Viral marketing has taken the Internet by storm and is one of the most powerful and effective Internet marketing techniques being used online today. Simply put viral marketing is a promotional strategy which depends on your message being passed around online from person to person. It has been compared to word of mouth marketing but maybe it should be called word of email advertising because email is the main communicator of your advertisement.
The first step in creating an effective viral strategy for your home based business is to create a message that’s funny or out of the ordinary. The story or concept you create should be written with the product in mind but should be conveyed with a different slant than most traditional marketing communications. It should be funny or interesting enough so that people will want to send it to their friends. You need a good story.
When you have your message constructed you now need to post it on your home business website. Try to make your ad unique and eye catching by using graphics or audio to make it stand out. Make your ad easy to download so people can add it to their website or email it to friends. You can add an “email to a friend” feature to your home page. Viral marketing is all about sharing your message.
If you can, incorporate your communication in a video and start promoting your viral video message on all the social media sites available online. Publish it on Digg, YouTube etc. and leave links to your ad everywhere. This will help it spread online and help make it more visible and become more viral.
Also use email whenever you can by employing your autoresponder. Add your message to your response email so people who email you will also receive your opportunity. You can also use word of mouth offline to help spread the message.
When you have your audience’s attention be sure to take advantage of it by giving them feedback. If your viral marketing campaign is working properly your target will be excited about your home business opportunity and they may want to correspond. You can do this through an add comments section on your website or by email and entertain any suggestions you may receive.
Viral marketing if done correctly can help explode your home business website traffic which usually translates into increased exposure and sales.