve viral
marketing so your prospects catch the bug!
I have also been thinking about some viral marketing ideas, but there aren't that many companies promoting the idea as much as traditional marketing..
Great ideas! I didn't see all the videos yet, but the John West video had me laughing for some time. I'm going to post this on my blog.
I'm trying to find out the expected ROI on viral marketing. So, far many of these have seen awareness of products or services but does anyone have an ROI on viral marketing?
Thanks,
Patricia Hughes
ePlus Marketing
Yes, I agree with Patricia.. I would like to see some ROI data on viral marketing.. it would help make a decision on spending budget..
That was the stuff that I was looking for . It was really cool.
Well I was thinking of using orkut to promote my site but will it be considered spam? Any suggestions
that was some awesome stuff . I agree with you that the story is the main part , then comes your product. You'll have to be creative to make some sales.
What about viral marketing used for websites or blogs? Anyone has got any ideas. I am a beginner in web marketing and have been trying to increase my traffic using many ways . But none of them are effective. I read in a blog that article publishing helps . Any ideas.
I read that in extrememoneyonline.blogspot.com . Will it help?
You are right Bed,
The data on Viral marketing( ROI) will help every one to take some decision regarding the budget allocation.
This will be interesting, #7 will be tested out on our new game called "ninjahit" http://www.ninjahit.com The game is being made for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, but you will need to register on the site to add friends so you can play. We'll tie it into Facebook and Myspace soon, but for now its a two step process. Get the App and register then play with friends. Really no way to prevent those steps. So any tips would be great as we are in beta right now. This game is a unique game where it is played in real life, real world environment. Get them before they get you, your mobile device is your weapon.
But I've enjoyed your articles and comments. Thanks,
Thanks for this great article - a good guide with a fantastic set of examples.
I agree with ChannelZ that humor plays a big role in succesful viral marketing campaigns. We did one called Solar Shorts which ended up being very succeful:
Today was the first time I heard about "viral marketing". I couldn't even imagine how many time I have helped to spread it not knowing that actually. But all these examples seem to be made by professionals, and it seems pretty difficult for a small web site owner to promote his/her site. (Yes, I know, everything is about the idea and inspiration, but still...) Well, who doesn't have an idea, let him stay aside, that's the "law" of marketing and success.
If you're in the NYC area there is a viral marketing class going on this July.
http://www.indigoprod.com/ViralVideoWorkshop
Worth a shot! I'm going!
As everyone knows by now, video is very exciting. I think in the next few years people will discover that video is appropriate for certain areas of the consumer market, right now it seems like everyone wants to use video for everything. I think the small business arena will benefit the most from video which is pretty much the thesis behind http://www.adwido.com
The agency I am with has been doing some viral marketing with some of our clients and the challenges of it are numerous. Thanks so much for this article. It helps tons. I'll link to an article I wrote on 3 viral lessons you can learn from a very popular viral video in action sports, our particular niche. Thanks again, Mike
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http://www.orkut.com became huge in not a very long time, they werent public til a while ago, and only people with invitation could've registered! this contradicts your rule 7. There are other instances that contradict with what you say, but I dont want to bring them up