Viral marketing is an important part of your campaign strategy to reach an objective. It is not the objective itself. You must craft your message or offer in a way that it encourages pass-along.
Producing a message with a quality offer or an incentive for pass-along is what viral marketing is all about.
Just suggesting that e-mail recipients forward your message to their friends and relatives is not viral marketing. A message at the bottom of your e-mail that reads “Feel free to forward this message to a friend” is nowhere close to viral marketing at its best.
Note: As a personal opinion, I don't feel it will hurt your efforts but it is not classified as true viral marketing.
The bottom line is that your message must be perceived as having value. Only then will viral marketing happen naturally and with a great deal of success.
Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence.
Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands and then to millions.
From a marketing standpoint, you must simplify your marketing message so it can be transmitted easily and without degradation. Short is better. Remember the K.I.S.S. standard….Keep it Simple Stupid. The shorter and easier to remember is always better than long and complicated.
Social scientists tell us that each person has a network of 8 to 12 people in their close network of friends, family, and associates.
Interactive content like a quiz or text can inspire forwarding, especially if it is fun. Personality tests, fitness quizzes, or compatibility questionnaires are all things that have been passed on by many people many times. Why? Because they are entertaining and entertainment has value.
Relevant or timely information, research, or studies are all good examples of content that might be viewed as potential pass-along material.
And let's not forget our favorite jokes and cartoons!
A well known study generated some interesting results regarding the type of content that is most often forwarded, as well. The most popular content is humorous material.
The second most popular category is news, followed by healthcare and medical information, religious and spiritual material, games, business and personal finance information and sports/hobbies… in that order.
If you can design a viral marketing strategy that builds on common motivations and behaviors for its transmission, you have a winner.
Remember that people are much more likely to share a joke or a funny picture than anything else so you would be well advised to include humor in your e-mail campaign.