So, what is viral marketing, anyway?
Chances are, you don't ACTUALLY know how viral marketing works. Not the whole picture anyway - but very few truly do.
AHowever, you probably believe you know more than most. After all, when somebody asks "what is viral marketing" your first thought is likely the latest and greatest thing you hear that's "going viral" - whether it's the newest hilarious cat video that or the newest Kardashian ridiculousness.
In this post, we're going to touch on three key areas:
WHAT makes this "viral" thing happen?
WHY does it happen?
And most importantly - what is viral marketing, and how can I create it for MY site?
If you've got a website, app or business you're working on, chances are you've had this thought:
If only I could create something for MY site that spreads virally...
First off - this is EXACTLY what Viral Hero has been created to help you achieve.
Secondly, we'd better clear up a common misconception right now - which is that the word "viral" simply describes a piece of content that spreads like wildfire - like the latest funny video on Youtube.
This is false.
While this content is an important part of viral marketing, in this case it's actually YOUTUBE that's experiencing viral growth, not the video itself. The video is just the "viral media", or what's actually being shared to spread the site or app itself.
(I'll dig a lot deeper into the mechanics of viral media in a later post).
What's actually happening:
So what is viral marketing? This should sum it up:
When you see the latest Epic Mealtime video on Youtube, or a clip of some D-list celeb getting in a brawl at the club - and then you send it to a few friends, Youtube is what grows virally.
As this Youtube video spreads, more and more people are exposed or re-exposed to Youtube's video player. They then get more users to their site, return dormant traffic, and likely suck you in via various "recommended for you" features to get you watching even more videos.
It's not the content or media being shared that spreads virally - it's the application that houses it. This media being displayed in Youtube's player is just a tool to help their application spread, and it's just a single piece of a much larger viral puzzle.
On a user generated content site like Youtube, the content creator can see some added benefit themselves from taking a ride on Youtube's "viral loop" (more on this later). However, usually the content creator is simply using Youtube as a medium of marketing more akin to PR and is not experiencing viral growth themselves.
Read the full post at:
http://www.upshare.co/viralhero/viral-marketing-basics/what-is-viral-marketing
16. While this content is an important part of
viral marketing, in this case it's actually
YOUTUBE that's experiencing viral
growth,
not the video itself.
17. The video is just the "viral media”,
or what's actually being shared
to spread the site or app itself.
(I'll dig a lot deeper into the mechanics of viral media in a later post).
19. So what is viral marketing?
This should sum it up:
20. When you see the latest Epic Mealtime
video
on Youtube, or a clip of some D-list celeb
getting in a brawl at the club - and then
you send it to a few friends…
22. As this Youtube video spreads,
more and more people are exposed or
re-exposed to Youtube's video player.
23. They then get more users to their site,
return dormant traffic, and likely suck
you in via various "recommended for
you" features to get you watching even
more videos.
24. It's not the content or media being
shared
that spreads virally - it's the application
that houses it.
25. This media being displayed in Youtube's
player is just a tool to help their
application spread, and it's just a single
piece of a much larger viral puzzle.
26. On a user generated content site like
Youtube, the content creator can see
some added benefit themselves from
taking a ride on Youtube's "viral loop"
(more on this later).
27. However, usually the content creator is
simply using Youtube as a medium of
marketing more akin to PR and is not
experiencing viral growth themselves.
28. (NOTE: Youtube is more unique these days as their
user generated content model allows for "channels",
so content creators actually MAY see user growth in
the form of channel subscribers, although this is still a
feature on Youtube itself.)
29. Think you can answer the question
"what is viral marketing" yet with
certainty?
33. If one person is infected, the people they
touch are very likely to get infected as
well.
34. Those people then infect others,
who then infect others, and so on.
Before you know it, there's an epidemic.
35. Sometimes on the web, content spreads
in a similar way - so marketers adopted
the same term.
36. So let's try this again...what is viral
marketing?
37. Viral marketing is the act of
leveraging your own audience to
pass on your website or app to their
friends.
38. In a nutshell, viral marketing is a form of
direct response marketing where your
users
are the ones who pass your message on.
39. As you get more and more users, you
have more and more people
simultaneously spreading your product
or application - so the exposure of others
to your message may - in some cases -
be exponential.
43. In other words, what inherent value
am I providing my users to share my
content with others?
44. Is there some sort of intrinsic value of
sharing?
Will they be seen as some sort of expert,
somebody in-the-know,
or somebody really funny?
45. 2.
What do my users GET for sharing?
Are there any extrinsic rewards that I'm
offering in exchange?
46. Will they earn elevated status on my site?
Will they get special privileges? Will they
get some sort of discount, deal, or free
gift?
(such as the Sharing Rewards you can create in 30 seconds on
Upshare.co…)
48. Is the transmission of this content more
applicable to a blanket wall post on
social media, a 1-to-1 personal email
invite, an address book invite - or
something different?
50. Are you providing calls to action
right when a user would realize the
value of passing on your content?
51. 5.
How QUICK and EASY does this
"referral" or "invite" process occur?
52. If a user follows your instructions, how
quickly can others come to the site,
become users, and start inviting others?
53. We'll get into all of these and more in
depth as we go, but this should hopefully
set the record straight and get you
thinking about viral marketing in a more
clear and productive way as it pertains to
your site or app.
55. Next - we talk about three very
important words, go, viral, and more...
but not in the order you might think.
56. It's important to realize that very few
sites can really "go viral" from an
exponential standpoint - but you can
make ANY website MORE viral, which
can be incredible for business growth.
57. Visit Chapter 2 of Viral Hero at
www.upshare.co/viralhero/viral-marketing-
basics
and let's dive in.
58. If a user follows your instructions, how quickly can others come to the site,
become users, and start inviting others?
