+ Common Usage

I have defined viral marketing previously but think it is necessary to determine when this term should and should not be used. Simon Corbett and Julian Cole have both blogged about this very issue recently.

Producing a good television commercial is not viral marketing, even if it reaches twenty million views. Rather, this commercial has gone viral but not because of the campaign. What people are commonly referring to viral marketing is simply creating remarkable content.

So when is the correct time and place to use the term viral marketing? When marketers encourage and facilitate the spread of a message that would not normally spread without such efforts. What exactly this entails is what I'm hoping to explore over the next few years on this blog.

Although I doubt I can change the way people use the term viral marketing, if you're going to take anything away from this post at least understand that you cannot guarantee viralism.

+ Exponential

In my previous post I attempted to define the concept of viral marketing. Here I discussed the different between word of mouth and the viral phenomenon with the key difference being the word exponential.

So what makes something go beyond word of mouth and into viral with the exponential element?

Another key word is extraordinary. Much like Seth Godin’s definition of remarkable (see Purple Cow), this word is more than it appears. The meaning in this case goes beyond its simplistic definition of outstanding or incredible but to literally mean extra ordinary. It is more than normal, more than expected and most importantly, it is different.

As a result this provides the consumer with social currency. Julian Cole has an excellent post here explaining what is social currency is and how it can be used inside our social networks.

Word of mouth does not have the exponential element. A great meal at a restaurant has social currency for only one transaction between the giver and the receiver. Yet someone back flipping into a pair of Levi jeans retains its social currency value even after multiple transactions. Of course, over time and context this social asset can devalue as with any communication message.

An extraordinary idea can spread virally if it holds onto sustainable and transferable social currency.

+ Viral Marketing

Wikipedia defines the concept of viral marketing as "marketing techniques that use pre existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self replicating viral processes". They then go on to define viral processes as "objects or patterns able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them".

As trusted and a reliable source I believe Wikipedia to be, I feel there is one key word missing from these definitions. That word is exponential.

One could go to the extreme and claim that the above text book definitions accurately describe word of mouth. Seth Godin, someone I will be referring to frequently in this blog, provides further clarification on the difference between word of mouth and viral marketing here. Essentially, viral marketing is an extension of word of mouth where the messages continues to spread beyond the giver and the receiver. As a result the receiver becomes a giver and the message spreads again. Copy, paste, repeat.

The above diagram shows word of mouth as a one step process. The viral phenomenon is much more complex and is not limited to just two steps. In fact, it is potentially infinite if the message continues to change.

So what would my textbook definition of viral marketing be?

"a technique that facilitates the communication of a marketing message through pre established social networks allowing it to spread at an exponential rate."

+ A Viral Evolution

I can't think of a more appropriate way to begin my blog than with this exclusive post.

Only a few hours ago Evolution of Dance became the first ever Internet video to reach 100,000,000 views. Submitted to YouTube on the 6th of April 2006, it makes up the majority of video sharing networks currently sitting on 90,500,000 views. According to the Video Viral Chart, the video has 39 duplicate videos and has been posted in over 4,000 blogs.

Not only is the content of this video remarkable but its success story is too. Helped by its many parodies and imitations, creator Jud Laipply is now working on a sequel for later this year.

A pioneering viral and a piece of YouTube's history.