Viral marketing
For The Chief magazine
Not all viruses are equally harmful. Computer viruses destroy gigabytes of zeros and ones with all the ensuing consequences. Biological viruses several times a year affect the health of the population of one seventh of the land. And marketing viruses ... make a profit. This is viral marketing in action. Although in the inept hands of "experienced" marketers can bring such harm, which neither hackers nor microbiologists have dreamed of. This is an inept use of viral marketing. So, viral marketing is for and against.
The consumer rules the world. He meticulously looks at, sniffs, listens and asks the price. His Highness is convincing with commercials, prompted by PR-articles, lured by POS-materials and caught at living prices. Two types of organizations stand out against the general background: monopolists (convince them more often than they) and companies that, with cunning and wit, provoke His Majesty to act as an advertising medium for goods and services (not to be confused with people-sandwiches) - to transmit a marketing virus - information, which can easily be propagated and distributed to friends, acquaintances or colleagues.
')
Historical it turned out that viral marketing, like rumors, was not widely accepted among marketers, these events are rarely included in the promotion plan, they are not counted on. Perhaps Kotler, Trout and his comrades, who have not paid due attention to these methods in their writings, may be afraid of the word "virus."
Let's take courage and let a ray of light into the conservative realm of promotion methods - let's write viral marketing in all colors. Along with the beam, shadows of doubts and fears will appear that we simply cannot describe.
Viral marketing before the era of historical materialism
Contrary to misconceptions, viral marketing and marketing viruses live well outside the global web and benefit their creators. The methods of viral marketing described below appeared long before the birth of the Internet and their essence is simple - to create all the conditions for customers to actively recommend your product or service.
How can you not remember the "experienced" marketers, without a shadow of a doubt declare - Let's collect customers, give money and let them recommend us. The result of this action can be predicted with a 99% probability. A black spot on the company's image and rumors about a dishonest company rushing at the speed of a jet plane, poor-quality products, etc., etc. - the effect of a damaged phone. More gentle, Victor, more tender. People for the most part are greedy, but they need to play on weaknesses thinner.
For myself and that guy
Sly direct marketing creators have come up with sending out in one envelope 2 coupons for a discount or invitations for a sale, thereby gently pushing the recipients to transfer the second sample to a friend. The name of these coupons corresponding - "Pass on". Individual consultants, lawyers or accountants send business cards in this manner - two in one envelope. There is a chance that the second copy (as well as the first one) can be sent to the ballot box, but this is the wisdom of direct marketing, we will not touch them in this article. Let us dwell only on the text of the letter — it is more logical and better to remind the recipient in a friendly manner that the second copy can benefit a friend than to categorically demand an urgent transfer of the above-mentioned products to an authorized person.
Bribery (from the arsenal of MLM methods)
Some companies invest fabulous funds in advertising, others - in friendship. This method has long and successfully established itself when recruiting into sects and fraternities: brought a friend - received a prize. As sung in the acclaimed advertising "We sell friends." Country club “BMG Music Services” in far America offers its customers a free CD if they bring a friend to the club.
"You are my friend and I am your friend ..."
To organize such an expensive campaign only by the giants of the industry. Marketers at Uniliver decided to accelerate the introduction of Dove soap through viral marketing. The essence of the action was as follows: each woman who brought along with a discount coupon (it could be cut out from a newspaper) the addresses of three of her friends were given two bars of soap. "Sold" girlfriends received a parcel with one piece of soap, and in the "Sender" column indicated the name of the recommended person. On the one hand a friendly sign of attention, on the other - the very sale of friends in colorful packaging. How not to call it, and the market share after Dove shares increased by 10%.
The endless possibilities of the endless network
Smart people have come up with the Internet, no less smart people have transferred the power of viral marketing to the nutrient medium of the world wide web. One of the first was Sabir Bhatia and Jack Smith, who decided to make people happy with free e-mail, and then they went. Online with ease and low spending, you can promote a virtual office and a real store, politics and cartoon hero. Viral marketing is a great tool for achieving these and many other goals.
Letter for you
There was a time (in faraway America) when e-mail was in the possession of universities, schools and other institutions. Only happy employees or students could enjoy the joy of fast communication. Two magicians Bakhtiya and Smith created the company Hotmail.com, and with it the free email that anyone could afford. The lion's share of new customers was brought by one small line “Get your free email to Hotmail.com”. This magic spell brought 18 million customers in 18 months and was not posted on the pages of the New York Times and not on the busy highways of sultry Los Angeles, but at the bottom of emails. This method of promotion is still successfully used by free mail providers around the world to promote new services and services. Take a closer look at the letters you received. Classic is always in fashion.
Cozy island in the raging sea
Tired of the monotony of the seascape, the captain is looking for a cozy island. Tired of traveling on the network, people of the 21st century want a safe haven, on the same network, where he will be able to communicate with like-minded people, discuss pressing problems, and relax his soul. Let your site become such a place. For this you need, right, a mere trifle - a forum or chat. Increasingly popular corporate sites with thematic forums. Having a good rest in the south, few of us will hide our emotions. And it makes you tell everyone in the office about useful online communication with a like-minded person. From communication on the forum to making a purchase in the online store on the same site - one step. This is the calculation - it is viral marketing in action.
Magic word - for nothing
Free mail, free programs, free desktop wallpapers - all for nothing: take it, I don’t want it. The Internet showered us with gifts. There is a gain in these gifts, there is a profit from these fabulous spending. The main benefit is rumors (transmission of the marketing virus). How not to talk about a useful program that transmits voice to anywhere in the world. The main thing is that the interlocutor also had such a program. So, His Majesty, without knowing it, hurries all friends to offer a solution to the problem of communication - acts as a free commercial representative. In order not to infect you, dear reader with a terrible marketing virus, we intentionally do not indicate the name. Profit creators brings advertising that appears in this program, and for a little money, you can call via the Internet on the phone to anywhere in the world.
With a funny online postcard from a friend, a link to the site with anecdotes is sounded in our inbox. An interesting article from the news site throws us into the virtual office of the bank. Colorful wallpaper for the operating system unobtrusively offers to buy a card to pay for telephone calls. Marketing viruses are attacking - save yourself, who can.
Viral marketing in the cellular service
About a year ago, on the Internet, at a breathtaking speed, the MTS ad was distributed, judging by the language of the characters, in Ukraine. Contained a video of profanity, maybe that is why he really wanted to be shown to a friend as soon as possible and sent by e-mail to a friend. The public was perplexed about what it was: the machinations of competitors, information leakage, the marketing ploy. Whatever it was, but it was a virus - a marketing virus. Members sent friends a mini-story about a Cinderella of the 21st century, putting a harmful stepmother in place, and advertised MTS Jeans.
His Majesty does not owe anything to anyone, push him to transfer information to others - this is the main goal of the creator of the virus.
Cold water tub
The opportunity to increase at times the market share or the number of buyers - is this not a reason to drop everything and come to grips with rumors. It makes sense to linger over this article for a second and get acquainted with other people's errors.
Each city IKEA surprises in its own way. Someone in affection leads the color of furniture, other prices in the cafe. Residents of sunny San Francisco IKEA unpleasantly surprised by their immediacy, offering for a discount to send an announcement about the opening of the store to 10 friends. Instead of a crowd of buyers, the company received a bunch of complaints and hurried to curtail this advertising campaign.
Fogdog, an online sports equipment retailer, wanted to attract new customers to the site, and nearly lost old ones. Marketers of the company launched a promotional campaign “Allocate a Friend” - a site visitor was offered to specify 25 email addresses of his friends, who will be sent a coupon for a discount of $ 10. There was no limit to the irritation of regular customers. The trouble is that both of these companies have broken trust relationships with customers by trying to move from friendship to frank and outright greed. For this, and paid.
There was also the company Intuit, which offered to recommend itself for money (see the beginning of the article). In response, representatives of the organization received - "We do not sell friends for a handful of little things."
Viral marketing is a great way to promote, but, like any other, it requires careful planning, long-term building of friendly relations with customers and an understanding of the essence of the problem. Successful to you virus creation!
###
2004
©
Not all viruses are equally harmful. Computer viruses destroy gigabytes of zeros and ones with all the ensuing consequences. Biological viruses several times a year affect the health of the population of one seventh of the land. And marketing viruses ... make a profit. This is viral marketing in action. Although in the inept hands of "experienced" marketers can bring such harm, which neither hackers nor microbiologists have dreamed of. This is an inept use of viral marketing. So, viral marketing is for and against.
The consumer rules the world. He meticulously looks at, sniffs, listens and asks the price. His Highness is convincing with commercials, prompted by PR-articles, lured by POS-materials and caught at living prices. Two types of organizations stand out against the general background: monopolists (convince them more often than they) and companies that, with cunning and wit, provoke His Majesty to act as an advertising medium for goods and services (not to be confused with people-sandwiches) - to transmit a marketing virus - information, which can easily be propagated and distributed to friends, acquaintances or colleagues.
')
Historical it turned out that viral marketing, like rumors, was not widely accepted among marketers, these events are rarely included in the promotion plan, they are not counted on. Perhaps Kotler, Trout and his comrades, who have not paid due attention to these methods in their writings, may be afraid of the word "virus."
Let's take courage and let a ray of light into the conservative realm of promotion methods - let's write viral marketing in all colors. Along with the beam, shadows of doubts and fears will appear that we simply cannot describe.
Viral marketing before the era of historical materialism
Contrary to misconceptions, viral marketing and marketing viruses live well outside the global web and benefit their creators. The methods of viral marketing described below appeared long before the birth of the Internet and their essence is simple - to create all the conditions for customers to actively recommend your product or service.
How can you not remember the "experienced" marketers, without a shadow of a doubt declare - Let's collect customers, give money and let them recommend us. The result of this action can be predicted with a 99% probability. A black spot on the company's image and rumors about a dishonest company rushing at the speed of a jet plane, poor-quality products, etc., etc. - the effect of a damaged phone. More gentle, Victor, more tender. People for the most part are greedy, but they need to play on weaknesses thinner.
For myself and that guy
Sly direct marketing creators have come up with sending out in one envelope 2 coupons for a discount or invitations for a sale, thereby gently pushing the recipients to transfer the second sample to a friend. The name of these coupons corresponding - "Pass on". Individual consultants, lawyers or accountants send business cards in this manner - two in one envelope. There is a chance that the second copy (as well as the first one) can be sent to the ballot box, but this is the wisdom of direct marketing, we will not touch them in this article. Let us dwell only on the text of the letter — it is more logical and better to remind the recipient in a friendly manner that the second copy can benefit a friend than to categorically demand an urgent transfer of the above-mentioned products to an authorized person.
Bribery (from the arsenal of MLM methods)
Some companies invest fabulous funds in advertising, others - in friendship. This method has long and successfully established itself when recruiting into sects and fraternities: brought a friend - received a prize. As sung in the acclaimed advertising "We sell friends." Country club “BMG Music Services” in far America offers its customers a free CD if they bring a friend to the club.
"You are my friend and I am your friend ..."
To organize such an expensive campaign only by the giants of the industry. Marketers at Uniliver decided to accelerate the introduction of Dove soap through viral marketing. The essence of the action was as follows: each woman who brought along with a discount coupon (it could be cut out from a newspaper) the addresses of three of her friends were given two bars of soap. "Sold" girlfriends received a parcel with one piece of soap, and in the "Sender" column indicated the name of the recommended person. On the one hand a friendly sign of attention, on the other - the very sale of friends in colorful packaging. How not to call it, and the market share after Dove shares increased by 10%.
The endless possibilities of the endless network
Smart people have come up with the Internet, no less smart people have transferred the power of viral marketing to the nutrient medium of the world wide web. One of the first was Sabir Bhatia and Jack Smith, who decided to make people happy with free e-mail, and then they went. Online with ease and low spending, you can promote a virtual office and a real store, politics and cartoon hero. Viral marketing is a great tool for achieving these and many other goals.
Letter for you
There was a time (in faraway America) when e-mail was in the possession of universities, schools and other institutions. Only happy employees or students could enjoy the joy of fast communication. Two magicians Bakhtiya and Smith created the company Hotmail.com, and with it the free email that anyone could afford. The lion's share of new customers was brought by one small line “Get your free email to Hotmail.com”. This magic spell brought 18 million customers in 18 months and was not posted on the pages of the New York Times and not on the busy highways of sultry Los Angeles, but at the bottom of emails. This method of promotion is still successfully used by free mail providers around the world to promote new services and services. Take a closer look at the letters you received. Classic is always in fashion.
Cozy island in the raging sea
Tired of the monotony of the seascape, the captain is looking for a cozy island. Tired of traveling on the network, people of the 21st century want a safe haven, on the same network, where he will be able to communicate with like-minded people, discuss pressing problems, and relax his soul. Let your site become such a place. For this you need, right, a mere trifle - a forum or chat. Increasingly popular corporate sites with thematic forums. Having a good rest in the south, few of us will hide our emotions. And it makes you tell everyone in the office about useful online communication with a like-minded person. From communication on the forum to making a purchase in the online store on the same site - one step. This is the calculation - it is viral marketing in action.
Magic word - for nothing
Free mail, free programs, free desktop wallpapers - all for nothing: take it, I don’t want it. The Internet showered us with gifts. There is a gain in these gifts, there is a profit from these fabulous spending. The main benefit is rumors (transmission of the marketing virus). How not to talk about a useful program that transmits voice to anywhere in the world. The main thing is that the interlocutor also had such a program. So, His Majesty, without knowing it, hurries all friends to offer a solution to the problem of communication - acts as a free commercial representative. In order not to infect you, dear reader with a terrible marketing virus, we intentionally do not indicate the name. Profit creators brings advertising that appears in this program, and for a little money, you can call via the Internet on the phone to anywhere in the world.
With a funny online postcard from a friend, a link to the site with anecdotes is sounded in our inbox. An interesting article from the news site throws us into the virtual office of the bank. Colorful wallpaper for the operating system unobtrusively offers to buy a card to pay for telephone calls. Marketing viruses are attacking - save yourself, who can.
Viral marketing in the cellular service
About a year ago, on the Internet, at a breathtaking speed, the MTS ad was distributed, judging by the language of the characters, in Ukraine. Contained a video of profanity, maybe that is why he really wanted to be shown to a friend as soon as possible and sent by e-mail to a friend. The public was perplexed about what it was: the machinations of competitors, information leakage, the marketing ploy. Whatever it was, but it was a virus - a marketing virus. Members sent friends a mini-story about a Cinderella of the 21st century, putting a harmful stepmother in place, and advertised MTS Jeans.
His Majesty does not owe anything to anyone, push him to transfer information to others - this is the main goal of the creator of the virus.
Cold water tub
The opportunity to increase at times the market share or the number of buyers - is this not a reason to drop everything and come to grips with rumors. It makes sense to linger over this article for a second and get acquainted with other people's errors.
Each city IKEA surprises in its own way. Someone in affection leads the color of furniture, other prices in the cafe. Residents of sunny San Francisco IKEA unpleasantly surprised by their immediacy, offering for a discount to send an announcement about the opening of the store to 10 friends. Instead of a crowd of buyers, the company received a bunch of complaints and hurried to curtail this advertising campaign.
Fogdog, an online sports equipment retailer, wanted to attract new customers to the site, and nearly lost old ones. Marketers of the company launched a promotional campaign “Allocate a Friend” - a site visitor was offered to specify 25 email addresses of his friends, who will be sent a coupon for a discount of $ 10. There was no limit to the irritation of regular customers. The trouble is that both of these companies have broken trust relationships with customers by trying to move from friendship to frank and outright greed. For this, and paid.
There was also the company Intuit, which offered to recommend itself for money (see the beginning of the article). In response, representatives of the organization received - "We do not sell friends for a handful of little things."
Viral marketing is a great way to promote, but, like any other, it requires careful planning, long-term building of friendly relations with customers and an understanding of the essence of the problem. Successful to you virus creation!
###
2004
©
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/13081/
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