What is viral marketing? Snowball Effect

viral marketing

You may have heard ever about the viral marketing or perhaps you already have a clear idea of what is and how it evolves, because effectively, and although the term “viral marketing” is born with internet marketing, the concept comes long before. In 1997, Steve Hurveston coined this term, when in an article published in Netscape M-Files, dominating spectacular success developed by Hot-mail to become a record time, the largest provider of email web. As we all know, Hot-mail precipitously got a base of millions of subscribers, offering free high demand in the market. Its success far exceeded any other marketing strategy. This success came to demonstrate how the Web and online marketing could be used effectively to attract the interest of potential customers to our offers.

viral marketing
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Technically speaking, it is a technique that allows spreading a marketing message, from a small emitter core, which is multiplied by the collaboration of receptors in the transmission and dissemination thereof, generating an effect of pyramidal progression that grows geometrically.

To define it otherwise and taking the words of Ralph F. Wilson: “Viral marketing describes a marketing strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message creating a potential for exposure and influence of the message, which grows exponentially.”

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Based on the teachings of Ralh F. Wilson, any viral marketing campaign should be based on six fundamental principles, although not essential compliance with the six, the more elements will possess the best campaign results:

PRINCIPLE 1: It will be a concept, product, service, which has sufficient capacity to “engage” people to whom it is addressed.

PRINCIPLE 2: Must be single transmission, i.e. which can be disseminated very quickly and with little effort.

PRINCIPLE 3: You have to be able to be scalable and have the resources and infrastructure necessary to support this exponential growth.

PRINCIPLE 4: A smart viral marketing campaign, you should focus on exploiting human motivation and behavior, be known, get more, be the first. The better exploited these motivations are, the greater capabilities will succeed.

PRINCIPLE 5: You will use social media to spread the message. In fact everyone has a group of 5 to 10 acquaintances, colleagues, and relatives of those who exercise some influence.

PRINCIPLE 6: Use the resources of others to amass the dissemination and spread of marketing message.