Comparing Viral Marketing Strategies to the Six Principles
Web Marketing Today, Issue 71, February 8, 2000
In a previous article I outlined the Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing (http://wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm). If you understand these, you'll be able to develop and adapt viral marketing strategies for your own company.
- Gives away products or services
- Provides for effortless transfer to others
- Scales easily from small to very large
- Exploits common motivations and behaviors
- Utilizes existing communication networks
- Takes advantage of others' resources
To help you understand these viral marketing principles better, I've set up a comparison table that helps you see quickly how some classic viral marketing approaches utilize these six principles. Remember, to be successful, a strategy doesn't need to use all six principles, but the more principles involved, the more powerful the strategy is likely to be. By necessity I am giving the briefest sketch of a particular example company strategy, but you can explore these strategies in greater detail, both at the company URL and the Viral Marketing section of our Web Marketing Info Center (http://wilsonweb.com/webmarket/viral.htm)
|
Example |
1. Free |
2. Transfer |
3. Scales |
4. Moti-vations |
5. Network |
6. Resource |
| Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com). Affiliate program with 300,000 links on member websites. |
Yes |
Copy HTML code |
Requires robust database |
Revenue |
Affiliates' site visitors and ezines |
Affiliate's website and e-mail |
| Geocities (http://www.geocities.com) allows members to construct free websites who they invite their friends to see. On each visit an interstitial ad Geocities pops up to invite visitor to Geocities. |
Yes |
Builds website with wizard |
Requires larger servers and more disk space |
Pride in creativity, family bonds |
E-mail personal friends and family |
Member's e-mail |
| eGroups (http://www.egroups.com) allows members to set up discussion and work groups on line, and then invite their friends to be a part, who can then begin a group of their own. Invitations use eGroups resources. |
Yes |
Wizard sets up a group |
Requires larger servers |
Work productivity, family connectivity |
Family, work, and academic associates |
|
| ICQ (http://www.icq.com) instant messaging system allows members to set up accounts, who then invite friends to sign up for the service themselves. |
Yes |
Easy set-up |
Requires larger servers |
Love, keep-in-touch, chat |
Family, work associates |
Invite friends using own e-mail |
| Blue Mountain Arts (http://www.bluemountain.com) provides greeting cards which can be e-mailed to friends, who then are invited to send their own; cards. Uses Blue Mountain's mail server to send e-mail |
Yes |
Easy wizard, wide selection |
Requires larger servers |
Love, friendship, sympathy, loyalty |
Personal friends and family |
|
| The Success Doctor (http://www.successdoctor.com), Michel Fortin, allows any site to use his free articles as content, provided they include links to his site. |
Yes |
Easy download, requires HTML skills |
Easily scalable |
Growth, desire for content |
Visitors to hosts websites |
Uses hosts websites |
| GoLinQ.com (http://www.GoLinQ.com), provides free e-commerce services to retailers, distributes through chambers of commerce partners. |
Yes |
Wizard set-up |
Requires larger servers |
Desire to serve members |
Local business members |
Uses Chambers' traditional communication channels |
