Chapter 74. Viral Marketing
The definition of viral marketing depends on whom you're asking, but the one I like is "marketing phenomenon which facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message" (see marketingterms.com).
The idea in its simplest form is that you create something (a product, a video, a social networking widget) so compelling that people want to pass it along to others. You also supply a mechanism that makes it easy for them to pass it along.
What makes it compelling? It may be something humorous, like a funny video, or something really unusual, cool, or wacky. It could be compelling because there's a reward for passing it along (e.g., "Pass this on to three friends and we'll give you a free ringtone")—though that's not as powerful as something that's just really fun or cool.
Your viral marketing can be especially effective if the marketing message is passed along simply by using your product. Here are some examples:
Hotmail includes a link to its service at the bottom of every outgoing e-mail. You simply use Hotmail to send e-mails and its marketing message is passed along with no additional effort on your part.
At the end of every YouTube video, the viewer is invited to send it to a friend. By simply using the video service to embed video on your site, you're also promoting it.
Google has an "Ads by Google" link in the AdSense ads displayed throughout the Internet. When you monetize your site with its ads, you're also promoting its service.
Several ...
