Types of Viral Marketing Methods: Part 2

Now that you're aware of the types of viral marketing, you will need to understand just how the message is spread. Some of it may have come to you already just from thinking about the types, but there's a little more to it that we can discuss. With that in mind, let's take a look at the methods by which the viral marketing messages are transmitted from one consumer to millions.

One of the most common ways you see this type of message transmitted on the internet is through e-mail. You probably see it all the time. One person receives an e-mail and is encouraged to send it to everyone else. They do so by selecting everyone in their address book and send the message. Imagine if one person sent to ten people, and those ten each to ten more, and it continued. The growth is literally exponential.

Another popular means of transmission is seen in the articles on a website. Say that you go to a website where you read news articles. You happen across one that is very interesting to you, and you read it. At the end of the article is a link that encourages you to "click here" to send that article to a friend who may also be interested. This will get the message out to more people as well.

Now think about instant messaging and chat. This has become a wildly popular means of communication and entertainment for millions. How many times have you been chatting in a room when the subject became argumentative? Someone, wanting to prove their point, sends a message through with a link in it to some site where that point will be backed up by an article. This is a great way for the message to spread, because everyone in the chat room who's paying attention will probably click that link.

The final major method of transmission is actually the most obvious, the most time-tested, and the only one I've mentioned here that doesn't actually require use of the internet. It is, simply, word of mouth. And it does matter that you can get word of mouth going, because not everyone is on the internet regularly. However, everyone communicates verbally. So, whatever someone sees on the internet spreads not only further in the virtual world, but by word of mouth that message spreads throughout the real world. It's the oldest, and still the best, way to get your message spread virally.