One of the things that really gets my wick where I work is the lack of attention to what marketing terms actually mean. So, with the goal of clarifying, let me define 'Viral Marketing'.
Definition
- viral marketing
- Marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.
Source: http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/viral_marketing/
So. Viral marketing is dependent on a couple of things:
1 - content that is useful to the end user. So useful they want to share it.
2 - a sales message that comes through in the advertising of the content
3 - that the content is distributed wide enough that it catches on with the desired target market. (Note that last part - Marketing isn't about feeling good fluffy stuff. Noooo. It needs to resonate with the intended target market so that an outcome is received, whether it's increased webpage views and increased sales conversions or increased media coverage to change a public perception or whatever. But I digress.)
So, the next time someone pulls out a marketing term like 'viral marketing', ask them - Why are we doing this? What do we (the advertiser) want to achieve out of this? How are we going to measure it? What's our achievement bar? Who is the content for? Why should they share it? How will they share it? How can we make it easier to share? Do we have a way of getting it out there?
If these simple questions can't be answered, then run away. Quickly. I mean it.
Next up - Guerrilla Marketing. I'm not bananas about it.
Thanks for reading my marketing rant - all comments and questions are welcome. Have a great day.
