Viral marketing
is an integral part of a campaign strategy that is used to achieve objectives.
It is not the objective itself. If the main objective of an e-mail campaign is
branding, in order to achieve greater branding success exposure, you 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. This is one area
where you want to make sure you put forth your best efforts in preparation.
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.
On the other
hand, if something worthy of sharing, such as a valuable discount, vital
information, additional entries into a sweepstakes, an added discount or
premium service, a joke, cartoon, or a hilarious video, is included in the
e-mail, viral marketing happens naturally and quite successfully. However you
choose to prepare this aspect of your email, it must be worth the efforts of
your recipients to pass this information to their family or friends.
The bottom line
is that your message must be
perceived as having value. Relevant or timely information, research, or studies
are all good examples of content that might be viewed as potential pass-along
material. 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.
A multimedia
experience is always going to achieve some pass-along. Someone is always
touting the benefits. It is a bit more of a time and money investment but the
messages have a great appeal and rich media has the advantage of being new. The
tech factor alone is often enough for the message to be perceived as valuable.
Take some time
and think about how you could add value to your email messages and get your
recipients to send them along to their friends, to their friends, and so on. This is yet another avenue of growing your
business with the help of others.
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"To touch the mind is wonderful.
To move the soul to action is priceless!"
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