Sharing is Good.

Right from infancy, we are taught a basic rule: sharing is good. As adults, we like to share ideas, discoveries, news, anything that gets people talking and makes us appear to be on the leading edge of what is new, next, relevant or entertaining.

Simply put, viral marketing is the diffusion of a unique message through the discovery and sharing of a big idea. Viral marketing is an effective means of engaging the masses by sharing something unique, engaging and exciting to discover. Effective viral marketing campaigns drive offline word-of-mouth and digital word-of-mouth on behalf of your brand.

Primary Objectives of Viral Marketing:

• Drive brand awareness through unique discovery and sharing of a relative brand concept
• Extend brand personality and attitude through engaging experiences
• Leverage social web networks, applications and tools for quick diffusion of message
• Drive users to take an additional action and connect more with your value proposition

Why integrate Viral Marketing initiatives?

Seventy-eight percent of consumers trust recommendations from other consumers over any other form of marketing¹. How many times was your brand recommended by consumers in the last few seconds, months and years? Where have your brand mentions been popping up? What was the format and sentiment of new content involving your brand?

It is imperative to know the nature of your brand across the entire web not just your website. By understanding the unique conversation drivers powering your brand you can begin to create and share socially powered content that drives new discovery, conversation and most importantly action. And, it is an effective method of responding to objections or negative product feedback.

STEP 1. RECYCLE YOUR CONTENT

STEP 1. RECYCLE YOUR CONTENT

Use social drivers and forces for campaign architecture—make sure you are exploiting current social forces and drivers already stirring up the conversation. Social drivers and forces might be a current hot spot, meme or trend that is coming up frequently or driving the conversation. Or they might go a little deeper than the surface and into the actual demographic and online makeup of the individuals and groups you are interested in. Where are these people spending most of their time, are they male or female, what type of content are engaging them the most? In other words, do your homework before a single idea hits the paper.

STEP 2. PLANT THE SEED

STEP 2. PLANT THE SEED

Leave the traditional selling approach behind (think of a billboard with a direct consumer message—Buy this). When crafting your big idea, don't think of viral marketing as a direct means of selling your product or service. Instead, think about giving people a unique experience that will put a new idea in their head, involving your brand and exciting them enough to want to share it. By building awareness, interest and trust, the consumer becomes an evangelist for your product (and a sometimes more trusted resource). More sales will be the ultimate result.

STEP 3. SOCIALLY ENABLE NEW CONTENT

STEP 3. SOCIALLY ENABLE NEW CONTENT

Once you have your big idea, every piece of new content should be effortlessly transferable to others. Put your content in places it is available to the masses and can be quickly and easily shared with others. If you are making a viral video, the list of sites goes beyond YouTube. So consider using a service that lets you upload one too many like TubeMogul.

STEP 4. CREATE CONNECTED NEXT STEPS

STEP 4. CREATE CONNECTED NEXT STEPS

Think through the next levels of user engagement after they experience your discovery. Make sure you create the right opportunities for further action. This could be as simple as adding a link to your site, creating a targeted microsite, inviting users to a Facebook fan page, offering a coupon to your store or engaging them in a landing page.

STEP 5. TRACK AND PARTICIPATE (IF NECESSARY)

STEP 5. TRACK AND PARTICIPATE (IF NECESSARY)

Make sure to follow along with the action via a powerful tracking and monitoring service. Don't be afraid to participate, just be super transparent about it.

Make your next Big Idea become the experience
of many.

We work with clients to create, develop and deliver and your next big idea in viral marketing world. MicroArts uses online and offline strategies to heighten brand awareness, drive conversation and ultimately lead prospects and buyers to your door. Every viral marketing campaign starts with the creation of a big idea, leveraging your brand's unique difference and value proposition within the spaces and places it matters the most. Whether it's your own street team, viral video, microsite or custom program, our viral marketing services help you seed your next big idea with the masses. Our approach is broken down into three core phases below:

• Influence Research: We study the nature of multiple interactions within online communities, blogs and social utilities to get an understanding of the trends that are essential for creating and launching a viral campaign.
• Viral Marketing Idea Creation: Every successful viral marketing campaign starts with a big idea. Our Internet marketing agency team works with you to use unique conversation drivers and social forces relevant to your brand in order to fuel the creative development and execution of your viral marketing campaign.
• Viral Marketing Campaign Execution: We extend your big idea into the mediums, tools and formats where it engages your target groups and enables them to share it with the masses. We incorporate your brand's unique positioning, design and identity to be part of every experience.

Get people talking about your brand and sharing their experiences with it. Text or email a message to Peter or simply call the MicroArts Internet Marketing Team.