In this age of telemarketers and information overload, consumers
are skeptical. If you want their business, you need to earn their
trust. What better way is there to earn someone's trust, then to
be referred to them by a friend of yours. If you find out your friend
is using a particular service for their high-speed Internet connection,
you will be more likely to use them.
The
Internet
Marketing Dictionary defines it as a "marketing phenomenon
that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing
message." Just like a virus spreads quickly, when you allow
the consumer to promote your business, the marketing will take on
a life of it's own. Friends will tell friends, who will tell parents,
who will tell friends, who will tell neighbors… the cycle can
be endless.
Send to a Friend button
Allow visitors to send a link to a page on your site to a friend.
Make sure to allow the visitor to personalize the message. You
want to give them a chance to tell their friend good things about
your business in their own words and their friend will be much
more likely to read their words than yours.
Include a special offer
Allow visitors to recommend a product on your site to a friend
and offer their friend 10% off. Including a special offer helps
visitors to feel like they are doing their friends a favor and
they will want to pass this message along.
Allow your articles to be reprinted
By allowing articles
from your Email newsletter or website to be reprinted or linked
from other websites, you are allowing others to share information
they found valuable with others. Make sure to ask that they reprint
your article in full, including your copyright information.
Offer something of value for download for free
Offer your visitors something they will want to share with their
friends from your site, for free. Make sure it is valuable (an
eBook, a screensaver, a game, a utility, etc.) and make sure it
contains your marketing message in it.
Be Creative!
Think about what your business could offer that someone would
want to pass along to their friend. Then think about how your
website could automate the process to make it easy for visitors
to access and distribute, that does not require any of your staff's
time.
Feel free to contact me at
lori@brillianceweb.com
or 414-425-4069 with any questions or ideas about how this can be
put to use for your business.
Additional
ResourcesHere are some additional resources to help you use viral marketing
in your business.
You
can download this viral marketing e-book (PDF) today at Amazon.com