Info: What is Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is when you create a marketing message so entertaining, interesting, or compelling that others voluntarily spread that marketing message for you. In the old days, before computers, we called this "word of mouth advertising", also known as "referrals", and recognized it as a valuable resource for generating business.

Are you distributing marketing materials and messages that are so entertaining, interesting, or compelling that your clients and prospects would pass them on, or are you simply sending out stock newsletters and "just sold" cards (aka "brag cards") to remind clients and prospects that you haven't left the business yet?

What does it take to produce a viral marketing presentation? It takes a strong message, a little creativity, and smart use of technology. After all, no matter how much I like your hard copy newsletter, I can only pass on the one copy I received, unless I make copies of it for my friends. With blogs, podcasts, and video, the ability to pass on your marketing message is virtually unlimited, but that marketing message needs to be entertaining, interesting, or compelling (preferably all three) to trigger the viral marketing process.

Here is an example of an effective viral marketing presentation. It is a short video created by Daniel Rothamel, a REALTOR from Virginia. Daniel posted it on YouTube.com, a free video sharing platform owned by Google that allows him to publish to a global audience. In three weeks, Daniel's marketing message has been seen almost 8,000 times. Most of those viewers were probably outside his target audience, but if he gets one deal, it will have been well worth the effort.



I read about Daniel's video in a blog post written by Chris Liverett, a REALTOR from Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Chris published his post here on ActiveRain three weeks ago, but I only discovered it today. Blog posts persist, so they can continue to spread your message for months, provided the content is not time sensitive. The equivalent in the offline world is refrigerator magnets and bag clips. I'd like to thank REIL for mine. I will continue to use them even though REIL is now MLSListings.com, Inc.

Have you thought about how you can incorporate technology into your marketing approach in 2008?

Thanks!

Frank Jewett