What is Viral Marketing?

One of the most powerful tools in marketing is also one of the most time-tested, and simple to implement. “Word of mouth,” or the passing of information from customer to potential customer, has become an even more valuable tool with the rise of social media. Businesses can have information sent all over the world at practically the speed of light via social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and more. In this mobile-driven business climate, word of mouth is now aptly called “viral marketing.”

What Is Viral Marketing?

When customers pass along a marketing message on the behalf of a product or service, making the message pass quickly at a rapidly growing rate, the marketing campaign has gone “viral.” This can also be called viral traffic generation. Examples of a marketing campaign that could go viral include:

A consistently, rapidly forwarded email campaign
A catchy video that can be easily and widely shared on social media
A campaign that has a socially conscious message that is shared because of its relevance to the social climate.

Whichever form of viral traffic generation and marketing your business chooses, these tools provide better odds that the business website, social media presence, or even physical location will get higher traffic numbers.

Who Uses It?

Viral traffic generation can be used by any company in the B2B and B2C sectors who want to dramatically lower their marketing overhead while making a big splash and driving business directly toward their products and services. If a drop in promotional costs isn’t enough of a reason to give this technique a try, there are many other benefits, like:

Introduction to new customers that may not have heard about your products and services otherwise
An increase in positive coverage
Escape from a “niche only” market
Increased web traffic
and a lift in the search engine results.

Are There Viral Traffic Generation and Marketing Specialists?

There are many different job titles held by people who work in the field of viral business marketing and create business-changing viral campaigns. Though online marketing can be a DIY job, businesses typically hire professionals with an educational background in relevant fields like:

Digital Marketing Specialists
Online PR Specialists
Marketing and Social Media Specialists
Technical SEO Specialists
Social Media and Digital Content Strategists
and Field Marketing Specialists.

Professionals in the field typically possess a bachelor’s degree or higher in business, business administration, marketing, or another related field from an accredited college or university. They have been educated and trained to understand business and marketing trends both on-and-offline and have the knowledge to implement these trends to benefit businesses of all sizes and shapes, in practically any market, mainstream or niche.

Could a viral marketing campaign be the tool to take your business to the next level of growth and success? Read about these 10 campaigns that brought other entrepreneurs great success through social media, and decide for yourself!

What is Viral Marketing?