Viral marketing is gaining popularity. To talk about the company and product, some organizations resort to it. Creativity and spontaneity make viral advertising attractive. The consumer is surprised and even shocked; he is interested in you.
The task of viral advertising is to unobtrusively present a company, product or service. Most consumers are tired of the same type of advertising. They ignore her. With the virus, things are different. It is almost impossible to pass by it. It's a bright flash that's intriguing.
Sometimes the importance of viral advertising is comparable to PR promotion, which gives a successful start to your business. When other methods of promoting a product have failed, creatives resort to the virus. As a result, they get their audience, some of which later become clients.
Your audience is men
Before you launch a viral ad, you need to know who will see it. You must define your target audience. Experience shows that men aged 16 to 40 with above-average income are susceptible to the virus. They are well versed in information technology, actively use the Internet, enjoy sports, and love to travel. Correctly influence this audience, and buyers will be drawn to you.
Women also do not ignore the virus, but they are not so willing to be interested in the advertised product. This may be due to the fact that the products of companies that use viral advertising in business are made for men (cars, cigarettes, office equipment, etc.).
Planning work
Before you start producing viral advertising, it is important to pay attention to the work plan and answer a number of questions.
1. Develop a marketing message. You need to clearly decide what product you are going to advertise.
3. Will email be used? Are you going to send viral advertising?
More provocations, sensations and shock
Experience shows that consumers are interested in something unusual, funny, and sometimes shocking. Your viral advertising should be exactly like this. But don’t go too far, be ethical. Chasing provocation can be costly. Not all audiences are ready to adequately perceive the same black humor and someone else’s tragedies. This sometimes becomes the main theme for the virus. You'd better skip the dirt and focus on relevant topics. What is trending now attracts attention.
I immediately remember a viral video in which the police detain a passerby on the street. A young man (a native of the Caucasus) calls the police “borscht” and asks to return his red moccasins. A “random” witness films the arrest on camera, comments on the actions of law enforcement officers and, as if by chance, shows the audience a green car from one of the Moscow companies. It contains addresses and telephone numbers, the name of the organization.
The authors of this viral video got into the trend: some social network users like to joke about red moccasins, which are worn by everyone. Result: the video received thousands of views, the company successfully advertised itself.
Give preference to video
Unlike photos or text, video will be distributed faster among your potential buyers. Remember the following rules for shooting a viral video:
1. Shoot video with a regular camera. Shooting with a camera like this feels like home, people won’t even think that you are showing them an advertisement.
2. The length of the video should not exceed two minutes. The best option is 30 seconds.
3. Prepare several videos that will be united by a common idea or hero. Organize a series for your potential buyers.
Regular advertising on the Internet does not provide the desired conversion? No wonder. Internet users are so tired of annoying advertising messages, videos, banners and other things that on a subconscious level they try to avoid them. What to do in this case? Stop advertising? Of course not! It is possible and necessary to advertise a product and/or company, it just needs to be done more competently, unobtrusively, interestingly, and originally. Content must be presented in such a way that users themselves want to not only perceive, but also disseminate information. We are talking, as you understand, about viral advertising.
Viral advertising got its name because it literally “infects” the audience with its idea and spreads like a real virus. Thanks to its originality, it is well remembered and quickly transferred from user to user. But such success is possible provided that advertising helps solve consumer problems and can reach the maximum audience. Viral advertising is most easily spread through social networks, forums, email, i.e., through the Internet.
Advantages of viral advertising
- Benefit. Creating and distributing a “virus” is much cheaper than launching a traditional advertising campaign, since in this case you only spend money on creating the video, and distributing it is completely free, while you have to pay for each impression of traditional advertising.
- Scale. If viral advertising is successful, the reach of the target audience will be simply enormous and the cost of 1 contact with a consumer will be minimal.
- Freedom from censorship. Of course, everything should be adequate. However, viral advertising is not subject to advertising law.
So, we come to the most important questions. How to create viral advertising? What viral marketing methods exist? We have to disappoint you: there is no universal algorithm of actions or uniform recommendations. Each company, each product has its own individual characteristics, its own target audience, so viral advertising should be different, unique, aimed specifically at the interests and needs of potential customers. However, we will highlight the key points used when creating any viral advertising.
Stages of developing viral advertising on the Internet
- Unobtrusiveness. Advertising should not be intrusive; the key message should be clear, but not “shout” to the viewer: “Buy me!”
- Humor . Note that the most popular viral videos are usually humorous. Although this is not a panacea. Your idea may not be compatible with laughter and evoke completely different emotions.
- Relevance . It is important that your idea corresponds to current events in the world, people's mentalities, and pressing problems of society.
- Positive emotions. We talked about how viral advertising should evoke emotions. Disgust, anger, contempt are also emotions, but you should not evoke negative feelings in people, otherwise they will be associated with your product/service and the company as a whole.
- Novelty. The idea must be unique, one that no one has used before.
- Discussions. Your advertising should provoke people to discuss and express their opinions. Only then will they begin to broadcast this on their pages on social networks and forums.
- Advertising message. In pursuit of originality and creativity, do not forget about the message you want to convey to your target audience.
Thus, in the first 3 days after the launch of a viral advertising campaign, you can immediately determine its success in the future.
Examples of cool viral advertising for inspiration
Disney Characters Surprise Shoppers video - shared 3,757,909 times.
Video Love Has No Labels - shared 2,741,138 times.
Budweiser USA video: #BestBuds - shared 2,511,546 times.
Video “The first day of your new life” - 1,919,525 views.
Video “You have something to be proud of” - 8,235,902 views.
The animated video “Stupid Ways to Die” has received more than 30 million views.
Video “The end of the world during an interview.”
Check out these examples of viral marketing and get inspired! And also stay tuned for updates to our articles and learn new useful information to develop your business and increase your sales.
Relatively recently, the concept of “viral advertising” appeared in the everyday life of Internet users. This is somewhat different from what is usually imagined in the interpretation of viruses as such. In fact, such advertising is not initially created to distribute viral and malicious codes (although such cases are not uncommon). And any user can create such a presentation for more successful business, attracting the interest of a potential buyer of goods or services. True, for this you will have to plunge a little into the mechanisms of work and marketing.
What is viral advertising?
To begin with, it is worth defining the very concept of viral advertising. As is already clear, spreading viruses with the aim of causing damage to a user system or an enterprise network is not at all the main task.
As statistics show, viral advertising on the Internet is more focused on getting an Internet user interested in some product or service, so that he not only follows a link (often hidden) to a site with a redirect, but also disseminates information or methods of transition among his acquaintances And the Internet is not always needed for this.
Agree, even in those days when there was no World Wide Web, people passed on information, what is called word of mouth. And today this technique is as relevant and efficient as possible. The example is the simplest: a person was “fallen” by the description of the product, went to the store and bought it, after which he immediately told a friend that the price was lower and the quality was higher. Do you think a friend will ignore the product after such a flattering review? No! He will buy it to see for himself that it really does what it was advertised to do. But the trouble is, it often turns out to be a complete disappointment.
But if we take modern network technologies into account, the question of what viral advertising is can really be interpreted as a means of distributing malicious codes or potentially dangerous (or unnecessary) software. In the simplest case, you can look at the installation of some programs, which during the installation process appear various kinds of offers for installing additional components, which most often concerns browser add-ons and plugins. Most users don't pay attention to this. And this is precisely the main advantage for those who create this kind of software.
But since now we are talking about how to make such advertising as effective as possible, we will start from this. And first we need to find out how this all works both at the Internet level and in terms of its impact on the psyche of the average person.
History of Viral Marketing
As in any other industry, before creating an advertising video or banner that the user must be interested in, a statistical market study should be carried out.
The peculiarities of viral marketing, the concept of which appeared only in 1996 thanks to Jeffrey Rayport, who in his detailed article talked about possible methods of transmitting information (not always positive, by the way) from one individual to another, is that quite often all this happens almost on a subconscious level.
Some call it “word of mouth”, others call it the 25th frame effect. Regardless of the interpretation of the term itself, the impact on the human psyche is always the same.
This is the simplest understanding of the activities that are provided by videos of this type. But to be frank, the impact on the human psyche is much broader.
Viral advertising: features of human perception
Psychologists, as a rule, note several storylines that can interest a potential visitor:
- original and unusual tricks;
- presence of animals and children in the video;
- hidden and unnoticeable humor;
- models in swimsuits (targeted at a male audience);
- the youth and freshness of the actors, emphasizing, for example, the use of a particular drug.
These are not all the methods that viral advertising on the Internet uses. But even based on this, it is not difficult to notice that many react to such videos as quickly as possible and press buttons or transition links, almost without thinking. This is the whole mechanism.
How does it all work?
Now another look at what constitutes viral advertising on the Internet. Examples can be given even with the participation of famous and highly respected global brands. But the main condition is that the brand itself is not clearly advertised, but rather veiled, although the end user is given a message specifically about it.
What is worth looking at as an example? Please! An example of Nikon's viral advertising, clearly aimed at a male audience (with photos of a semi-erotic nature), haunts many.
Here's hot pizza. Remember when animals were mentioned? Well, why not a classic of the genre? Such a video will obviously be viewed both on social networks and on the same YouTube hosting. So why be surprised?
Here comes Hugo Boss. By the way, it is quite obvious that this is a real montage. But many people fall for it...
How to interest a potential client?
The basic principle, which is used almost everywhere, is that information reaches the end user from trusted sources (relatives, friends, acquaintances). The same social networks are a real Klondike, where viral advertising on the Internet has almost unlimited possibilities in terms of distribution. And these are not simple words.
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The main distinguishing features of viral advertising are the naturalness of the message, which contains information regarding the product/service, as well as a unique and extraordinary idea that is sure to attract the attention of the audience. This type of advertising received its name “viral” due to the fact that it is transmitted from person to person.
How and by whom is viral advertising used?
Today, viral campaigns are actively used by large and medium-sized companies. It is especially relevant for global corporations, whose products are known almost all over the world. These enterprises have already achieved a high level of skill in conducting such advertising campaigns.
The main forms used in viral advertising: audio recordings, videos, photographic materials, original news feeds and the launch of rumors, short informative texts and news, holding flash mobs. Content is composed in such a way as to evoke emotions in the audience. Preferably positive.
Pros and cons of viral advertising on the Internet
First, let's look at the advantages of viral marketing:
If we talk about the advantages for advertising customers, we can note the absence of any restrictions, there is not even any special censorship. This even opens up opportunities for promoting special categories of goods, for example, products for adults/alcohol/tobacco products and so on. And again, it is worth emphasizing the duration of the life cycle, which ranges from three years and above.
The disadvantages include the following:
- It is not easy to plan and forecast a campaign. Today it is almost impossible to determine whether the campaign will be successful and whether the “virus” will spread; it is impossible to calculate even the approximate speed of its spread. This is due to the fact that the main role in distribution is played by a live audience, users. It is quite difficult to predict their behavior.
- The cost of a good idea and preparation of a viral product can be high. It’s not enough to come up with a great idea, you also need to implement it well, otherwise the whole effect will be lost and will not make sense.
- Audience limitation. Unfortunately, viral advertising on the Internet only reaches Internet users. If you are promoting products/companies/services that are more aimed at users who are rarely online, it is better to abandon viral marketing.
Examples of viral advertising
- Such advertising is aimed at a male network user; he will obviously be interested in such a “motorcycle” and will pass it on to his friends.
- Here's another good example. The pizza is so hot that even the cat lay down on it to warm up. Well, how can you not be touched and send it to a friend?
- And here is an interesting Hugo Boss banner. It is clear that this is editing. However, many take it at face value and share it with friends.
- Speaking of video content, Android's "Friends Furever" video is a must-watch. It was shared 6,432,921 times in 2015 alone, when it first appeared. This speaks of a colossal success.
How to run viral advertising
- First you need to analyze the target audience, on which Internet resources they spend most of their time. Perhaps these are social networks or video hosting, etc. Then a viral marketing strategy is drawn up, since the matter is not limited to the publication of one material. In this case, you need to take into account all the characteristics of potential clients.
- Content development. This is the most difficult stage: you need to work out the material in detail and create a high-quality advertising product that can boast high potential.
- Spreading. After the advertising message is ready, it is necessary to distribute it online. If the ad is really interesting, it will be viewed by thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of users of the World Wide Web. Advertising of this type allows you not only to attract new customers, but also to force existing customers to place a new order.
- Monitoring. As you know, we do not control what we do not consider. It is necessary to constantly monitor the process and monitor for feedback. You need to get statistics on the prevalence of the virus to see the picture and draw conclusions about the effectiveness.
- Grade. It is necessary to calculate such indicators as demographic data, number of unique views, peaks of activity, tone of feedback, volume of comments.
It will be useful to use the principles of creating viral advertising. This tool is designed to attract the attention of the audience and transfer it to the product/product.
You can do this through:
- Scandals. Incredibly, fights and scandals spread on the Internet at breakneck speed.
- Shock. The public needs to be shocked, break existing rules, and do crazy things.
- Laughter and humor. Advertising messages with a touch of humor spread much faster, since we all love to laugh and want to make the people we know smile more often.
- "Cutness." These are our beloved kittens, puppies, little children. All this cannot but evoke tenderness, along with a desire to share.
With the help of viral advertising, you can easily promote your products and services on the Internet, demonstrate presentation films, and videos. Many companies specially produce short funny films, flash cartoons, and create games that help familiarize a large audience with the material. Sometimes viral advertising is spread through a selection of interesting photographs, reports of past promotional exhibitions, events, fashion shows, product demonstrations or food and drink tastings.
Viral advertising has nothing to do with the spread of viruses that disrupt the operation of computers or cause illness. It is called so because it spreads at the speed of a viral infection. It is enough to create interesting, original and unlike anything else material, and users of social networks begin to view it, passing on the information to their many friends and acquaintances.
Examples of successful viral video advertising
Here is a selection of the five most popular videos on the Internet:
Psychology of viral advertising
Talentedly created videos attract the attention of millions of users, literally encouraging them to share them with each other. The essence comes down to arousing genuine interest, surprising, and shocking users in some way. Word of mouth can work better than the most expensive advertising campaigns. Information literally reaches the most passive users in a matter of hours, and even the most distrustful and doubtful tend to believe it - after all, it comes from acquaintances and friends, from those people whom they are accustomed to trust.
Reasons for the popularity of viral marketing
It is very convenient to sell products, inform the target audience about the opening of a particular store, about the arrival of a new product on the market, with the help of viral marketing. Its advantage is that the degree of trust in conventional advertising has decreased quite significantly. People need to get information from people who are not interested in increasing sales. It is beneficial not to buy a new product yourself, but to first get feedback from those who have already done it. Therefore, those sites where reviews are posted are also very popular. Many forums have been created precisely for this purpose.
Competent marketers, when creating online stores, initially include the functionality to leave reviews for each product. Sometimes owners hire special staff to write these reviews, making them extremely reliable.
An example is the following facts: if on a forum someone advises you to buy this or that washing machine, says that it works reliably, washes perfectly and works silently, then most likely there will be a demand for this particular model in the store. If the same information is in an advertisement, it will simply be ignored.
The same can be observed in everyday life. If a neighbor or friend tells you that this cheese is delicious, then you are more likely to try it. But if the same cheese appears on posters, most people will not believe it. After all, many of us have become convinced of the possibilities of high-quality digital printing and the ability of advertisers to take beautiful pictures, but advertising tricks do not always correspond to reality.
High-quality viral advertising
Unfortunately, the success of viral advertising is impossible to calculate. You just need to hope for a good result by observing the above requirements. Sometimes the most insignificant story becomes extremely popular, while others, in which a lot of money has been invested, remain unknown to anyone. It is worth remembering that there is high competition on the Internet, that in addition to creating a video, you will also need to optimize your profile, select the right tags, and pay attention to the video from famous bloggers, forum and social network participants.