HI 39 - Viral Marketing For Heroes

Viral marketing is not just for high falutin’ internet marketers and techno-geeks any more. The continuing development of Web 2.0 with social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, and a hundred dozen others brings the power of conveying your message within reach of every human being with a burning desire to connect.

The term viral marketing is casually thrown around to describe web phenomenon, usually video, that catches the fancy of web surfers and spreads around the world like wildfire when they start passing it on to their friends. How does this help the budding internet entrepreneur? Well, imagine the onslaught of sales that could be headed your way if you manage to get your video (with marketing message slyly inserted) in front of a tsunami of surfers.

But it’s ever so difficult to have something you produce turn viral on purpose. Some of the stuff that catches on is straight out of left field but when it hits, wow, it hits big. Let’s take a look at an example. It’s a pretty sure bet that a few of you have heard of the website, book, or both called “Things White People Like.” Do you think Mr. Christian Lander planned on more than 72 million hits to his blog or a slot on the New York Times bestselling list when he began airing his hilarious take on white people culture?

And this isn’t the only example.

So, while there is no formula for creating your own viral marketing landslide, there is evidence that it can happen over the most odd idea imaginable. Your lesson today – never stop thinking about ways to take advantage of of the Internet’s power to connect one person with a few million others.