Definition of Viral Marketing
Creating a Buzz About Your Business

Do you know the definition of viral marketing? If you are unclear, now is the time to pay attention, because what you don't know could be negatively affecting your business.

Cyber space is abuzz with internet viral marketing and how to boost one’s business through a viral marketing campaign. The most common and basic definition of viral marketing offered by the search engines is that it is spreading a message (much like a virus; hence the word “viral”) about one’s products or services as a way to promote them.

To get a better idea of what we are talking about, see our Top 10 Viral Marketing Examples.

Word of Mouth and Internet Viral Marketing

While this “spreading the word” concept about viral marketing products and services is an important component of viral marketing, it does not fully explain this marketing phenomenon. An important link is missing there, and that is the consumers and how their personal opinions about one’s promotional messages or goods can make or break the marketer’s efforts to go viral.

The most important question that viral marketers must ask themselves when crafting a viral marketing campaign, therefore, is what’s in it for the consumers. Why should people even bother to spread their message to others?

The Definition of Viral Marketing Uncovered

Catching the kind of “virus” that is worth infecting others with is crucial because consumers can always decide to just keep it to themselves much like someone with a flu would shun human contact for days.

Another important element of viral marketing—it’s the most important, actually; it’s why marketers are going ga-ga over viral marketing!—is that the message must bring about the ultimate desired effect: increase in sales through brand awareness. And one of the most popular ways of spreading this message is through starting an ezine and viral email marketing.

There are a number of viral marketing examples to learn from, when you are thinking about developing your own campaign. But, be careful not to get caught up in trying to duplicate what has already been done. No doubt, some of the best examples were so successful was because they were so unique.

To further shed light on these ideas and to get some ideas for planning your viral marketing campaign, let’s look at how some of the most influential figures in internet promotion come up with their own definition of viral marketing.

Seth Godin’s definition of viral marketing: Results and ‘sneezers’ are crucial

No internet marketer worth his salt will say that he has not heard of Seth Godin, an author of best-selling books on marketing and the guy behind Squidoo and the “Permission Marketing” concept. So, how does this marketing guru whose own name has become viral in nature define viral marketing?

“Viral marketing is an idea that spreads–and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause.”

What Godin meant by this is that just because an idea is viral doesn’t automatically mean it’s viral marketing. The message must advance one’s cause or boost one’s sales for it to qualify to be called viral marketing.

This definition is already a notch higher than the usual definition of viral marketing we encounter in the web. Now, Godin takes it a step further by saying that for a message to spread exponentially, it must hook the interest of the “sneezers” (the people spreading it). The message must be remarkable and of value to them in some way for them to willingly and lovingly sneeze out the message to other people.

Jennifer Laycock’s definition of viral marketing:
The Idea must be irresistible, well-planned and scalable

Jennifer Laycock is the editor in chief of the educational website Search Engine Guide and a favorite source of ideas by bloggers and internet marketers alike.

Viral marketing, according to her, is “the creation of an idea that has high enough appeal to your target audience that they’ll embrace it and share it with their friends.”

She also adds that for a viral campaign to be effective, it must be designed to be viral right from the very start. Simply making an existing campaign go viral doesn’t work; the viral element must be built into the idea in the first place, she says.

Laycock’s own definition of viral marketing echoes that of Godin’s but she adds another dimension: a caution on the scalability of the idea. This means that before a business should even begin the steps of going viral, marketers must be prepared for the immense buzz it could generate; otherwise, it will get “buried under so much traffic and business that they aren’t able to fulfil their obligations.”

Viral marketing definition: Word of mouth or word of mouse?

Another common definition of viral marketing we find on the internet is that it is like word of mouth. This is not entirely accurate and it’s a definition that makes Godin, Laycock, and all other reputable internet marketers shudder.

Viral marketing is a shade similar to word of mouth because the idea spreads, but because the main tool used in viral marketing is the internet where one or more people are able to reach out to millions of people at the shortest time possible, it’s more accurate to describe it as “word of mouse.”

We like to think of word of mouth as something like gossip; it eventually dies down. It’s because it takes more effort to spread the message verbally; one has to have an actual conversation with someone.
On the other hand, when one spreads the word through the ‘mouse’, with all the elements of good viral marketing considered, the idea just keeps on spreading and touching the lives of more people as time passes, and the search engine results are testament to that. Unlike the gossip nature of word of mouth, viral marketing is not likely to fizzle especially if the idea is irresistibly good.

A better description of the concept of viral marketing, therefore, is that it’s the “new and (10 times) better word of mouth.”

Want a great way to generate word of mouth? Participate in Forums- Check out the What is a Forum page and also Check out the free social networking sites page.

Other hot networking sites that you need to be familiar with: YouTube ( see the What is YouTube page )
and Flickr ( seel the What is Flickr page ).

Definition of viral marketing: Good or harmful virus?

The fast-spreading quality of viral marketing makes it a good friend to business owners, but it can get ugly, too. When does it become an enemy like what a flu virus is?

Like what Jennifer Laycock mentioned above, businesses incur the wrath—not love—of discriminating consumers when they fail to deliver on their promise. A good message—or product, for that matter—trumpeted as such must meet public expectations for people to become adoring fans.

Another instance of the “virus” in marketing becoming toxic is when the message being spread about the business is negative, e.g. the products suck. Before you even try to get your viral campaign off the ground, make sure you’ve plugged all possible loopholes by addressing these early on.

Harnessing the power of viral marketing is key to driving one’s website traffic and increas ing sales. Before that can happen, however, it’s important for you to get the definition of viral marketing right.
Armed with a better definition of viral marketing, you may now set your business virus free and watch your sales grow!