Basic principles of viral marketing

Although the term is relatively new, viral marketing per se is not really a new concept. The term was coined by Tim Draper, a Harvard Business School graduate who eventually became a venture capitalist. The term was coined to describe the method that Hotmail.com used in spreading its free email services. It was the first successful viral marketing campaign online. The method was simple and effective enough that it became the standard of other online businesses. Although there are sophisticated variations of the technique, they can all be reduced into simple basic principles. Successful marketing campaigns do not necessarily include all of these basic principles.

There are at least six basic principles or elements of viral marketing as can be summarized from several successful online marketing campaigns. The Hotmail.com model is a classic example. It was very successful partly because it was the first marketing campaign that utilized the viral model. However, the main reason for its success was the free and convenient email service it provided. The free email became the incentive for people to unknowingly join the campaign. This is because Hotmail.com cleverly included a signup link under every message sent out using the service. This made it easy for others who are interested to subscribe to the service.

Looking at the Hotmail.com viral marketing campaign, the six basic principles of online viral campaign can be deduced. First, the campaign included free give-away in the form of free email services. Second, the campaign provided easy way of spreading the campaign by including signup links in all outgoing messages. Third, as consequence, the campaign easily scaled up from small group of subscribers to larger groups. Fourth, it exploited the need of people for free but reliable email service. Fifth, it utilized the existing social networks of subscribers. Some might even spread the campaign through word-of-mouth. Finally, it took advantage of the resources of its subscribers.


Starting a viral marketing campaign

Online marketing is a highly competitive field that requires highly innovative and dynamic approach. New online businesses are created in a daily basis but only few of these businesses survive long enough to be profitable. Survival is dependent not only on the quality and uniqueness of the goods or services being offered. The promotional and advertising aspects are also very crucial. The existence of a business must first be known by its intended market before it profitable sales can be expected. One effective way of promoting an online business or product is through viral marketing. It is an inexpensive marketing strategy that can be made fully automated.

As the name suggests, viral marketing mimics the way pathogenic and computer viruses spread. It relies on an initial host or group of hosts to “infect” an entire population. There are several ways wherein it can be initiated and spread but email forwarding is the most common form of spreading it. Email jokes, interesting information, puzzles, bizarre facts, quizzes, rumors, advocacies, superstitions, and pornographic materials permeates permeate the online community through viral emails. The tendency of people to spread interesting or prankish information through email or online posts is now exploited by online marketers.

Social networking is the backbone of viral marketing. Although all random people are theoretically isolated only by at least six degrees of separation, not all persons can be used as ideal reference points. People who have larger social networks are ideal as the starting points for viral campaign. Online social groups are also ideal because they already have common bonds. An effective viral campaign can start with a focus group that reflects the nature of the products being promoted. If the initial customers are satisfied, the new products are likely to be patronized by bigger groups of people who are referred by the initial groups.