What is real Viral Marketing?
It is campaigns that use all the people you know to pass on to all the people they know who then pass on to all the people they know and so on and so on.
It is linked exclusively to the digital world but I see it as a new twist on an old marketing technique, namely “Word of Mouth”.

But do remember, if it ain’t good then no one will pass it on!

What we have on the internet that we don’t have in the offline world is the ability to contact many people at the same time and know that they have actually seen our offering.

The internet has made it possible to pass information from person to person at practically no financial cost although be warned that the cost in time and effort can be quite significant.

So here are a few tips for items that may interest people enough to encourage them to pass on.

• Tell a great funny story. Be sure to tell something that is generic and not sexist, in other words something that will not alienate half your audience.
• Pass on some great inspirational quotes, don’t forget to credit the authors.
• A good article. This can generate millions of readers over time so make sure that the subject is “ever green”.
• Give something away like a free e-book.
• Complement someone, they will love it and may well add you to their website as a case study or at least re-tweet your comment, this is a great way to leverage other people’s marketing efforts.
• Remember, people buy from people, make yourself interesting and give people the opportunity to look into you deeper to get to know you; they are then far more likely to buy from you!

One word of caution, people often dive into Social Media and Viral Marketing just to sell. This is not the way to do it, you must “give” something to “get” something, the same applies in everything you do whether it be online or offline.

If at first it doesn’t succeed…….change it and try again.

There is nothing that is a more certain sign of insanity than to do the same thing over and over and expect the results to be different…Einstein

Of-course, what ever it is that you send out don’t forget to add your bio or at least your contact details as a footnote.

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Pat Sutton - The Profile Coach - Author and Founder of "The Image Attraction System" !

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