e-Marketing - Viral Strategies

A third method of site promotion is viral marketing. Three of the most common forms of viral marketing are word-of-mouth, pass-it-on, and service-based. Viral marketing is “one of the most successful e-marketing methods” because of its ease of implementation (Low 1). In fact, it is considered “a massive secret weapon” for the success of marketing any web site (Lustina 3). And viral marketing has the potential to greatly increase site traffic. Viral strategies enable you to “encourage others to carry your marketing message, using their own network of relationships—and preferably their own resources” (Wilson, Eight 3). Which viral strategy to implement depends heavily on the content of your site.

Word-of-Mouth

Word-of-mouth strategies are most commonly implemented as the “recommend this to a friend forms” seen on numerous web sites like abcnews.com (Low 2). For word-of-mouth to be effective, the content must be informative or entertaining enough to make the user willing to recommend the site to others.

Pass-it-on

Pass-it-on strategies, a “popular activity for most e-mail users,” also require creative content (Low 4). And they can be an effective way to promote your site. When people are given funny or interesting material via e-mail, they generally pass the message on to their contacts, who then pass the message to their contacts, etc. This “snowball effect” allows the original sender to reach “hundreds of people within a few hours” (Low 4). Many comedians have unknowingly publicized their web sites using pass-it-on strategy (Hockin 1). By sending fun or interesting content via e-mail, and including the site’s URL, the pass-it-on viral strategy can promote a web site to hundreds of consumers within a few hours. Locke argues that this is the best way to market using the Internet. He says build a community focused around an interest area on the site will spur a grass roots marketing effort by everyone who enjoys the site (Locke, Gonzo).

Service-based

Service-based viral marketing is perhaps the most widely recognized viral marketing form. MSN’s Hotmail service is viral marketing at its best. Each time an e-mail is sent via a Hotmail account, a Hotmail URL is included on the bottom of the message. Service-based viral marketing is best utilized by a web page offering a service.

When choosing a form of viral marketing, it is important to insure that the strategy blends with your overall marketing strategy and site content. If a site offers a service, it is best to incorporate service-based viral marketing into the site. If a site offers especially informative or entertaining content, then enabling automated word-of-mouth or tell-a-friend features is a good strategy. Any site may be able to drive traffic with a good pass-it-on e-mail that is entertaining or novel. All of these strategies are most powerful when combined to build a community. Incorporating a community into your site is the best way to get more people passionate about your site, resulting in an increase in both awareness and traffic (Locke, Gonzo). Viral marketing, linking and search engine strategies are new marketing techniques for web pages, but they cannot totally replace traditional marketing techniques.