Viral Media: Tested Strategies That Work.
Marketing a product or brand can be a very delicate procedure. It’s a procedure that can either help to make or break a business in the long-run. One way to make sure your message gets out there is to try to go viral. Not in the infectious sense, of course.
Viral marketing strategies online are becoming a necessary part of the larger picture. While few will achieve the success of the Chocolate Rain guy, there are strategies that will increase your chances of generating buzz and reaching a large audience. Here are some tips to help you join the ranks of the viral marketing elite.
1 – Target Multiple Platform
It would be an obvious thing to do, right? Wrong! Campaigns at times have a tendency to focus their strategies around one platform, limiting their reach as a result. It’s possible for it to work, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t. While it is true that choosing the correct platform to conduct your campaign on is an important choice, that doesn’t mean you should overlook other platforms where a large target audience potentially exists. The point of viral marketing is to be everywhere and anywhere. Why limit yourself to just that company homepage—especially when you’re able to create fan pages, Twitter accounts, and Youtube channels to help spread the word.
When it comes to viral marketing in politics, no one has done this better than President Obama—it also certainly helps that no one did this effectively prior to Obama with any significant results. During his run for presidency, there was no Web 2.0 platform unturned. His website aptly said, “Obama Everywhere”, as he was a participant on 16 different sites. The results from his viral marketing campaign speak for themselves. What better way to show others the power of viral marketing in the digital age than to become the 44th President of the United States.
2 – Power To The People
Get your audience, fans, followers and anyone else that’s interested involved. If a site like Wikipedia can live off of the contributions of its users, then you can may also be able to implement that same strategy into your own marketing plan. Leverage the fact that people are increasingly contributing in the web 2.0 era. They already have the ability to create tons of content, just give them a reason to create it for your product or brand. This lessens the burden on you and further helps to spread the word.
Cadbury, the people behind those delicious chocolates you love so much, decided to recently run with this idea in their “Operation Goo” campaign. Why bother making tons of content to promote a new product when your fans are more than willing to do it themselves. The content might not be professionally made, but that’s the era we live in now—the age when amateurs online are plenty. Apparently it worked out really well for them, generating a lot of attention online.
3 – Combine Both Online And Real-life Marketplaces
As much time as people spend online, the world outside gets a significant amount of attention from us as well. Don’t forget about the actual world that we live in. Mold your campaign to target the streets of New York in conjunction with the alleyways of cyberspace. Keep on placing those ads on billboards, pasting stickers on walls, but don’t be afraid to integrate aspects of your online campaign along with your real-life one.
The guys over at 42 Entertainment are definitely masters at this. Having made the popular alternate-reality game for The Dark Knight’s viral marketing campaign, it not only got the job done, but helped to broaden the reach of their audience through pure marketing genius. Streets filled with Joker, Harvey Dent, and Batman supporters all fighting for a piece of Gotham City set new standards for those in the marketing field. Just be sure to avoid conspicuous looking bombs if you’re going to attempt this.
4 – Share! Share! Share!
Share something, anything at all. People are always looking for pictures, audio, video or any other multimedia content of interest. Share that content and your audience will surely share the same content with others online. Sharing is caring—as some would say. What better way to show that you care than to release part of your album for free. Alternative rock band Nine Inch Nails decided to try this approach and it only landed them the #1 spot for best selling mp3 album of 2008. Even if you fail, you can bet your audience will appreciate the effort.
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viral marketing is the best but you have to think of a great idea that goes viral,-~