Viral marketing can work wonders for any business,
web site or product. It can be a great source
of sales leads, one-way links and targeted traffic.
Yet, many marketers are not taking full advantage of
this '
viral factor' in their marketing efforts.
How about you? Are you using any viral marketing
methods with your web site? Or does the word 'viral'
make you cringe?
Many people believe 'viral marketing' is a myth,
one of those Internet follies that only happens
on rare occasions when some fantastic product or
site comes along.
In reality, viral marketing techniques can be used
by any web site -- big or small. They can be used by
any marketer who takes the time to put some simple
steps into place. Viral marketing 'done right' can have
many benefits. It will:
* increase your link popularity (often one way links)
* increase targeted traffic to your site
* build your brand recognition
* create targeted leads for your products
* automate your marketing efforts
Here are some simple viral marketing techniques
you can try with your web site, product or business:
1. Word of Mouth We have all seen this phenomenon
displayed with many products. People spread the word about
some great movie or gadget and suddenly everyone knows about
it. Human nature dictates we tell our friends about some great
product we have bought or found. Nature of the beast, it's just
the way we are; so why not take full advantage of it?
If you have a web site -- put up a simple 'tell a friend' form
so your visitors can easily tell others about your great site.
Easy and very simple to do but many webmasters don't do it.
Similarly, if you have a newsletter, service, product or with
any aspect of your site... just include a few sentences at the
end of your copy, asking very politely, "if you found this
service, product or web site helpful -- why not tell your friends,
family and colleagues about it."
2. Branding Make sure you have a logo on your site or product.
Branding your site is very important if you want your site or product
to be noticed and talked about. For that matter, a catchy brand name
can be a 'viral technique' in itself; so try and come up with one
that springs from the lips with a distinctive ring to it!
People recognize brands, it gives them a clear image of your
site or product. Include your brand or logo on every page of your
site and on every product, service, material coming from your
site or business.
3. eBooks Savvy marketers jumped on this new invention
very quickly, they knew the 'viral' power of these little ebooks.
Ebooks are electronic files that can be downloaded from any web site and
distributed easily around the web. You can also have other webmasters
or marketers, 're-brand' these ebooks with their own links. High quality
ebooks get passed along very quickly and are great viral tools.
Anyone can write a simple ebook on the topic of their site. If you
can't write, just get permission to use a collection of articles
from the numerous 'article directories' on the web such as
www.ezinearticles.com or www.goarticles.com. Ebook compiling
software (in both .exe or pdf format) is relatively
cheap or can be found for free on the net. Just Google to find it!
4. Viral Software Some simple software products or applications
can be very viral, often passed around or downloaded from the web by
thousands each day. These have to be useful or handy products that the
users will desire: ecalendars, organizers, personal planners, link checking
software, and so on. Many are desktop products that sit on the computer
user's desktop; prime location in the marketing arena.
And the best examples of this kind of viral software have
the company logo, sales message and contact email -- with
LIVE LINKS to all of the above -- conveniently displayed
within the product. These simple software programs can be great
viral promotional devices that spread like wildfire across the web.
(get an example of this below in the author's resource box)
5. RSS Newest player in the viral game! RSS which stands for
'Really Simple Syndication' and just by the nature of what it
does; RSS is an awesome viral tool. Originally used by news
organizations to syndicate their news stories, it is usually
associated with Blogs because blogs use an RSS feed to distribute
their content. Good quality RSS feeds are picked up and
displayed by different web sites all across the web.
Since Microsoft has announced the next version of Windows will have
RSS integrated into its operating system, new RSS applications will
take viral marketing to heights that have not been witnessed before.
Alert marketers are already gearing up for this viral explosion.
You should also be gearing up for RSS if you haven't already. Using a
simple site like blogger.com (owned by Google) will give you a basic
blog and RSS feed to spread your message or product to all interested
parties.
These are just some viral techniques that will help increase your
web presence. They will also boost your traffic and increase your links.
Used properly, these viral techniques will also spread your web
site, product or service around the globe.
What more can you ask for?
Get a Free DATEwise eCalendar & Personal Planner for your Desktop. It's
a perfect example of 'viral marketing' in action! Click here for Free Desktop Calendar
Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins of Free Marketing Tools
This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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