Viral Marketing 101: Let Your Customers Promote
Your Online Business!
A good virus
Everything that we’ve been taught online and
off says that we should prevent rather than spread viruses…right?
Well, when it comes to creating a buzz about your online business,
spreading a virus—or more accurately—leveraging the power of
viral marketing, could be just what the doctor ordered. Like
a sneeze transmits the common cold, viral marketing entices
Web sites or users to pass along a marketing message, escalating
the growth of the message's visibility and influence. This
type of “stealth” marketing can be very cost effective in reaching
a large number of people about your website, product, or service
Already an epidemic
Chances are you’ve already been exposed to one or more viral marketing
methods. Countless organizations have already put a wide variety of
innovative strategies to work. The ground-breaking example of a viral
marketing success story is Hotmail, the Microsoft-owned company that
promotes its popular email service by appending an advertising teaser
to the end of its user’s email messages. Amazon.com, another great
purveyor of viral marketing, uses many tactics. For example, the site’s
order confirmation page let’s you input the email addresses of your
friends/family and invite them to save 10 percent on an item you just
bought. If they go to the site and buy the item, not only do they get
a discount, but you get an Amazon store credit for the dollar value of
their 10% discount!
Common tactics
Thankfully, you don’t need a Microsoft- or Amazon- sized bankroll
to deploy viral marketing tactics in your e-commerce site. Many
leading e-commerce vendors have begun bundling some of the
more popular features into their online store offerings.
(GoECart has offered these features for some time.)
Email-a-friend (e.g., “Recommend it” links)
Electronic gift certificates
Gift wrap (i.e., encourages customers to present gifts to friends)
Customer reviews (e.g., ability to provide recommendations right on the order page)
Asking customers to enter the details like birth date or important
events upon checkout can also aid in personalizing viral marketing
messages and building customer relationships.
Credibility is key
Viral marketing is becoming increasingly popular because of its low-cost
(especially when compared with traditional advertising methods), high
response rate from targeted users, and ease of execution. The obvious
advantage is its ability to obtain a large number of interested people at
an affordable cost. Its main weakness is that some tactics and/or overuse
can come across as “spam,” risking damage to your brand. To avoid appearing
as spam, companies should limit the number of techniques they use and choose
the ones they do employ wisely.
Here to stay
With its proliferation on many popular e-commerce sites, online shoppers
will use (and even come to expect) relevant viral marketing features.
Online storefronts should be ready with the features that are most
appropriate to their business.
