DUKKY

Viral marketing is a powerful yet unpredictable way to get the word out about your brand. Ideally, viral campaigns take off like the bubonic plague in medieval Europe, which spread so quickly that it reached over 100 million people in just 4 years. However, many campaigns that were designed to go viral act more like the “bird flu” from a few years ago: they never quite take off like they are expected to.

Would you like to create a campaign that’s truly contagious? Here are 5 things to keep in mind:

Give it Away

Everyone loves saving money. One of the most sure-fire ways to create a contagious campaign is to give away free goodies, or at least offer a substantial discount to people who participate. At Dukky, we also incentivize sharing by offering additional discounts to customers who share their offers on social networking sites.

Make it Shareable

Clever ads and great offers alone aren’t enough-you also need to make it easy for consumers to spread the word about your campaign. First, you need to understand your audience’s motivations for sharing and design your content accordingly.  As Dukky’ s Kristen Sullivan told CRM Magazine, “People often share content online for selfish reasons. They want their friends to think they’re funny, hip, or just thinking of them.” Create something that people will want to share.

Second, make it easy for people to share your content. Include “share” buttons on your web pages that make it easy to repost them on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Why So Serious?

These days, we spend most of our waking hours pursued by advertising in one form or another. How will your campaign stand out? The CRM Magazine article referenced above recommends sending in the clowns, noting that “Humor is one of the most valuable components of a viral campaign.”

Nudity helps, too, as Zappos shoes recently found out when its “World’s Fastest Nudist” campaign went viral, attracting the attention of news outlets like CNN (see this article in the New York Times for details). But if naked people aren’t compatible with your brand, don’t worry- G-rated humor is fine, too!

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Offering freebies is a great way to create a campaign that goes viral-but if you aren’t prepared to put your money where your mouth is, it can backfire. KFC learned this the hard way with its “UNFry Day” promotion-when the response exceeded expectations and stores stopped taking coupons for free chicken, people got upset.

Don’t try too hard

Ultimately, trying too hard to create a viral campaign can be self-defeating. In CRM Magazine, Forrester vice president and principal analyst Shar VanBoskirk recommends focusing on creating a “customer-centric strategy” instead of a “viral strategy.” And David Raab, partner of Raab Associates and author of The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit, told CRM that “you do your best to make something that’s going to appeal to the public.” But in the end “some things catch fire, some don’t.”