Viral Marketing— How to Make it Work

Viral marketing can be a good thing for you if done properly. The biggest mistake I see is when companies try to purposely start a viral campaign and EXPECT the audience to get it. This approach usually leads to the campaign fizzling out or never even getting passed along.

The rule of thumb is that just because your CEO thinks it is cool, doesn’t mean that it is…Especially if your CEO is over 40 years old. The pudding is in the fact that some cool teenager will think your campaign is awesome and want to send it on to other cool friends.
So, here is my top-10 list of how to make a viral campaign successful:

1. Must have a way to pass the message along.
2. Should be crazy-stupid
3. Must be unique
4. Cannot be an inside joke
5. Could be offensive
6. Must be infectious enough to see again and again
7. Could be seasonal
8. Should make others feel cool about knowing about the campaign
9. Easily “My Spaced”
10. Must be trackable