Viral Marketing Tools

Pathologic phenomenons have allowed the term "viral marketing strategy" to be created and added to the ever expanding language culture of business marketing. The use of the term viral is by no means a happenstance. Just as a virus can infect the human body and spread to various other locations in and outside the host, so does this incredibly ingenious business plan attempt to spread certain types of advertising through entire social networks by being passed along through witting or unwitting carriers. This plan is a highly specialized form of marketing that, to this point in time, has generally been contained to the 30 and younger age demographic. It is an internet business strategy that encourages viewers to pass on a video clip, picture, text or other communication device to as many other users as possible. Just as an airborne pathogen can spread like wildfire, so can the message, advertisement, or other communiqus move exponentially across the globe in a matter of hours or days.

The viral marketing tools of today have only been available since the advent of the social networking sites visited millions of times each day by a youthful demographic. One classic example of this type of viral strategy was a now famous website offering free email addresses and services with a message at the bottom of each email sent out to join and receive the same free service. It did not take too long for this particular ISP to become the most highly used among young people. Offering free or low cost goods and services is a hallmark of this type of advertising. This marketing ploy does not promise instant sales. Closure may happen months down the road. But as services are given away, more and more interest can be developed for products and services laden with a price later on.

There are some important features that must be part of a viral marketing strategy. The first, as mentioned, is to give free things away. The second is to ensure that the message can be passed easily. Large video clips or other huge programs that need massive amounts of power and memory to run are instantly ruled out by those who are savvy webmasters. The whole idea of catching a cold with a simple cough or sneeze from someone else is a principle to be remembered. Ease of communicability is key. "Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are forever with me." (Psalm 119:98)

When one considers viral marketing tools, the two large social networking websites are preeminent in thought. The current thought in viral marketing is to embed carefully crafted ads within the pages of these websites that will create real buzz. Now this might mean not so much selling a product as to ask highly provocative questions that will lead to community discussions about the product or ideas or even a political stance. The demographic that uses these sites was born into the video age and as such, the best tools are usually video clips that might even end up on one of the national news networks. Outrageous, weird, obnoxious or just funny clips are reasons why users want to pass along the viewing experience to friends and family members. Discussions, buzz, skeptical minds and anger may all be used as emotional hot buttons to fuel a viral strategy. After all, not only product selling but actual social action can be fueled by such an ad campaign.

When considering a viral marketing strategy, there are many low cost or no cost ideas to help drive one's business. For example, at the end of every email that is sent, a request to visit a particular website can be very effective. Creating an e-book that others can download and read is a possibility. Giving away free services with an ad attached can be another way to use viral marketing tools as part of an internet strategy as well as creating discussion forums with the presence of an ad or ads. Whatever the tools used, the desired action is to have the information passed along social networks and have the ads read with a response.

Of course, this discussion so far has centered on viral marketing strategy on the internet. It is, in most cases, the most powerful way of creating an exponential spread of desired information in the shortest amount of time. However, this strategy can also be used offline and has been the favorite of publicists, public relations people and even agents of sports figures as well and stage and screen actors. Readers of magazines and newspapers, long before the internet was created, have been the witting or unwitting "virus carriers" of publicity schemes. Whenever a public persona's star begins to fall, viral marketing tools such as indiscrete photos, mug shots, or singing the national anthem off key can reignite a faltering career as viewers by the millions "buzz" about the images around the water coolers at work.

When it comes down to the nuts and bolts, viral marketing tools are just a reinventing of the wheel. People have always been curious, enjoying showing others for the first time what they have already discovered, lovers of the sensational, the mysterious and the odd. As long as human beings remain as they are, spreading viruses by sneezing, coughing, clicking a mouse or reading a gossip magazine will always be part of a viral marketing strategy.

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