Deadly, relentless they live deep inside your cells, waiting to spread and destroy you. They are worse than germs - they are virus! To me the term Viral makes me want to grab the can of Lysol and start wiping down the doorknobs. There are no "nice" viruses. They aren't interested in sex, communication or community … they just spread geometrically.
Now invest three minutes to decide if viral marketing works for you and your company.
Epidemic Marketing
In 1994 Douglas Rushkoff wrote about a "media virus" that later mutated into the expression "viral marketing." You can imagine him chugging half a bottle of Nyquil to come up with the concept of how a susceptible user is infected by an idea, message or advertisement. The person then infects more people who infect others and soon you have a full-blown epidemic of Andromeda Strain proportions - or at least Night of the Living Dead.
Word of mouth advertising is undoubtedly the oldest type of viral marketing. What is the difference between word of mouth, Ponzi schemes, multi-level marketing and the Susan Boyle YouTube explosion that generated over 47-million online viewers? The answer - it took longer to type about Susan Boyle. They are all essentially the same things. Both real viruses and viral marketing rely on a big supply of susceptible, easily influenced people. Based on this "Bernie" Madoff is the undisputed king of viral marketing having designed and executed the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
The Basic Rules of Viral
The majority of what is labeled viral marketing isn't. Genuine, authentic, honest viral has three common characteristics:
Viral marketing is spread from one person to another. They make the decision and carry the message voluntarily.
The person spreading the message isn't paid, given tools, resources, donations, demo products or any incentives at all.
The message takes on a life if its own. If you have to keep promoting it, it isn't viral.
Everyone wants to go viral - Not!
The hope is that the message or image is so engaging and compelling that it grabs someone's attention so strongly they tell their friends about it who tell more people and the momentum builds. When something goes viral it's like a sneeze splattering 2-million infected droplets all over the place. The message goes everywhere.
Question #1 - Do you need your message going everywhere?
Take a moment to remember those ultra slow-motion videos you saw of a sneeze back in school. Pretty gross and totally uncontrolled. Now plug your marketing plan into the scene. Viral messages are uncontrolled. Once they start you can't stop, clarify or spin them. And, just like a virus, they mutate.
Question #2 - Does everyone really care?
Viral is demand driven. It has the attention span of a hyper three-year-old after a couple of Red Bulls. You can't be a commodity. Differentiation is 100-times more important in viral or those millions of instant eyeballs will talk about the message and forget about the product. The equalizer is this. Is there anything about your product or service that would get people so excited that they would call their friends and families, write and blog about it and make it a cause in their lives - even for ten minutes?
Question #3 - How soon do you need response?
Becoming a viral phenomenon is like standing in your yard and being hit by lightning. There is no formula. There are no viral marketing secrets. On YouTube most people scroll down to Most Popular and watch what's there. Is the goal to accumulate a massive body count or to market your business in tangible, productive, profitable ways?
What You Can Learn From Going Viral
As much as we all love something that's hot and sizzling there really isn't anything new in what is generating conversation and attention online. These are the same content principles that are behind successful marketing and advertising.
- Grab attention instantly.
- Have a clear message and call to action.
- Allow people to care. You can't make people care.
- The message has to be emotional. When something makes us feel we are compelled to share that sentiment with others. Viral is never ambivalent.
- Sell the experience.
- Be unexpected, different, stunning, bizarre, cute, funny, outrageous and memorable. But it must be genuine and real. As network newscaster Daniel Schorr said, "Sincerity: if you can fake it, you've got it made."
Rethink Viral
Look at your company, your customers and how you serve them. Viral isn't the goal, it's the spark. Do you want to be a blazing flash that's brilliant for an instant and then gone? The impression you want to build is not an infection it's more of a wildfire. You have to ignite attention and recognition. Awareness is not an objective. Then you have to keep adding fuel in the form of involvement and interaction. The biggest attraction of going viral is instant gratification and the impression that it's cheap. Reality is marketing is deliberate, strategic and very intentional.
Just because a marketing message is on the Internet or includes a video or is designed to be spread through word of mouth to a niche audience doesn't instantly make it viral marketing. It makes it Internet marketing. Separate the terms from the outcome for a moment. If your message or content doesn't go viral then there is no viral marketing. There is no such thing as a viral marketing campaign. There is just marketing. Remember, you create a marketing message. Your customers make it viral.
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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.
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