The Advantages of Viral Marketing
Viral marketing, coined from the root word “virus”, is a business marketing strategy that employs the interest of existing consumers to promote a product or service, in a bid to make knowledge of the new or existing product (or service) viral, gain interest of the public as well as make relevant target sales.
Viral contents were usually made viral out of sheer luck or misfortune, as some have positively benefited from it while others have had a somewhat bitter experience with their content going viral.
Today, many businesses use viral marketing strategies to spread the brand’s message about a product or service, quickly, from person to person, where existing consumers willingly choose to share such messages to their own network. Think of viral marketing as a contagious virus that is picked up by one person and transmitted to as many that come in contact with the original virus carrier.
Viral marketing strategies can be deployed online or offline for any business seeking to boost visibility and increase sales. With the help of a digital marketing agency, the concept behind the marketing strategy can easily be applied. The elements applied are mainly to create curiosity about the product or service as well as desire that would make people purchase it. The obvious question as a business owner is how viral marketing would be of benefit to the business. Take a look at the following advantages of viral marketing…
Generate great traffic and leads
A well crafted offline or online viral marketing campaign can generate a tremendous amount of traffic to the business. If a business is working towards a major sales campaign but traffic is low or there is very little public excitement about the sales campaign, a viral marketing strategy would drive traffic and possible leads. Viral marketing is a brilliant way to create buzz, curiosity and excitement about the sales campaign.
Cost-effective
Businesses are often looking out for marketing campaigns that would not eat too deep into the business’ pocket yet provide an excellent opportunity to meet the desired sales target. And viral marketing gives businesses that opportunity. Content is very key to the success of any viral marketing campaign. So whether the company is choosing to use simple text with links, videos, text only, or an e-flyer, the content must be crafted such that it can go viral easily. With this, very little is spent on promoting the content as the content will put itself to work, and go viral.
Visibility
Even though it is often said that an empty barrel makes the loudest noise, it is also often not stressed that the person with the loudest voice (or noise) would be first heard. And that voice or noise has the capacity to drown others over a period of time. Viral marketing gives businesses the opportunity to speak out or make loud noises about their products or services. Have a business that is not as visible as desired, take the viral marketing route and watch the results. Now, because people (or users) are the driving force behind making a content going viral, once the business has done its part by creating a “viral Worthy” content, the brand is bound to be visible. And the more visible a business is, the more growth it would experience
No space encroachment
It is very common for people to feel that a business advertisement is encroaching their “space” when they keep seeing the advert everywhere they go to or every site they land on. And this might permanently put some people off a business’ products or services, even if it appeals to their current needs. With viral marketing, because the users are the ones sharing the content, the brand comes off as an “innocent element” dragged about by the user who keeps sharing the content. And even when content is shared that way, it has a very little effect on the brand as being perceived as “encroaching” their space, rather it boosts brand visibility.
Big break into mainstream media
It is not news that the mainstream media controls how the public forms their respective opinions about different appealing topics. The mainstream media also reflects people’s opinions too. Having the mainstream media talk about a business with a content that goes viral would be a free indirect advertising opportunity for the business, rather than having to pay a heavy sum of money to advertise the business on mainstream media. Getting this big break might not be that easy because the mainstream media is also conscious of the kind of contents pushed out on their platforms. This is where the business team in charge of creating the viral marketing campaign must do a lot of work to create contents that could land on the mainstream media through its viral effort (and not harm the company’s public image too).
Touch the buying nerve
There is a nerve or emotion responsible for making people buy into anything someone presents to them. Credibility is linked to the nerve or emotion. When a business creates a viral content that both adds some sort of value to the users and sells a convincing and believable story, it taps a part of the nerve or emotion that makes them take an action. The first action is curiosity about the brand, so they research the brand. Then when they find similar truth in the viral content and the research made about the brand, it ignites a desire for whatever product or service the brand offers, which invariably leads to sales.
Continuity
The internet is such a beautiful place, and it has the capacity to retain information for long, if not forever. And contents that go viral are obviously going to stay longer on the internet. This implies that a business’ viral content could keep promoting the brand for as long as it is in the public domain without the business owner doing anything. Creating remarkable viral content is beneficial for the present and future of any business. We live in the era where people are continually sharing content 24/7, and if for some reason five years later a user stumbles on the once viral content, the resharing continues again, to probably a younger audience who still find it relevant.