Is Viral Marketing the Right Marketing for Your Business?
Jaina as Viral Marketing
Jan|8|2012
Viral Marketing mimics “word of mouth” enthusiasm for a product or service. While engineered by a business or company often such campaigns are considered to be “leaked” not placed out in a normal fashion. This is because the predominant routes used to spread viral marketing include popular routes for self publication like YouTube video clips, blog articles, and similar things. In a more organized fashion similar to this one can find Flash games, advergames, ebooks, images, and text or email. Sometimes social media is used for this, including FaceBook and Twitter. In a number of cases the leaked marketing will be released as a seed into a social network, with the hopes that others will pass it around.
For those services tailored to the immigrant needing USCIS forms to apply for US Visas viral marketing might backfire. This is because while word of mouth can be used to create a positive impression. If the service is less then top notch professional the nature of a viral aid could expose more rough edges then one desires. A viral campaign by necessity is rough and unpolished. Poorly done, it could lead to a negative impression that counters the tailored professional image.
Some businesses and applications use viral marketing to increase interest in up coming special events or releases. This can range from ‘leaked’ video clips to snapshots and images that are tacitly approved but taken from an amateur angle to look more like it was taken by someone passing by. Such things are used to raise interest in films while on location or for music before it is released. In such cases it works well enough. Additionally viral marketing can apply to sales of products or services.
Some experts consider any marketing push that tends to be carried by those who first see it through word of mouth to be “viral”. Others do not see standard marketing to be on the same level as this, even if others share it with those around them. In the first definition, any ad released through a social marketing site to a “alpha” user can be considered viral, no matter how professional it is. In the latter, only those things which actually mimic a spontaneous feel and are rough or unpolished can be considered to be truly viral.
Viral marketing for any service or business, including those who help immigrants with their USCIS forms to gain US Visas require three components. These components are a messenger, a message, and an environment. The messenger can be information specialists, social hubs, or sales people. Messages need to have two qualities. They need to be easy to remember and interesting enough to share. The environment is a matter of external situations, timing, and influence. Is this a good marketing option for your business? Only if you understand how it works and what you can or cannot expect it to do. Careful selection of how it is used and the relevance to the immediate current social climate is a must to being successful with viral marketing.