Re: Viral Marketing Sites

From: David Yancey <dyancey_at_intergen.co.uk>
Date: Thu 31 Aug 2000 12:33:44 +0900

BARRY LITWIN <barry_at_funebiz.com> WROTE:
> I am seeking various links or sites covering the topic
> of "viral marketing" and "rich media" email. I've have
> had trouble finding newsgroups specific to viral
> marketing.

I'm not that surprised, Barry, since there isn't any
such thing, in any real sense. "Viral marketing" isn't
anything new, nor is it specific to the web. It is
simply a clever new way to characterize the "word of
mouth" and similar phenomena that occasionally causes a
marketing idea or a promotional program to become a
fad. Yes, the techniques whereby the target audience
spreads the word are a little different on the web, but
in and of themselves all the "tell ten friends" or
"send this on" email tricks won't make a good marketing
concept into a "viral" one. The key element is the
reaction of some subset of the audience - if enough
folks voluntarily collude in the promotion, with
sufficient enthusiasm, it can reach critical mass, and
become a phenom. If you have not yet done so, read "The
Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown)

Our group spends a good part of every working week on
ways to engender positive word-of-mouth among our
audience. It is very hard work, and most of the ideas
we come up with are losers, that is, barely worth the
time and trouble in terms of likely results. We would
discourage any webmaster from believing that any
services firm can simply invent successful viral
techniques on demand. Consider for a moment: if a
group could truly invent truly original truly "viral",
that is, self-promoting campaigns, why on earth would
they do it for others? Snake oil, folks.

What such firms can do, if they have the marketing
savvy and very heavy web experience to go along with
it, is review everything a site or web-based business
is doing, and find those things that could be the
foundation for greater customer acceptance, then help
develop communications methods where those customers
can naturally and actively participate in the
promotional process. It may involve simply smarter use
of email, or an especially clever survey. It may mean a
contest, where players have some reason to involve
other players. It may mean a game. But if it is
really good, it will almost certainly revolve around
what the company does really well. A qualified
consultant can help ask what it is about the company
that anyone would *want* to talk about - that's the
place to start looking for "viral" possibilities.

As to finding a good discussion group to try out your
viral strategies, why, relax, Barry: you've already
found it!

David Yancey - - Chairman
Internet Business Forum, Inc.
http://www.ibizHome.com/1804.htm





Received on Wed Aug 30 2000 - 22:33:44 CDT