http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/viral-marketing.html
What is viral marketing
Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people in their social networks, much in the same way that a virus spreads from one person to another.
The basis of viral marketing is in the spread of information by word-of-mouth, but modern technology has allowed the viral effect to include many Internet-based platforms as well.
Viral marketing typically supplies its audience with something of value for free. This can be something as simple as an amusing song or game. Whatever the viral content is, it must encourage people to share with others so as many people as possible receive the content’s message.
Implementing a viral marketing campaign
There is a common misconception that viral marketing depends on the ability to reliably create something extremely popular. In reality, a successful viral marketing campaign rests more on understanding how to connect with specific demographics by presenting them with valuable content.
Viral marketing is a customer-focused approach, so the first step is to identify the target demographic for a product and what they value the most in products, requiring marketers to research and analyze demographic data. During the Blair Witch campaign, the filmmakers and main marketing agents for the movie were accomplished film students. They examined what made horror movies compelling for the demographic of teens to young adults they were targeting, as well as explored how that demographic shared information. They used this information to focus on their product’s mystery, and they concentrated their early efforts on the Internet where they knew they would have the best chance of reaching a younger audience.
Once a company knows what its target demographic wants and how they communicate, they begin creating content those people will want to share. The Blair Witch team created websites, message boards, and fake news stories that heightened the horror and mystery of the movie’s story. The content encouraged people to look for more information about the story, and even collaborate with their friends in their investigations.
Viral marketing is a continual, interactive process. A company that implements a viral compaign shouldn’t simply let it run its course without adjustment. The Blair Witch campaign remained active on Internet message boards, interacting with real fans and regularly updating websites with more information based on fan discussions. It, like most viral campaigns, succeeded because it grew along with the interest in the product.
How will this benefit my project
Through my project I want to create a campaign video that would be viral. The virality of the project would be the fact that people would share the project and make sure that it spreads from person to person. Knowing my target market and how they would react to viral marketing such as being used in Facebook and other social media on a daily basis.
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