When I thought of viral marketing I thought it was viruses coming through the internet in forms of advertising, I wasn’t sure of what it was. After researching about it I realized I was wrong. Viral marketing seems to be increasingly popular and in some cases very effective for branding or selling. Viral marketing is one of the new forms of advertising that have come to exist because of the internet. As people have such a freedom of access using the internet, it has been possible to create many ways in which advertising can get to them. I am going to talk about its concept, some examples and other information that I found.
So, what really is viral marketing? After analyzing the relation between the two words, and also reading about it, I found out that viral marketing is marketing or advertising that can be easily spread like a virus. The name may sound a little bit offensive, but that´s the term that defines what this marketing does. Even though it seems relatively new, viral marketing has been around for many years. In 1994 media critic, Douglas Rushkoff, was the first to write about it in his book Media Virus. Viral marketing is also referred to as “word of mouth” or “creating a buzz”.
To understand viral marketing better, I am going to explain the most common and known example of it, Hotmail.com. Everyone seems to put it as the classic example of viral marketing. What happens is that they first give away fee e-mail addresses and other services. They attach a tag at the bottom of every free message sent. The tag reads "Get your private, free email at "http://hotmail.com". In this way, people spread this advertising among their networks and contacts maybe without even noticing. In that way there is always someone else new getting the free service and at the same time spreading the message to more and more people.
What I also found out is that viral marketing does not work so easy. In fact, not many viral marketing campaigns are successful. In order for them to be successful they have to be really good and contain some basic elements in their strategy. Some of the elements are: Give away free products or services, provides effortless transfer, scales easily from small to large, utilizes existing communication networks, and takes advantage of others´ resources. Another important aspect that makes a viral marketing campaign good is making people feel something about it. I found out that is all about emotions. You have to create a really good story or something that would not seem as an advertisement.
Not every viral marketing campaign works as the Hotmail.com does, but some other examples of viral marketing are Dove Evolution campaign in YouTube, Smirnoff viral, HP FingerSkilz, and others. Viral marketing is not very known or recognized by users. When we see a video or a type of advertising that comes in this way maybe we don’t know how to call it. In a world were traditional advertising does not work as effective any more, viral marketing seems to create a good response.
So, what really is viral marketing? After analyzing the relation between the two words, and also reading about it, I found out that viral marketing is marketing or advertising that can be easily spread like a virus. The name may sound a little bit offensive, but that´s the term that defines what this marketing does. Even though it seems relatively new, viral marketing has been around for many years. In 1994 media critic, Douglas Rushkoff, was the first to write about it in his book Media Virus. Viral marketing is also referred to as “word of mouth” or “creating a buzz”.
To understand viral marketing better, I am going to explain the most common and known example of it, Hotmail.com. Everyone seems to put it as the classic example of viral marketing. What happens is that they first give away fee e-mail addresses and other services. They attach a tag at the bottom of every free message sent. The tag reads "Get your private, free email at "http://hotmail.com". In this way, people spread this advertising among their networks and contacts maybe without even noticing. In that way there is always someone else new getting the free service and at the same time spreading the message to more and more people.
What I also found out is that viral marketing does not work so easy. In fact, not many viral marketing campaigns are successful. In order for them to be successful they have to be really good and contain some basic elements in their strategy. Some of the elements are: Give away free products or services, provides effortless transfer, scales easily from small to large, utilizes existing communication networks, and takes advantage of others´ resources. Another important aspect that makes a viral marketing campaign good is making people feel something about it. I found out that is all about emotions. You have to create a really good story or something that would not seem as an advertisement.
Not every viral marketing campaign works as the Hotmail.com does, but some other examples of viral marketing are Dove Evolution campaign in YouTube, Smirnoff viral, HP FingerSkilz, and others. Viral marketing is not very known or recognized by users. When we see a video or a type of advertising that comes in this way maybe we don’t know how to call it. In a world were traditional advertising does not work as effective any more, viral marketing seems to create a good response.
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