Internet Marketing Strategy

Re-Engineering the Click - The Business of Online Viral Marketing

The viral marketing business model was first described by Tim Draper and popularized in 1997 to describe Hotmail’s practice of adding advertising to the outgoing mail of their users. Viral marketing had been around for ages. So, it is word-of-mouth marketing.

It relies on the average person’s tendency to “tell their friends”. It is really just the terminology that is new. Surveys tell us that the average individual online has at least six close friends they communicate with on a regular basis. If they have a great experience with a product they will on average, tell six people.

Those same surveys tell us that when an internet user finds something valuable, informative, funny, interesting or free on the internet, they will share that with 12 of their “online friends”. The internet is the platform for the most successful viral marketing business models out there.

Great marketers often remark that in order to sell anything in large numbers, you should consider giving away a free item. I recently read a free e-book about dieting. It made a lot of sense. It was written by the marketing department of a supplement manufacturer. He put forward the idea that you share the book with everyone you know. His goal, of course, was to sell supplements.

He may have sold the book. It contained just as much information as some of the diet books out on the market, but he realized the value of giving something away, what he would get in return would be far greater. Not only do people love give aways, they have a tendency to put trust in people or companies that give them something of perceived value with no strings attached.

You will see numerous software programs on the web that offer a free version and a “pro” version. This is another example of a viral marketing business model. If a person sees any free software program, they usually share it with up to 12 people they know would like to try it as well.

Social networking groups online are getting flooded with new members, reflecting how many people are choosing to spend extra time. People on MySpace literally have hundreds of "friends" and they talk to them quite often. If you can provide something that they want to share, then you may have struck it rich.

There are other elements of a successful viral marketing business model. Coming up with something free that allows individuals to share it with others is the most important.

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