Internet marketing experts like Brad Powers are familiar with the various techniques used by online businesses today. An increasingly popular method is viral marketing. Why?
A viral marketing campaign, if successful, is an inexpensive way to promote awareness and interest in a product, brand name or idea. Viral marketing uses social networks and other popular sites to draw a large crowd and to spread information rapidly- for free. The hard part is thinking of something that will generate enough interest or amusement for it to then be shared. Many companies use entertaining or fascinating video clips to do the job. Images work well, too. The video is seen by the first layer of audience, which then posts it on its Facebook, MySpace or Twitter page. More and more people are exposed to the video, and the brand name/product is immediately well known.
This video is one of many created by BlendTec, and is a part of the company’s viral marketing campaign. Tom Dickson, the company founder, wanted to show the strength of his blenders, and so began a series of videos in which he attempts to blend various items, including an iPhone, marbles, credit cards, Bic lighters and more. Curiosity, as well as the sheer absurdity of the idea, drew an enormous crowd of viewers, and these videos are now well known across the globe. Viral marketing experts such as Brad Powers are undoubtedly familiar with this advertising technique, as well as many others.
Online marketing experts like Brad Powers understand that viral marketing is a cheap, easy way to get your message out, or promote a product or brand name. The most successful viral marketers today use social networks like Facebook, along with a bit of creativity, to spread their messages like wildfire.
There are a few things that you should know if you plan on partaking in a viral campaign. First, make sure your message can be easily shared, linked to and bookmarked. Make sure the format allows for copying or embedding on other sites, as this is the key aspect of viral marketing. Be sure to have your message accessible to all. People should not be required to register, download or unlock any sort of codes in order to view your message. Accessing your message should be free and simple; this way more and more people will enjoy it, and share it!
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.
Online marketing experts such as Brad Powers are familiar with the various strategies used in increasing online sales or popularity. Here are a few ideas for new entrepreneurs:
Articles and tutorials attract a lot of online traffic, especially if they’re free. Choose topics that people find interesting or seek information on, and watch as your site climbs higher in the ranking.
Use newsletters on your site. This may encourage your subscribers to forward it on, and will also increase search engine visibility.
People always forward amusing, shocking or informational items on. These can be created in the form of videos, games, images and more.
Remember- viral marketing doesn’t have to be only online. Plenty of other products and items have been made popular in this method, such as the Livestrong bracelets from Nike.
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!
