Viral Marketing Essay

The research that I have done on Viral Marketing presents it as a modern alternative to traditional forms of marketing such as television commercials, print ads, and the radio. While these mediums may still be utilized for viral marketing, they function in new ways. Viral marketing refers to the very quick transfer of information between individuals. This form of marketing relies on word-of-mouth and word-of-mouse. Word-of-mouse has come to be due to the level of interaction our world has with technology.

A term often associated with viral marketing is "buzz." Creating buzz is essential to viral marketing because buzz is created when there are masses of people sharing and passing along the viral content. There are almost limitless possibilities on how to pass along this information. Among the options are online social networks, chain emails, text messages, YouTube, eBooks, and through untraditional functioning of traditional forms of advertising (as mentioned above). These traditional forms function untraditionally because, instead of an actual ad being shown, or in addition to the ad being shown, people are talking about it and attracting even more attention. Viral marketing becomes possible through fast and easy communication that connects millions throughout the world.

I also learned through my research that companies will often have to try dozens of marketing ideas before one successfully goes viral. David Meerman Scott explains that every company should expect blatant failures, projects that will return the investment without much more, and the "stars" that reach the status of viral. He also mentions that the stars are often so successful that they easily make all other attempts worthwhile.

Perhaps one of the most important things to remember about viral marketing is that this form does not follow the traditional rules of marketing. In fact, you are probably better off forgetting those rules altogether to be successful at going viral. One reason is that successful viral marketing often takes advantage of mediums that are free and easy to use. Companies are urged not to spend the truckloads of money they would spend on traditional advertising. Rather, homemade is a good option. Furthermore, you have to inform the public. Don't beg for attention, though. Let your target audience know what you have produced, and release it to them. Your message must be easy to transfer between thousands, and possibly millions of people. Then, nature hopefully takes over and your company, products, or ideas are spread at exponential rates.