In today’s modern age, tons of people have access to the internet, where they spend most of their time. Nowadays, especially with the younger generations, people are more likely to see advertisements on social media apps, especially if the ad has gone viral. Because of this change in society, viral marketing has become a crucial technique in gaining more customers and getting them to learn more about the product or service for sale.
What Is Viral Marketing?
To understand viral marketing, it’s important to know that viral marketing focuses on sharing information about something quickly, by either word of mouth or social media, to its audience. Because access to social media has become ubiquitous, viral marketing is the perfect way to advertise a product. Additionally, it’s a great way to grow your consumer base and understand what they are looking for. It can also provide valuable data about consumers’ needs so that companies can keep up with the latest trends.
Viral Marketing is so easy to do because they come at no cost. The reason why these campaigns can be beneficial is that they won’t feel like you’re putting pressure on consumers. Peers share the campaign with your audience, so the marketing essentially does the work for you. One amazing viral marketing campaign was the ice bucket challenge, which spread awareness about Lou Gehrig’s disease. Although it wasn’t promoting a service, it was supporting a great cause that helped thousands of people. Another example of an amazing campaign was the Chromatica Oreos promoted by Lady Gaga. This collaboration was amazing because consumers loved the cookies and her album was promoted whenever someone brought them.
The Cons of Viral Marketing
While going viral can seem like a great idea, there can be some risks with creating a viral ad if you don’t understand your audience. Sometimes, the message of the campaigns can become misrepresented and scrutinized by the public. It’s important to make sure that your campaign resonates with your audience or you might face heavy public backlash. One thing to do is to show your campaign to a test group and get feedback that can be beneficial in the future.
Another disadvantage of going viral is that your campaign might not take off the way that you want it to. It could be an issue of people just not spreading the word or your product might not resonate with consumers. If you don’t go viral you might just end up wasting resources. Worse, if your campaign gets a negative reaction from your consumers, you could end up ruining your company’s reputation. Researching what your audience likes and dislikes is important to the success of your product.
In the end, viral marketing can be beneficial if done the right way. Because it’s so delicate and you never know how your party will react, it’s important to have the right tools to help you succeed. At Web Content Development, we know how to get your audience talking about you. Our writers have written over 5 million words and optimized over 100,000 pages, so we know what it takes to create a campaign that gets customers talking about you and your product or service. We have 20+ years of experience in digital marketing and are ready to work with you. Click here to learn more about the services we offer and see how you can go viral today.