VIRAL MARKETING CHANNEL - YOUTUBE

"YouTube" is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos.
Individuals can upload whatever they want onto "YouTube". All people can watch the videos online while registered users are permitted to upload unlimited number of videos.

With sounds and images in videos, "YouTube" becomes another significant viral marketing channel. Many people promote their products and services with the aid of "YouTube".

An Example of companies advertise on "YouTube", LG mobile phone Company will upload their latest products trailers onto "YouTube" when new products launch.

Link to LG KU990 Viewty:


Link to LG BL40 Black Label 4:


Not only companies using "YouTube" as advertising and viral marketing channel but media also post their programme on "YouTube" for reaching readers and audiences.

An Example of Media using "YouTube", Weekend Weekly Magazine: weekly programme

Link to Series 501 - So Man Fung VS Tram Boy Peter:


Link to Series 504 - Make up class:


Beside companies, individuals posted their great works online for their different purpose like sharing their views or just for fun. But sometime individuals' videos may result in a large feedback because of the widespread of "YouTube".

An Example of widespread of YouTube is Julian Smith who is a director and he uploaded a video named "25 Things I hate about Facebook" which resulted in a huge response.

Link to 25 Things I hate About Facebook:


After the video is posted, more than 1 billion people watched it. And even the "Facebook" need to invite him for a visit to their company as a crisis management to repair and rebuild their image affected by the "YouTube".

Link to Inside The New Facebook Layout:


From the above, you can see that "Facebook" and "YouTube" are most powerful viral marketing channels because of the widespread in internet world. They are not only viral marketing channels, but even popular enough to become a discussion topic in the 2009 World Economic Forum.

Link to World Economic Forum 2009 - "Facebook and YouTube Five Years From Now"

DISADVANTAGE OF VIRAL MARKETING

Viral Marketing has created many advantage to all of us, however it got the disadvantage too. The main disadvantages of viral marketing are many information to misinforms and mislead the audience. Now I will explain some views that about disadvantage of viral marketing:

The disadvantage of viral Marketing is high risk for marketing communication technique. It depends on the process to transfer the message between the person to person. During the process, it may be reached someone would not interest it or associated with something you do not wanted.

Misleading information will send a wrong message to audience and give a wrong impression to your organization. It is more risky and controversial to traditional marketing. If you done it improperly way, may create negative buzz.

Moreover, it is difficult to control. Viral marketing is about spread the message by word of mouth on the internet. The audience will spread the message what they get, therefore the message should not be too complex. And we are difficult to control and measure what the audience get and transfer to other people.

By using viral marketing to spread the message more effectively, you should be careful to avoid the disadvantage. Let's enjoy using viral marketing to grow your business!

WHY USE VIRAL MARKETING?

While people are flooded by tones of marketing messages every day or even every seconds in their life through different media channels like billboards, signage, TV ads, interruptive online ads, etc, they have learned how to absorb or skip them.

Consumers are more involved than ever before in controlling communications and message delivery at a global level. Many brands are finally realizing that the most powerful of selling is not through marketer-to-consumer but consumer-to-consumer, it enters to viral marketing.

Unlike traditional ‘top-down’ marketer-to-consumer techniques, viral marketing focuses on personal experience of the brand and taps into the new power of the consumer. One of the reasons consumers find viral marketing campaigns appealing is because the campaigns tend to be non-interruptive and enable them to choose to interact proactively with a communication or not, rather than be passively dictated to. This ‘bottom-up’ approach respects that the consumer is in control; viral marketing campaigns are ultimately driven by consumers themselves.

The result of this user-driven process is ultimately very valuable exponential brand endorsement by influencers and consumers – if the campaign is successful. No business can afford to maintain constant mainstream media brand awareness. So less expensive online media routes and the possibility of peer-to-peer-driven spread whereby the audience effectively becomes another free media channel is very attractive to brands.

VIRAL CHANNEL - FACEBOOK

"Bye! Chat with you on Facebook!"
"Leave me a message on Facebook!"
"I will upload photos on Facebook and tagged you."
"Did you watch the Youtube on Facebook?"
You can hear the word "Facebook" in every where in every second.

"Facebook" is like air, you need to live with it. If you don’t have "Facebook" or you even don’t know what is "Facebook", I am sure you are not living on the earth. In nowadays, if people don’t have "Facebook", they will die soon.

"Facebook" is a free access social networking website. People can join networks to connect and interact with others in different countries. You can find your old friends or even your kindergarten schoolmates in "Facebook". Of course, you are welcome to make any new friends over the world.

"Facebook"is not only the king of social networking but also viral marketing.

Facebook's chef operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, "You want to target everyone? We can give you that, our core focus is on demand generation - on knowing who you are and showing things that will interest you."

Link to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg Interview:


"Facebook" can be used as online advertising to promote products and enhance brand positioning. Whatever you wrote, whatever you uploaded or whatever you posted will spread out within 1 second. All your friends will share your things through "Facebook".

ADVANTAGE OF VIRAL MARKETING

Nowadays, there are many media tools to disposal the information in the mass market, therefore the consumer would shift away those information. It may include something they are interest.

Viral Marketing is a way to continuing change the preference of the consumer by word of mouth, although it has creating both positive and negative implications. For the advantage of Viral Marketing, it offers the opportunity to break through the clutter by providing a brand/ product experience and information to the target market. It allows to specific the target market and more effectively reach the audience.

Using Viral marketing to distribute information would be more effectively, such as article, video directories, blogs, forums, etc. to spread the information with the target audience. It can spread immediately.

It is unlike the traditional advantage technique. Viral marketing is focus with the material that consumers want to spread proactively and spend time to interact it.

By using the viral marketing, the people may pass the information to their friends that they are believed and interest. Therefore, it will be more trustful than the regular advertising.

Those are the some points about the advantage of performing “word of mouth” viral marketing. Do you have any point of it, share with us!

WHAT IS VIRAL MARKETING?

Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence.

Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions. Some people maintain that viral marketing is any marketing activity that accelerates and amplifies word of mouth in the digital domain.

The two main forms of online viral marketing are through passalong-emails or discussions within social networks.

Passalong has worked well for video clips, either where they are attached to the email or where the email contains a link to download the chip.

Social networks play an importance role in influencing perceptions about brands, products and suppliers. Large differences in gender and age on the types of products discussed, but recommendations on restaurants, computers, movies and vehicles are popular in all categories.

When planning integrated campaigns, it is important to note that the online viral affect can be amplified through offline media mentions or advertising either on TV and radio or in print.

Below are some useful video related to Viral Marketing:

What’s Viral Marketing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jygF35PJlyY&feature=related



Secrets of Viral Marketing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABo4JUIBxXs&feature=related