Viral Marketing - What is Viral Marketing Anyway?
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Viral marketing seeks to spread the message of your website or product, from person to person, in the same way as cold or flu virus. One person catches the viral marketing concept, and then passes it along to one or many other people. In fact, viral marketing messages have been known to spread around the entire world, in less than a day.
Many companies, both large and small, have used viral marketing, which is simply good old fashioned word of mouth, in many new and creative ways.
Perhaps the single most famous case of viral marketing is that of Microsoft’s Hotmail e-mail system. By simply placing a link, at the bottom of the Hotmail based e-mail, many people signed up for the free service. Since e-mail is such a ubiquitous use of the Internet, the idea literally flew around the world. As a viral marketing campaign, Hotmail was a tremendous success.
Permission based e-mail has proven to be one of the most effective methods of viral marketing transfer. Bloggers, as usual, are also on the cutting edge of viral marketing campaigns. By means of highly mimicked ideas, referred to as "memes", bloggers are able to use viral marketing techniques to enlarge their readership.
Businesses and traditional website owners can put the muscle of viral marketing to work for themselves too. All that is required for a powerful viral marketing system is the right message and the people to spread it for you.
People will happily relay your marketing message for you, if you satisfy their basic human needs. Those personal motivations may include being popular, being part of the in group, or simply wanting to get things that are offered free of charge. A strong viral marketing tool will tap into those human emotions.
Next: How Do I Start My Own Viral Marketing Program? >>
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