It's been said over and over again, but maybe one more time would help: "viral" can be encouraged, it can be prayed for, but it can't be engineered. Your only hope is to create engaging, compelling content, and tell a terrific story... and then hope.
]]>
]]>
'Viral' can be manufactured.
For example, constructing a marketing focus for [whatever] in such a way that large numbers of people (a site's social network, for instance) see an advantage 'for themselves' in spreading the word about it (whatever 'it' might be) is manufactured viral marketing.
]]>It is unfortunate that a number of different marketing techniques are called "viral marketing". I agree that creating something that will cause people to tell other people about is not predictable, but other types of viral activity can be "engineered". These are ones that use of the product causes it to "infect" others.
Hotmail is a good early example of this. At the bottom of each mail was a little text telling the recipient about Hotmail. The user did not directly tell others about the product, but using the product "spread the word" about the product. Social networks have used a similar sense of viral marketing by letting you invite your friends to connect etc. The user does not think they are telling them about the service so much as the user is motivated to be able to use the features of the service with their friends. These types of viral marketing activities can be engineered into a product, and product testing can check if users will want to use the feature that is viral.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos/
the comic is very cute, but the accompanying post is bollocks... A.) i've never been in any of those meetings and neither have you... B.) Viral can be engineered... it's not even a secret anymore (see link)... you may not like it, but it doesn't make it any less true
]]>Visit THE LIVING GUIDE, a contemporary Lifestyle magazine
www.livingguide.se
Aiming at a fifth step normally makes you trip!
]]>Viral returns are easily engineered. The key is providing value for people who share a real affinity. You must both provide something of real value for the group and force the group to connect to reap the reward. Giving human networks a reason to connect and share always creates a virus. People who say you can't engineer a virus simply don't know how and why viruses occur. The trouble is that people want to manufacture viruses around something that is valuable for them, and not for the people they wish to engage.
]]>