Viral marketing is a strategy that gets people talking about your brand resulting in increased sales or revenues. It’s not enough that your content gets 1 million views or gets re-shared thousands of times. No matter how hilarious, eye-popping or heart-wrenching the messages are, if it does not contain a marketing message that would attract people to avail of your services or buy your products, it is not viral marketing at all. So, what is the common denominator between marketing strategies that became viral hits? How would you go about creating a viral marketing campaign?
The “Real Beauty Sketches” of Dove inspired millions of women to be more confident about how they look. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s “Food with Integrity” campaign increased consumer awareness of industrial food production while appealing to their stomachs. Katy Perry’s videos entertain and directly call people to buy her album. All of these viral marketing campaigns integrated the essential features of an effective marketing strategy.
Organized and well-thought-out production
- Correct headline: It tells people that your content has a real value.
- Buzz-worthy topics: Is anyone currently talking about it? If gossips spread like wildfire it is because it is about something or someone popular at that time. So, when you create content about something that people are talking about, then the possibility that your campaign will get talked about is very high.
- Brief but substantive content. It is direct to the point; it has a clear message and a strong call to action. A shorter but meaty content has more impact than a lengthy campaign.
- Unique: If it is predictable and it is something that someone has done before, forget about it. People like to see new things, so go and get something fresh. Don’t try to be cool-although, there’s nothing wrong with it. So, when you think of content, make sure that you can’t think of someone else who has done it yet.
Smart customer targeting
Appropriate customer demographics: Do you have a customer persona? Define your target audience and their location. You have to get the right email address before it reaches the person, right? The same thing applies to creating a viral marketing campaign. Send the message to the right customer-people who may be interested in your products or services and who are most likely to share your message with others.
Right channel
What social media platform will your targeted audience use? If you’re targeting young customers, Twitter is the best platform to start with because it is the most popular social media network used by 25 and 34-year-olds. Companies that intend to attract women customers can consider integrating Pinterest into their promotion because 80% of the platform’s users are women. But, if your target market consists of busy individuals who have less time on social media, you can add street marketing to your plan.
Make it shareable
If you want your message to spread like a virus, make sure that people can easily share or download it or embed it in their website.
