 |
| Viral marketing How it works |
Viral marketing How it works
Viral growth occurs when a message is spread exponentially. Viral marketing campaigns work when a message is spread exponentially and it results in a desired outcome for a brand. Viral marketing utilises electronic means to spread messages. It harnesses the electronic connectivity of individuals to ensure marketing messages are referred from one person to another.
Viral marketing campaigns can be tricky and unpredictable. However, the lure of exponential growth, at a very low marginal cost, means that they are being attempted more often.
MSN Hotmail: from zero to 30 million
MSN Hotmail, the webmail service purchased by Microsoft, grew to 30 million members in just 2½ years from its launch in July 1996. A large part of its exponential growth is attributed to the sign-up link that was in the footer of every email sent with the service.
When the company launched, every outgoing message from this platform contained an advertisement for Hotmail and a link to its web site at the bottom of the email. As people emailed their friends and colleagues, they were also advertising the service. Recipients could simply click on the link and sign themselves up, and as they continued to email friends from their new account, the message spread within existing social networks and was passed along with little effort from the company. Hotmail went from zero to 30 million users within the first 3 years and today has over 260 million users worldwide.
Viral growth occurs when a message is spread exponentially. Viral marketing campaigns work when a message is spread exponentially and it results in a desired outcome for a brand. Viral marketing utilises electronic means to spread messages. It harnesses the electronic connectivity of individuals to ensure marketing messages are referred from one person to another.
Viral marketing campaigns can be tricky and unpredictable. However, the lure of exponential growth, at a very low marginal cost, means that they are being attempted more often.
MSN Hotmail: from zero to 30 million
MSN Hotmail, the webmail service purchased by Microsoft, grew to 30 million members in just 2½ years from its launch in July 1996. A large part of its exponential growth is attributed to the sign-up link that was in the footer of every email sent with the service.
When the company launched, every outgoing message from this platform contained an advertisement for Hotmail and a link to its web site at the bottom of the email. As people emailed their friends and colleagues, they were also advertising the service. Recipients could simply click on the link and sign themselves up, and as they continued to email friends from their new account, the message spread within existing social networks and was passed along with little effort from the company. Hotmail went from zero to 30 million users within the first 3 years and today has over 260 million users worldwide.
There are two types of viral marketing campaigns:
Organic or in the wild campaigns
Amplified or controlled campaigns
Organic or in the wild campaigns
Amplified or controlled campaigns
