When did the viral marketing epidemic start? It happened more than 20 years ago, in 1994, when the American media expert and writer Douglas Rushkoff wrote a book about advertising called Media Virus. It tells about gullible people who not only become infected with the right idea themselves, but also spread it among their friends, relatives and acquaintances. Then, in 1996, Jeffrey Rayport published The Virus of marketing, whose headline translates as “Marketing Virus.” This term, slightly transformed, has become commonly used. And so the foundation for viral marketing was laid.

What is viral marketing?

Viral marketing is the use of “flying ideas” to push them to the masses. This is a guided hearing, a kind of material that by its nature attracts attention, provokes discussion, and thereby helps the business in selling. Such marketing is based on the need for people to communicate, exchange information. And if the marketing message is really worthwhile, interesting and unusual, then, like a virus, it will quickly spread among the desired audience through itself (without the involvement of outside resources like the media).

Key elements of viral marketing according to Yona Berger

He described the basics of viral marketing in his book “Contagious. The psychology of word of mouth. How Products and Ideas Become Popular, ”Professor Yona Berger of the Wharton School of Business. In his book, he formulated the basic elements and methods of viral marketing:

• social currency. The public loves to share information that shows its desire for development, education, new knowledge. Such links to useful articles on a social network, blog or website improve the image of the resource owner in the eyes of the target audience;
• emotions. Users love to share information that evokes strong emotions. Much viral content refers to human emotions such as anxiety, anger, and delight. But the sadness caused by the content is unlikely to contribute to its further promotion;
• publicity. If users see that someone they know has already performed some action, it becomes easier for them to repeat it;
• practical value. As noted above, the practical benefits of an advertising message have significant viral potential. Such content spreads quickly, since it not only helps to solve life’s problems, but also increases the importance of the person distributing it;
• stories. People love good stories, they like to retell and pass them on to each other. Tell your audience an interesting fairy tale with your product in the lead role, intrigue the audience, make them wait for the continuation of the story.

Four reasons to use viral marketing techniques for online advertising

1. It does not require constant investments and quickly pays off. Contextual advertising on the Internet, like targeted advertising on social networks, works as long as you pay. The viral one pays off much easier and brings more profit through organic distribution.
2. Piques interest. Viral marketing is not perceived as an advertising message, but as something interesting. So interesting that people themselves share viral ads with friends on the web.
3. They are remembered for a long time. A marketing virus usually has a short life span, but its effect continues for 2–3 years. After a month we do not send the video to others, but we remember the video and associate positive emotions with the brand, we easily recognize it. For example, the ad about Bridgestone beaver tires is a prime example . No conventional ad lasts that long.
4. Creates trust. If the viral marketer has coped with the task, then users on their own initiative begin to distribute a link to the material among friends and acquaintances. The credibility of such advertising messages is several times higher than that of those coming from TV and banners on websites.

How to Create a Viral Marketing Campaign?

There is no magic way to go viral. Marketers don’t have an arsenal of proven technologies, and they never will, because the dissemination of information is too unpredictable. But the successful experience of viral marketing in India shows that there are several conditions that increase the likelihood of content going viral.

1. The ability to quickly repost. The desire to share interesting content is an impulse. Therefore, nothing should prevent this. Let the “Share” button be in front of your eyes and no obligatory registration when following the link.
2. Posting content during hours when the target audience is active. The more users see the post, the more reposts will be made.
3. Wide seeding and rapid dissemination of information. Include online influencers in your viral marketing strategy. Advertising will spread across the Internet even faster if the content is shared by popular publications (for example, sports.ru uses the Internet edition Meduza to distribute viral content), bloggers and individuals with many subscribers.
4. Creative and unique content. Trivial material cannot form the basis of viral marketing. It should attract attention and stand out from the rest of the content, then users and administrators of thematic communities notice it, like, comment and post it on their wall.

Eight viral social media marketing tools + examples

1. Images.

These are fotoads, demotivators, memes. You can create your own viral image based on the product or adapt popular memes. Also in marketing, humor, children and cats are still viral topics.

2. Video.

More than 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Only 1 million videos gain 1 million views, and only 50 – 100 million views. So not every video goes viral. But if they want to share a video, it quickly scatters outside the social network.

For example, the Irn Bru soda ad featuring penguins dancing on the subway has nearly 2 million views and is still watched today.

3. Applications.

The most famous example of a viral app is Instagram. The application appeared in the App Store on October 6, 2010, and after six months it was downloaded by 70 million users. Today the number of registered users exceeds 1 billion.

Here are some more successful examples of viral in-app marketing:

• Prisma – converting photos to paintings:

4. Infographics.

It should contain valuable information that is visualized and therefore easy to remember. Instructions and life hacks work great here.

5. Articles.

On social media, marketers recommend writing stories in the storytelling genre. These can be incriminating articles, sentimental stories about the fate of a person, the destruction of common truths and texts, after reading which I want to say: “He literally expressed my thoughts!” Viral articles should either provide unique information that is not available anywhere else, or speculate on hot trending news.you can go with the most trusted Digital Marketing Company in Surat Relevant and useful content in the spirit of “The most complete instruction on stroke.”

To create a viral social media article networks use topics that have a high potential for controversy. It should be easy to discuss this issue. People prefer to discuss sensitive topics. Moreover, social networks are more willing to give out posts with a large number of comments in the feed. However, it should be borne in mind that the willingness to launch discussions that hurt feelings depends on the specifics of the brand. For example, you might discuss women’s driving in auto-themed groups, feeding animals a vegetarian meal in a vegetarian group, etc.

6. Incentivised viral: promotions, contests.

This is a way of viral marketing on the Internet, where users are promised a repost bonus or some other action. It helps not only advertise the product, but also increase the loyalty of the target audience.

You can run an Instagram selfie contest. For example, take the fictional coffee shop “Coffee”, which raffles off a liter of cappuccino. What conditions? Take a photo of yourself against the background of a coffee shop sign, post a photo on your page, mention @kofeek, put the hashtag #coffeedaritlitrcapuccino and try your luck in the draw.

7. A series of viruses in marketing.

How do you get people to talk about a product and wait for a new release? To make a TV series about him, as did the company Blendtec, which sells blenders. In every issue of Will It Blend? users were shown a new experiment in which they tried to grind a product using the device. In the end, it came to the iPad – it turned into powder.

A great viral marketing method because it demonstrates the power of a blender. It is immediately clear that he will definitely cope with nuts and ice.