Viral Marketing for the Rest of Us

Small biz marketer Adam Boyden shows how small businesses can successfully mount viral marketing campaigns they might think are beyond their capabilities.

"Viral marketing campaigns are internet word-of-mouth initiatives that use social networks to increase lead generation and brand engagement. They work across any online platform and easily scale from small to large, exponentially increasing their reach with little effort on the part of the marketer. Too often smaller organizations shy away from viral campaigns, assuming they are time-intensive and require big creative budgets. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, once you have made the initial investment your fans do much of the work for you.

Viral campaigns are most effective when you have a clear goal in mind. The three most common are increasing customer acquisition, brand awareness, or customer loyalty. Regardless of your goal, it is important to clarify it from the beginning because you will use different tactics depending on your desired outcomes."