Brad Powers

Google is well-known as one of the largest companies in the world- with the smallest advertising budget. They have managed this by using a strategy that produces an enormous amount of word-of-mouth advertising, or, viral marketing. Viral marketing is an advertising technique which uses videos, photos, articles or audio clips which are ‘cool’, interesting or amusing that are spread throughout a large social group.

In Google’s case, their “Gmail” email service was available only for people who had been invited in by current members. The Gmail rules created the feeling of some sort of elite club, and drew its social networking-users into the role of salesmen. Viral marketing professionals such as Brad Powers are familiar with this, and various other marketing techniques which are used throughout the web.

Viral marketing or viral advertising is a marketing technique which uses well known social networks to promote awareness of a brand or to accomplish other marketing goals through self-replicating viral processes.  Viral advertisements are usually found in the form of videos, images, Flash games, ebooks and more.

Marketers who are interested in creating successful online marketing programs know to look for people with high Social Network Potential, and to create viral messages that will appeal to this area of the population. Brad Powers is an example of an experienced internet marketer who specializes in viral marketing techniques.

Whether you are an experienced viral marketing professional like Brad Powers or one just starting out, you can always benefit from more viral marketing tips.  Here are two to help you with your marketing campaign.

First, make sure to personalize any referral emails that you send out.  Response rates are much higher when the recipient feels that he is being addressed individually. Start with the subject line, using the recipient’s name there if possible.  Then, try to use the name in the document as well.

No good viral marketing campaign is worthwhile unless you follow through and track the results.  Make sure to look at pass-along, click-through, and conversion rates.  Separate out the click-through and conversion rates by original customers from those that are referrals so that you can evaluate their respective performances.

There’s so much talk about viral marketing these days but what really makes it so attractive? If it’s successful it can “increase exposure for your company and product while increasing the number of links to your site.”  The challenging part is actually thinking up the idea but there are some great ways of doing just that. First, look for your target audience on the Internet. There are different places people from similar demographics will hang out so try to determine those first.  Identify the most common sites that fit your potential clients’ demographics from tools to contests, photo collections to specific topics.  Gamblers for example aren’t going to have the same interests necessarily as cooking buffs.  Once you’ve done that, work out different ways to “put a spin on one of those ideas” for your campaign.  Another thing you can do is look into different social media sites (like YouTube), look at their big success stories and thereafter “put a spin on it to tailor it to your industry.”  It seems like viral marketing can really do a lot for all companies – big or small – but the trick is to identify how it can work for your specific goals. Brad Powers is an online marketer specializing in the use of viral marketing techniques.

Viral marketing is a great way to get your message out without spending a great deal of money.  Today’s most successful viral marketers all use creativity, ingenuity and thought to find exactly the right hook for their campaigns.  Learn from these people, like Brad Powers, and get your own viral marketing campaign underway.

Certainly, there are a few key essentials with viral marketing.  You have to make it easy for people to share your campaign.  Make sure it’s in a usable format and make sure people can easily embed the content on their own sites.  Use social networks to get your word out and allow people to add it to bookmarking sites.

Make sure access is open to all, as well.  Don’t require people to register to see your viral marketing campaign and don’t make them become members.  They shouldn’t have to download any software or unlock codes.  You want them to have free and easy access to your information so that they can enjoy it and then spread it!

Ken Robbins, president and founder of Response Mine Interactive (RMI), offers fantastic, pointed tips to help any company with its online lead generation.  Certainly, experienced online lead generators like Brad Powers already employ many of these tactics.  They are quite helpful either as a reminder, or as a new suggestion for those who are novices in the field.

To maximize your profitability and long-term success, here are a number of key online lead generation tips.

Make sure to update the landing pages of offers that may have expired and ensure that your keywords are bringing users to the right landing page.  Constantly monitor your landing pages so there are no broken pages or loading issues.

Mr. Robbins’ last suggestion is called “rinse, wash and repeat.”  He explains that this means that you should always invest in testing – and continually test the lander and offers many times to ensure perfection.

While most online marketing entrepreneurs, like Brad Powers, focus on their online talents, it is important, as well, to remember other advertising and marketing avenues.  In our technology age, many people no longer focus on their business cards and on print advertising.

Don Crowther, an online marketing consultant in Racine, Wisconsin, thinks this is a mistake.  He urges people to be creative with their business cards by including a picture of yourself, a mini-resume, a Twitter handle or a special office to entice potential business people.

Crowther’s whole point is to make your card stand out.  He recommends leaving an unembossed white space for recipients to make notes and he says that you should leave off your street address and only include your email address or cell phone number.

There are many examples of viral marketing success stories. One that is particularly heart-warming is the Livestrong Wristband. This began as a fundraising effort by Nike for Lance Armstrong. The yellow wristband sold a staggering 45 million units and straight away became the identifying symbol for Armstrong. This signature look is a wonderful idea; it leads to people recognizing you or your product immediately and thereafter talking about it. It was such a simple (and inexpensive) idea but it worked so well. Viral marketing is often a great tool which social media expert Brad Powers uses in his work.

Many businesses could benefit from lead generation (in which leads are generated to you through web technology) especially those in the service industry. Everyone can benefit from lead generation. The buyer can acquiesce information from companies offering the service they need and the seller can pitch their service to any number of people who have given them the permission to do so. This is way better than simply cold calling as you have been given a lead. The reason various businesses choose to engage in lead generation is because they can: just pay for the leads they receive; work out prices for each lead; choose their own geographical area the business has an interest in; select how many leads you want to receive on a monthly basis as well as the service you want to offer to prospective clients. A media expert like Brad Powers benefits from engaging in lead generation.

If you’re a social media specialist like Brad Powers is, you may find this posting intriuging.  Learn about your options as an online marketer for using Facebook ads.  Facebook advertising works in a slightly different way than do search engines – so it’s important to read up on it and to see if it’s the right tool for you.

As the article states, “Branding can be an important element of success measurement for Facebook. There’s no denying it’s a highly trafficked site and one that many online marketers feel they simply need or benefit from a presence on Facebook as part of their competitive strategy. Since CTRs are on the low side and pricing is CPC based, there are a lot of free impressions being generated for an advertiser.”