“Viral Marketing” is your Buzz Word of the year
Online “Viral Marketing” is the buzz word of the year! Last year we couldn’t get enough of “User Experience” and the year before that “SEO” was all the rage. While many of us trying to innovate the industry laugh at these buzz words of yesterday – we need pay attention. Whether you work for yourself or a part of a larger corporation knowing what is in demand, regardless of how timely the topic, is crucial to your success in this industry. This year, “viral marketing” is that beast!
Now that social networks have been fully embraced by the masses and given the appropriate time to evolve, more and more business’ are taking advantage of these networks in the form of online viral marketing. Viral marketing is simply utilizing pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness. Never before have so many had access to so much, and for free! Whether you like it or not, the MySpace and YouTubes of the world will always have a larger audience base and farther reach than you alone – don’t fight it, join it!
Simply put, your content if distributed to a network with a large audience has a greater chance of being viewed than with a small audience. If you have video content, don’t limit its reach to your site alone within your incompatible, over-priced and inflexible custom-built video player – put it on YouTube and embed that on your site. Instantly you’ve given your content an opportunity to be viewed and shared by millions within the click of a button. The web is filled with thriving social networks with extremely active and participating users in the millions! Being at the top of a thriving social network is the equivalent to a super bowl ad on the web, but for free!
The amazing thing about these online social networks is the emotional appeal that their users and the general public have towards them. Being on MySpace, Flickr, Newsvine and YouTube helps connote a sense of technological understanding. Whether true or not, it shows a forward-thinking and progressive mentality that is valued by masses.
Now don’t get me wrong – I don’t suggest that everyone drop what they are doing to go create MySpace accounts. Your outlet has to be applicable and appropriate, and yes there is an online social network for everyone – most times there are a few dozen. While the market is getting over-saturated, that doesn’t negate the fact that these networks are constantly thriving and creating new addictively-in-love users daily.
Most of us are web designers and developers by trade, not marketers – so why should we care about such a marketing based initiative? Because this is our playground! We are the industry influencers; we not only dream up the next MySpace, we build it. Who better to utilize and maximize the potential of these online networks than the group that is responsible for their existence?
- March 21st, 2007
- 3comments
- I am a proud member of the 9rules network
Amen to that.
I love the Tampax campaign.
Are you going to be offering an SMO service?
I assume you are talking about “Social Media Optimization” — that isn’t a buzz word I feel will ever truly take off the with the general public; simple because it is such a limiting aspect of online viral marketing (and the biggest part to-date).
My company, nclud does provide a consulting service around online viral marketing. We’ve been very fortunate to have tremendous experience building new and leveraging pre-existing social networkings.
When I talk to clients I use terms such as linkbait and SMO as they are being talked about by the mass media and I want people to understand me rather than talking a load of consultant speak bollocks.
I hear people trying to stretch the term linkbait into something that makes them sound clever and crack myself up. My clients are in it for the money, they don’t give a crap what it’s called as long as they know what I am talking about.
includ has a cool look about it.