What is viral marketing in social networks, how and with what is it eaten?

Everyone probably knows and heard such an expression as “word of mouth”. When Zina told Fedya, Fedya told Tolya, he told Kirill and Ilya, and the news spread throughout the district. So, viral marketing, in its essence, is the same as word of mouth. Information is thrown into society and further, like a virus, it is transferred further and further. Thus, this is a very powerful way to get through to consciousness, because, in comparison with traditional marketing, viral marketing is not so intrusive.

Intrigued? Then let’s look at it from the inside.

Types of Viral Marketing

1. Pass-along (from English “transfer”) – when people themselves share your videos / photos / stories with each other. As it once happened with the well-known PSY video “Gangnam style”.
2. Incentivised viral (from English “encourage”) is the case when a person needs a little push to spread. But this view also helps to establish a long-term relationship with the client. Here’s an example: the action “Carry out in 50 seconds.” Everyone is invited to fill out a short questionnaire and become a participant in the “race” through the household appliances store with the opportunity to take away everything that fits in their hands, and 50 seconds are allotted for all this.
3. Undercover is one of the most effective methods of promoting a product/service based on the uniqueness and unusualness of viral content. Here your advertising should not be direct, but hidden. For example, the same product placement in the cinema.
4. Buzz (from the English “rumors”) – this type of advertising cannot be called correct, and in some cases it may even turn out to be a damaged phone and go sideways to you. However, it still has its place. The main goal is to attract as much public attention as possible by any means and means.

For example, the well-known story of promoting the Shustov brand. When Nikolai Shustov hired people to go to taverns and demand Shustov vodka (which, of course, was not there), and in case of refusal, a terrible scandal began. After that, of course, it began to be sold everywhere.

There are a few other things to know about viral marketing besides species.

Rules for the successful introduction of the “virus”

Rule number 1. Ease

It is necessary to create the most comfortable conditions for the distribution of your advertising. If it is a link, then it should open immediately, without any obstacles like a slow loading site, a pop-up window with additional advertising, etc. Take care of convenience.

Rule number 2. Uniqueness

He who has been ill with chickenpox will not be able to get infected again! What do you think this is for? It’s simple: the “virus” that you threw in the first time will not work the second time. Each advertisement must be new and fresh.

Rule number 3. High propagation speed

Stopping is like death! Marketers have come to the conclusion that each virus has only 3 days to sit in the head of at least 30% of the audience. Otherwise, there is no chance of success. To increase this speed, you can attract opinion leaders.

Next, it is worth touching on why viral advertising is so powerful. And all because, unlike the traditional one, it evokes emotions. And if you want to touch the feelings of the client, it is best to take a photo, video or article on one of these topics:

You can use whatever you want, but do not go beyond. Everything should be in moderation, otherwise advertising will turn into a stream of negativity towards your company.

Well, if you think that you don’t need imagination and creativity and you can create viral advertising on the Internet, then it’s better to do it in several stages.

Stages of a viral campaign

Stage 1. Study of the target audience and site selection

At this stage, it is necessary to develop the most effective viral promotion strategy. When compiling, be sure to take into account all the features of the brand and users who may become buyers in the future.

Stage 2. Development of the “virus” itself

Create diverse advertisements, gather advice, choose the best. The best option is if each of the ideas is with a detailed description, visualization and argumentation. This will make it easier for you to decide.

Stage 3. Distribution of advertising on the Internet and social networks

The choice of sites always depends on the characteristics of your target audience – age, interests, behavior on the Internet. As a resource for sowing use:

Stage 4. Moderation and monitoring

In order to achieve the best effect from your advertising campaign, continuous monitoring is necessary. Constantly monitor feedback and statistics. And, of course, participate in discussions.

Stage 5. Evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns

At the end, be sure to sum up the results of your campaign. Carefully analyze all key indicators. Perhaps, if in the future you want to repeat such an experience, this information will be useful to you.

Separately, I would like to emphasize social networks. Viral social media marketing is more effective than the rest of the media space, and quite legitimately takes the lead. The whole secret is that it is social networks that allow you to quickly spread the message among the audience. And it is impossible not to admit that social networks have a quantitative advantage, plus attention here is often focused not only on advertising, but also on the advertiser. In addition, it is one of the most budget types.

Online Viral Marketing: Top 3 Examples

In the end, let’s take a look at 3 amazing examples of viral marketing.

1. As part of the marketing strategy for the film Carrie, a telekinesis video was created in a cafe. The young girl became angry with the man and began to destroy everything around with the power of thought. This video is really amazing, especially considering the fact that the people around didn’t even know the filming was going on, so the reaction was just amazing.

2. Viral ads can be cute too. An ad campaign for GoPro cameras showed the world a video of firefighters rescuing a kitten. It is worth recognizing that the reason is really touching to the point of madness, and the cameras themselves look in a winning light here:

3. In 2009, the IKEA brand ran an unusual campaign. The company was called Tag Yourself. The essence was as follows – in the profile of a store employee, photos of the showroom were uploaded in two weeks. Subscribers were offered to tag themselves in the photo of interior items for a chance to win them. As a result, the photo with marks began to appear in news feeds, thanks to which it quickly spread across the network, and the action received great publicity.

3 types and 4 examples of viral videos

With the advent of advertising on television, it became easier to present information about the product being sold. However, due to high competition, customers began to pay astronomical sums for it, which made them a little unhappy. Everything was fixed by His Majesty the Internet. The so-called “viral video” has flooded the Internet, has become epidemic.

What is a viral video? In fact, this is a video that is promoted by users themselves through social networks, blogs, etc. The owners of large brands immediately realized that they had found a gold mine and a viral video has become a powerful tool in SMM. Its main advantage, as mentioned earlier, is the lack of payment for the display. You pay only for the production of commercials (and even then, not always).

How to make a viral video? Firstly, the video should be of interest to the “networker”. Only then (provided that he likes it), the user will share it with his fellow subscribers. And of course, this clip should carry some hidden subtext – information about the brand or product (not for fun, we actually did it J)

Viral videos are divided into many categories. To describe them all, and even with examples, two such articles are not enough. Therefore, I decided to dwell on the main, as it seems to me, points. So:

1. Funny

In this video, Microsoft advertises a new version of Windows, while playing with the slogan “Fast and beautiful.” The video quickly gained popularity. Something tells me that it was the beautiful half of humanity that contributed to this 😉

2. Touching

A very touching ad from Procter & Gamble’s “Say Thank Your Mom” campaign. Well, what can I say? Yes, there’s nothing to say, you need to call your mother.

3. Strange

Before the tour of Britney Spears in Russia, there was such a video. I wonder if Britney knows?

Each user, without suspecting it, is a tool of viral marketing. This is still much better than the usual advertising that pours brownish color from blue screens.