Types of Viral Marketing Methods: Part 1

It goes without saying that, in any skill, any profession, any approach, there are different ways to do everything. This is equally true of viral marketing. There are not only various types of viral marketing, but also various methods by which viral marketing is transmitted. With that in mind, I'd like to talk to you about both. However, for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to take this first article to talk about the types of viral marketing, and the second article will discuss the method for transmitting the viral marketing message. When finished, you should have a clear understanding of how viral marketing works and how you can use this tool for your business.

One type of viral marketing encourages readers to pass along the message they've just read. Chance are that you've seen this many times, either in the form of a chain-letter, or in a more subtle request that, if you like what you just read and know someone else who could benefit from it, please pass it along to them. This is a very effective way to get viral marketing going.

A second type offers you some incentive for spreading the word. This type of viral marketing offers either monetary rewards, gifts, discounts, or something else of value to the reader if they will forward the message to others.

A third type of viral marketing is not encouraged, but rather is all about the quality of the experience the consumer had. This type is simple word of mouth, and it tends to be the most effective. It is so effective because it is well received by others as they do not find any reason to disbelieve the genuine statements of their friends about how impressive this experience was. After all, there is no incentive for this referral, so it must be an honest one. That's how it's perceived, and it works.

A final type I want to mention is one you won't notice most of the time. It's all about getting people to find the hidden message in something, whether that thing is a picture or a phrase or whatever else it may be. It's all about getting people talking first. People love a good mystery, and they begin to discuss with each other what that ad must mean. The message is spread virally before the product is revealed. But once it is revealed, everyone already knows about it and the viral marketing was a success.

There are other variations to this theme of viral marketing types. However, among all the types out there, these are the most commonly used, and the most successful, too. As promised, in the next section I will tell you about how the message is spread.

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