Many people have heard about the term “viral marketing”, but not everyone knows what “viral marketing” is and how to use it, so today’s post is dedicated to this term, as it is very effective in use for .

What is viral marketing

Many Internet users do not trust various advertisements on websites and ignore them, so the goal of viral marketing is to arouse a person’s interest in information and gain his trust. For example, if a user sees an image of a product with advertising text on a social network, he will ignore it, but will listen with interest, or read a positive review of a living person about the purchased product and, most likely, he will be interested in purchasing this praised product. And the living person who gives a positive review should under no circumstances be involved in any way with the company that sells this product.

This method of advertising distribution has a biological term in its name for a reason. Viral marketing is really similar to the biological process of spreading a virus; a person becomes so imbued with viral information that he begins to share it with friends and acquaintances. Basically, the spread of this type of virus is facilitated; the spread process occurs very quickly and, if the information is really interesting and is in demand among Internet users, then this process becomes difficult to stop.

The term “viral marketing” was first published in the article “The Virus of marketing”, it was 1996, the author of the article is Jeffrey Rayport. But I just can’t find this article on the Internet, at least I couldn’t find a Russian translation, but oh well, that’s not what it’s about.

Using viral marketing when working with affiliate programs

I will give an example from my practice. When I was selling “talking hamsters,” I attached a video about this hamster to the advertising text, this video amused people well and lifted their spirits, so my advertising post in Odnoklassniki spread across the social network at the speed of light.

We are used to associating the word viral with something purely negative. Nowadays you can often come across the expression “viral video” or “viral marketing” on the Internet - and many of us immediately imagine some kind of content infected with a dangerous threat. However, this is not the case at all. " Viral» video is a video that quickly spreads online, like a virus . Viral Marketing is the use of viral video content to attract new users.

The mechanism of viral marketing is not that complicated. You create an interesting video, put the name of your company, a link to a website or group in it (you also put links in the video description) and post it in video recordings and on the wall of your group or public page. Duplicate it on your personal page and share it with your friends. And if the video is really interesting and not too obviously advertising, soon your video, along with your good name, will spread across the social network.

The first placement of a viral video is called seeding. An interesting analogy - it implies that someday your video will bear fruit. You can post viral videos not only in your group on social networks, but also in blogs, LiveJournal communities, and video hosting sites. However, all roads will sooner or later lead to social networks, since this is where users share content with each other. There is also a paid method of seeding - posting your viral video on popular information resources.

Is viral marketing spam?

No. The trick is that the video spreads on the social network not so much thanks to the efforts of the person who created and posted it for the first time, but thanks to the social network users themselves, who share it with friends. The same mechanism of word of mouth is evident, when interesting information spreads by itself, almost without the efforts of the one who became its first source.

What should a viral video be like?

As we remember, our main task is for the video to spread by itself. Social media users are looking for emotions rather than information. What emotions you want to evoke depends on your desire and the specifics of your product.

Your video could be:

• very funny (like “Nnaada glasses?”),
• shocking and unusual, demonstrating some complex tricks, paradoxical situations,
• very aesthetically beautiful (suitable for luxury products).

The main thing is to remain close and understandable to your target audience. Also, think carefully about the title of the video, since this is exactly what can attract social network users to watch your video.

The title may contain a description of the brief essence of the video: “The dog is trying to eat the belt,” be simply attractive and intriguing, “We have revealed the woman’s main secret,” “They have been silent about this for 40 years,” and so on.

And be sure to protect the rights to your content, including viral content. On the VKontakte network you can edit the description of a video, so make sure that important links appear in the video itself - if you don’t know how to do this yourself, ask those who have special programs. If you are creating a series of videos, you can design them in your own corporate style.

Regular advertising on the Internet does not provide the desired conversion? No wonder. Internet users are so tired of annoying advertising messages, videos, banners and other things that on a subconscious level they try to avoid them. What to do in this case? Stop advertising? Of course not! It is possible and necessary to advertise a product and/or company, it just needs to be done more competently, unobtrusively, interestingly, and originally. Content must be presented in such a way that users themselves want to not only perceive, but also disseminate information. We are talking, as you understand, about viral advertising.

Viral advertising got its name because it literally “infects” the audience with its idea and spreads like a real virus. Thanks to its originality, it is well remembered and quickly transferred from user to user. But such success is possible provided that advertising helps solve consumer problems and can reach the maximum audience. Viral advertising is most easily spread through social networks, forums, email, i.e., through the Internet.

Advantages of viral advertising

• Benefit. Creating and distributing a “virus” is much cheaper than launching a traditional advertising campaign, since in this case you only spend money on creating a video, and distributing it is completely free, while you have to pay for each impression of traditional advertising.
• Scale. If viral advertising is successful, the reach of the target audience will be simply enormous and the cost of 1 contact with a consumer will be minimal.
• Freedom from censorship. Of course, everything should be adequate. However, viral advertising is not subject to advertising law.

So, we come to the most important questions. How to create viral advertising? What viral marketing methods exist? We have to disappoint you: there is no universal algorithm of actions or uniform recommendations. Each company, each product has its own individual characteristics, its own target audience, so viral advertising should be different, unique, aimed specifically at the interests and needs of potential customers. However, we will highlight the key points used when creating any viral advertising.

Stages of developing viral advertising on the Internet

1. Unobtrusiveness. Advertising should not be intrusive, the key message should be clear, but not “shout” to the viewer: “Buy me!”
2. Humor . Note that the most popular viral videos are usually humorous. Although this is not a panacea. Your idea may not be compatible with laughter and evoke completely different emotions.
3. Relevance . It is important that your idea corresponds to current events in the world, people's mentalities, and pressing problems of society.
4. Positive emotions. We talked about how viral advertising should evoke emotions. Disgust, anger, contempt are also emotions, but you should not evoke negative feelings in people, otherwise they will be associated with your product/service and the company as a whole.
5. Novelty. The idea must be unique, one that no one has used before.
6. Discussions. Your advertising should provoke people to discuss and express their opinions. Only then will they begin to broadcast this on their pages on social networks and forums.
7. Advertising message. In pursuit of originality and creativity, do not forget about the message you want to convey to your target audience.

Thus, in the first 3 days after the launch of a viral advertising campaign, you can immediately determine its success in the future.

Examples of cool viral advertising for inspiration

Disney Characters Surprise Shoppers video - shared 3,757,909 times.

Love Has No Labels video - shared 2,741,138 times.

Budweiser USA video: #BestBuds - shared 2,511,546 times.

Video “The first day of your new life” - 1,919,525 views.

Video “You have something to be proud of” - 8,235,902 views.

The animated video “Stupid Ways to Die” has received more than 30 million views.

Video “The end of the world during an interview.”

Check out these examples of viral marketing and get inspired! And also stay tuned for updates to our articles and learn new useful information to develop your business and increase your sales.

When traditional online promotion methods don't work, it's time to look for a different, more creative approach to the problem. This could be viral advertising on the Internet. Viral advertising is one of the most effective ways to promote a business. That is why such large brands as Samsung, Nintendo, Volkswagen and hundreds of others regularly use it in their advertising campaigns.

What is viral advertising and how does it work?

Viral advertising is any advertising on the network that is voluntarily distributed by users themselves. A sort of “word of mouth” of the 21st century. The fact is that trust in commercial advertising is now at a low level. Company promotion is not always led by a professional marketer. Therefore, the intrusiveness, irritability and uniformity of frankly bad advertising did their job - it became invisible to Internet users.

Viral advertising, unlike classic advertising, works on a different principle. Trust in it is due to the fact that it comes not from the company itself, but from acquaintances, friends, and relatives. Is there any reason for a person not to trust the opinions of loved ones? Definitely not. Everyone listens to the advice and reviews of real people much more than to empty advertising promises. Therefore, when using viral advertising, it can give impressive results. But only if you approach its creation correctly.

History of Viral Marketing

The history of viral marketing begins with a 1996 article written by the founder and chairman of the division of the largest strategic consulting company Marketspace LLC, Jeffrey Rayport. In his article, he also introduced such concepts as “psychological advertising”, “socio-organic advertising” and “self-valued advertising”.

According to the expert, the classic 20-30 second clips between television programs are gradually becoming obsolete. Therefore, there is a need to organically fit advertising into the lives of consumers.

“Most marketers know that penetrating the consumer's mind is the most difficult task; the usual answer is to simply turn up the volume. Viruses are smarter: they find their way into consciousness under the guise of other, unrelated activities.” (excerpt from article)

In addition, Jeffrey Rayport has developed 6 rules for successful viral marketing. And, despite the fact that the article was written 20 years ago, these rules are still relevant.

Rules for successful viral marketing:

• Cunning is the essence of entering the market correctly.
• Give the client something for free - the profit will come later.
• Advertising must convey a message to the target audience.
• Advertising should look like an organism, not a virus.
• Harness the power of weak ties.
• Invest to reach the tipping point.

According to the expert, viral marketing can revolutionize the idea of ​​promotion. And, despite the fact that the effect is not immediately visible, the results can grow exponentially. Therefore, positive dynamics are a sure sign that viral marketing has worked.

Reasons for the popularity of viral marketing: pros and cons

There has been a lot of buzz around viral marketing lately. Some argue that this method of promotion fits perfectly with the modern consumer, while others, ardent supporters of traditional marketing, doubt its effectiveness. Therefore, you need to consider the pros and cons of viral advertising.

• Cheap distribution. The promotion of the commercial is carried out by the users themselves, so the costs of its distribution are significantly lower than classic promotion.
• Increased user confidence. Most often, viral advertising comes from people you know, which increases its credibility.
• Lack of intrusiveness. The user has the right to independently choose whether to open the link or not.
• Easy targeting. Channels for seeding are determined by the advertiser at its own discretion, taking into account the parameters of the target audience and the format of future advertising.
• No censorship. Using viral marketing, the advertiser receives complete freedom, or almost complete (videos of a pornographic, violent, etc. nature are prohibited).
• No time restrictions. If you compare viral videos with television advertising, there are no such restrictions as when using airtime.
• Large audience reach. When used correctly, advertising spreads like a virus, reaching audiences of millions.

• Difficulty in predicting the outcome. Viral advertising is unpredictable. You can hire a team of marketers and order a high-quality video that will only get a couple of thousand reposts. Then, an amateur video shot on a regular smartphone will easily cross the 1,000,000 mark.
• High cost of implementing the idea. The idea is the basis of viral marketing. And sometimes the budget for its implementation reaches six figures.
• Limited target audience. This type of marketing can only exist within the Internet space. It is impossible to implement it offline.

Examples of viral online advertising

To fully understand the essence of this marketing tool, you need to analyze it using specific examples. There are thousands of them on the Internet, in particular on the popular video hosting site YouTube. Moreover, among them there are both brilliant ideas and not so great ones.

• Photo.
• Video.
• By text.
• Application.

As examples, we need to consider all 4 types of viral advertising, which worked equally well.

• Viral photo from Nikon.

According to the marketing planners, it is immediately clear that the advertising is aimed primarily at a male audience. Moreover, the brand saved a lot on the advertising campaign budget without compromising the effectiveness of the viral photo.

• Viral video from the John Lewis chain of foreign department stores

The number of views of this video is simply off the charts - 26,630,934. Viral promotion of the video on YouTube also turned out to be very productive - almost 2 million reposts. His secret is simple - the video made the audience laugh sincerely. Of course, judging by the quality of the video, a lot of money was spent on implementing the author’s idea, but the result clearly paid for all the costs.

• Viral article on the Huffington Post website

• Promoting the Lipton brand through a viral application

The “Favorite Farm” application is widely known among users of the social networks vkontakte.ru, odnoklassniki.ru and mail.ru. The company, having integrated its brand into this application, attracted 1.3 million new users within one month.

There are many successful examples of successful viral marketing. But in order to launch the desired advertising format, you must first analyze the target audience and then determine distribution channels. Since the advertising format mainly depends on the platform where it is placed.

How to make viral advertising?

Having been inspired by the examples, you can start planning an advertising campaign for your own business. But the question immediately arises - where to start? And you need to start with the basics of viral advertising on the Internet.

Today there is no special success technology for creating viral advertising. But according to the observations of marketers, there are standard techniques that increase the likelihood of its rapid spread. Users are most loyal to advertising that contains:

• Children.
• Animals.
• Stunts and special effects.
• Girls of model appearance (only for male audience).

But sometimes the psychology of viral advertising turns out to be much more complex. And materials that seem guaranteed to bring success remain unnoticed. In this case, one can only hope that the next attempt will be more successful.

Viral advertising on VKontakte

Social networks are an excellent platform for spreading viral advertising. Users of social networks, in particular VKontakte, without any coercion, like, comment on posts, and repost content that interests them.

When viral advertising is ready for seeding, you need to immediately determine the channels for its promotion. If, at first glance, it seems that it is enough to throw it on your VK page and then it will promote itself, then this is not so. To spread a virus across a social network you need to:

• Select groups where the largest number of target audiences are concentrated.
• Agree with the owner about publication.
• Track all events related to the advertising campaign.
• Prepare an escape route if viral advertising has the opposite effect.

It is worth noting that viral advertising does not always work as it should. Sometimes a provocative video becomes a reason for condemnation and a lot of negativity towards the company. To preserve the brand’s reputation, you need to immediately think of an option that could smooth out this situation.

An example is a video advertising the game Word of Tanks. There, Vadim Galygin, in the role of a father, locks his supposed son in a closet and nails him with boards in order to play the above-mentioned game. This story caused a lot of negativity and reproaches. The company was also accused of child abuse. Therefore, the company representative had to declare that this video was not an official advertisement produced by their company.

Viral advertising on Instagram

Viral advertising on Instagram is most often presented in photo format. Text is not suitable, since users often do not read what is written under the photo. And YouTube is intended for viral video promotion; Instagram is used only as an additional channel for seeding.

• Unobtrusiveness. The words “Promotion”, “Sale”, “New” and other advertising cliches should not be mentioned in the photo and in the description below it.
• Humor or cuteness. Funny and touching photos are best promoted on Instagram. And there is a reason for this. According to statistics, the majority of the active audience on this social network are girls between 20 and 30 years old.
• Relevance. The message that the photo carries must correspond to current trends. In order not to make a mistake, you should conduct an analysis and study the interests of the target audience before creating advertising.
• Discussions. It’s good when advertising not only evokes positive emotions, but also provokes users to enter into a discussion. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​the plot must be controversial so that a person has a desire to express his point of view.
• Advertising message. In all circumstances, one must not forget to establish a connection with the brand. This could be a barely noticeable logo or the use of a unique product in the story, the sight of which makes it immediately clear who it belongs to. For example, black pumps with red soles are immediately associated with the famous Christian Louboutin brand.

Popular public pages or accounts of opinion leaders are selected for distribution. The last option is the most effective. Because Instagram users watch the lives and publications of their idols with great interest.

How to create viral advertising in Odnoklassniki?

Odnoklassniki is a social network for a more mature generation of users. The main advantage of this social network is that “class” is both a like and a repost. Therefore, it is enough to make a post that users will simply like.

Most often, viral posts on Odnoklassniki are those with the caption “Do you remember this?”, “Have you had this happen too?” And so on. Therefore, when creating advertising in Odnoklassniki, it is best to “press” on nostalgia. The 40+ generation remembers their early years with pleasure.

To distribute viral advertising, as in other cases, you should choose groups with a large number of target audiences. Promotion in Odnoklassniki occurs much faster than in other social networks. Because, by putting “class”, the user, without realizing it, promotes viral advertising among his friends.

Calculating the success of viral advertising

The sad fact that all marketers know is that the success of viral advertising cannot be calculated in advance. Therefore, no one can guarantee a positive result of an advertising campaign. If a “specialist” promises quick creation and distribution of a video, you should not order or trust him with business promotion. Conscious concealment of possible risks is not professional behavior of a marketer.

The success of viral advertising can be determined after 3 days from the date of its launch. This period marks the peak of its distribution after sowing. As research by Unruly Media shows, if an advertisement has not gained popularity within this period, we can consider that the advertising campaign has failed. Although in some cases the life cycle of viral advertising can reach 3 years.

Examples of viral advertising

Not really