A lot has been said and done on meme marketing, digital marketing, influencer marketing and so on. The objective of every type of marketing has always been either boosting brand awareness or sales. How often does “Viral Marketing” do that? And, does it even work in the first place? Do we have to make our communication viral? How do we do it? And why do we need to do it? The questions are aplenty. This article revolves around the ‘how’ of viral marketing and ways in which brands can achieve ‘virality’.
Unravelling the mystery of the Internet
Seldom has anyone been able to identify how to make content viral. Content creators across the world, have faith in the audience, trusting their instincts and publishing movies, web series, ad commercials, short videos, and products, hoping that they would turn viral in one way or the other. People’s likes and dislikes are unpredictable and anything can go viral, just like a random duct-taped banana or the Ice Bucket Challenge. There’s no fixed formula to attain virality. The most tried and tested method has been – you get people talking about the product/service and how remarkable it is; more like a testimonial campaign, but packaged differently.
Creating a Trigger
It is important these days for brands to find a trigger that gets the audience to go gaga over the internet and share stuff like crazy. Memes can be just a one-day wonder, but if we are talking about triggers that have a long-term impact, we need to expand our horizons and need a bigger looking glass. Just using trending memes to convert them into smart headlines and doing a typographic campaign won’t make the cut.
Looking at a product without being overtly obvious is also something that challenges brand communication to a great extent. For instance, just having a superb picture and mentioning “Shot on iPhone” is a campaign in itself. This message is powerful enough to strike the right chord with the audience and make them say – “Ah! I do that every day”. Being relatable is the major concern that brands face while thinking about using Viral Marketing.
Is that Necessary?
Well, not everything is necessary or insignificant unless proven otherwise. In this case, Viral Marketing is not meant to fit every marketing campaign. Depending on the brand, the product, the brand identity and the personality it possesses viral marketing works. Some call it Engineered Viral Marketing – to make it work by force. They have many jargons to describe their strategy. In social media terms, it’s simply called “Growth Hack” and Hotmail once used Viral Marketing (consciously or subconsciously) to quickly become the topmost free email service until Gmail reigned the charts. So, the question remains, is Viral Marketing necessary? Here’s why:
There are no advertising costs involved: Well, initially it may need a push, but thereon, it’s a roller coaster ride. There are highs and lows based on how much the people are enjoying it. Otherwise, it might end up like a Final Destination scene.
The growth happens swiftly: It’s easier said than done and growth happens over time. In this case, the growth might be quick, but the duration; not that much.
It exposes your product/service to the mainstream: When something goes viral (for good or bad), your content is exposed to the mainstream and bigshots are likely to see you. You might want to brace yourselves for some appreciation or criticism, both perhaps.
Well, the story is well told only when it is executed perfectly. At 3 Dots Design Pvt. Ltd., it is our noble duty to ensure that our brands reach their fullest potential with our marketing and branding solutions. Being one of the top digital marketing agencies in Pune, we are equipped with an experienced team of content writers, graphic designers, digital marketers and strategic marketing executives who have the ability to turn any random idea into award-winning campaigns. Well, that’s us! If you think we’re too good to be true, we’ve shifted to our new office and you can come to visit us. To know more about who we are or what we do, please visit www.3dotsdesign.in or get in touch with us at contact@3dotsdesign.in