Viral Marketing Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about the basics of viral marketing. There is some new information regarding the older generation of online users and shoppers. There is a certain segment of online consumers that has been identified as brand advocates. Findings are showing that over two thirds of brand advocates do their product research online. This niche group of online users are identified by their purchase behavior and their elevated rate of online use. A brand advocate's online use is characterized by their tendency to leave product reviews, and their inclination to leave more negative reviews than most online shoppers. Typically, a brand advocate is someone who will only make a purchase after extensive research has been done. Brand advocates are also more likely to be a subscriber of Consumer Reports.

According to Jupiter Research, this high level of online use suggests that the influential brand advocates should be at the forefront of brand promotion. To the contrary, instead of promoting brands through the use of social media, they are using their online time to do research.

"This group is more likely to read a blog for information rather than create their own; advocacy toward a product or service is most likely to be generated by word-of-mouth. Marketers will have an easier time of attracting more brand advocates if they target this group with the right tactics," said David Schatsky, President of JupiterResearch.
Behavioral and content targeting are likely to attract brand advocates, since more than half of this segment is likely to pay attention to online ads that fit their interests or current activity."

Emily Riley at Jupiter Says, "Brand advocates should not be considered catalysts for a viral campaign or a brand awareness campaign..."

So how do you attract this market segment that neither contributes to, nor is influenced by social media and viral marketing? Jessica Tsai from CRM Magazine says:

• "Given that 53 percent of brand advocates respond to online advertisement that fit their interests and 29 percent on ads that fit their current activity, behavioral and content targeting are highly valuable.


• Purchase search keywords that match brand messaging and link to rich product information.


• Continue to use traditional forms of database marketing such as sweepstakes (response rate of more than 50 percent by brand advocates) and email newsletters (more than 33 percent)."

Even though this market segment can't be considered catalysts for viral marketing, you should never discount the power of an educated brand loyalist. Caution - Opinion Ahead. Whether researchers are willing to admit it or not, brand advocates DO spread information about goods and services that they view as valuable. They may not convey their opinion online, but they spread their knowledge nonetheless. People commonly ask others in their circle of influence when they are considering a purchase. Family and friend's opinions DO contribute to buying decisions.

Again, how do you market to such a niche segment? Because value and quality are big for brand advocates, you should focus your marketing efforts in the arenas of professional product reviews, awards, certifications and dedicated product micro sites that can be viewed as authoritative.

Hmmm, this sounds like some of the commonly accepted strategies that you implement to increase your conversion rate doesn't it?

 

Viral Marketing Part 1

Defined by Dr. Ralf F. Wilson as: "...marketing that describes any strategy which encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. "

OK fine, "So what does this mean to me?" you ask. Viral marketing or traditionally "word-of-mouth" advertising, basically means creating awareness through modern forms of mass communication. Word travels fast in our "ever-connected" society through email, text messages, and other forms of electronic communication. These electronic connections combined with the rapidly growing social media phenomenon, have resulted in ideas and concepts communicated faster than we have ever seen.

A simple tag at the end of your email with a special "give away" that directs a person to your website can be considered viral marketing. IF this email gets forwarded to a friend or co-worker the snowball begins or the virus begins it's multiplication.

Take your company's newsletter for example. Let's say you send out a bi-monthly e-newsletter. It has some very informative "how to" tips. This message may get forwarded to your recipient's circle of influence. As a result, 25 people sign up on your website for your newsletter. The real circulation of the information can be ten times more than what your recipient list actually reflects.

Hotmail has largely been recognized as the first example of viral marketing. All email sent via Hotmail was tagged with the simple message, "Sign up for your free email account". Hotmail grew to unprecedented success in the 90's which may have contributed to the spawning many other free email services like Yahoo and Gmail providing expanded services.

So how do you do it? Send an email to your customer base informing them of a "buy one, get one free" special that you are currently running. If the special is of real value and has a true call to action element, it will get disseminated to others.

How many times have you heard someone say, "Hey, ABC company is giving away X if you go in on Saturday"? This is a true example of viral marketing and in most cases can be a low cost/no cost form of advertising.

There you have it. Now you know what some one is talking about when you hear "its gone viral."

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 on viral marketing and the influence that "brand advocates" have on this type of marketing.