Viral Marketing

Viral marketing gains traction extra fast by converting at a higher clip than average by having people do the promoting for the brand.

The further the “join this” viral movement goes (such as extra invites) the more the momentum builds.

Examples of Viral Marketing Strategies:

  • Social Media Post that trigger extreme tagging, sharing & engaging

  • Free Item or Download

  • Trending Topic

  • Invaluable information that is extremely useful

  • Follow/Engage/Share/Tag for a chance to win

To Keep In Mind about viral marketing:

  1. If you get too big too fast and don’t have a system prepared for it, you’ll become quickly overloaded and this can harm your brand more than help it

  2. If it’s viral for the wrong reasons (negative press) it can harm your brand

  3. Being viral is usually temporary and what triggers it might be time sensitive

  4. Conversion rates may vary since new members may or may not have interest in the brand (such as an invite from an invite)

  5. Going viral is NOT EASY or INSTANTANEOUS most of the time

A key to going viral is MAKE THINGS SIMPLE and TRY TO CONVERT WITHIN 3 CLICKS!

It may take up to 2-3 months before an account or strategy goes viral after A/B testing because each brand is different, each strategy must be custom created and accounts must be properly optimized for quick conversions.

DRAW OUT A MAP OF USER-FLOW.

TESTING & OPTIMIZATION FOR VIRAL CAMPAIGNS

  • Button vs Text Link

  • Location of CTAs (Calls to Action)

  • Size, Color, Contrast of Action Buttons

  • Page Speed

  • Adding Images

  • Headlines

  • Site Copy

  • Testimonials

  • Signs of Social Proof

    • Images of Happy Customers/Clients

    • Case Studies

    • Press Mentions

    • Statistics

  • Number of Form Fields (less = better)

  • Users can test product first

  • Easiness of Sign up process (Connect to email/FB or custom sign up)

  • Length of sign up process

Constantly be A/B testing because one sector might be doing better than another and even changing one word or element can be the game changer.

If one demographic hits and another doesn’t then focus on the one that does (maybe Japan vs London might have different outcomes) or (Entrepreneurs vs Business Owners might have a more impactful conversion)

Things to keep an eye for

  • Products that aren’t typically viral probably won’t go viral by simply adding viral features to them

  • Bad products that don’t add value may not go viral

  • Avoiding A/B testing will result in failure

  • Always understand how the users are communicating (via engagement, energy levels, etc..)

  • You probably won’t be able to “create” a viral campaign unless you work with someone that has done it several times.

  • Viralability is more important to use as a framework than simply a tactic

Add Viral Fuel

  • Word of Mouth

  • Inherent

  • Collaborative

  • Communicative

  • Incentives

  • Embedded

  • Social