Hi, I’ve been spending time researching viral marketing and I thought i’d share some of my understanding with you.
So if you are interested in becoming a viral marketer, try the 10 steps below.
1. Identify trends that are hot
Use any of the following tools to identify the hottest trends to tap into.
a. google.com/trends
b. google.com/trends/hottrends
c. google.com/insights
d. google.com/alerts
e. reddit.com
f. trendsmap.com
Example: In the case of Justin Beiber, the type of people will be largely young girls between 10-24 years of age.
Try to identify what is hot and what type of people are contributing to the buzz.
2. Locate more information on the types of people you are trying to reach.
Find the top websites in your niche and enter their website domain names into Alexa.com or Quantcast.com.
These two sites will give you more demographic information about the people you are trying to appeal to.
eg. Where they live, what age, what gender, do they have children, what level of education etc.
Build as wider picture as possible of the type of people you are going to share your content with.
3. Design content that is going to excite, add value and delight the people you are trying to engage.
Head over to sites like reddit.com , twitter.com and facebook.com and look at what marketing techniques are being used to engage your type of audience. Some marketers will be offering downloadable games, music, free e-books, discounts and others running competitions etc.
4. Ensure your content is as personalised and interactive as possible for the people you are trying to engage.
Use as many different plugins and scripts as possible to attract, retain and get people to share your content with others.
There are tons available out there. Think about your audience and what is going to encourage them to participate.
5. Give as much quality information as possible away for FREE
If you want your content to go viral then you truly need to give the VERY BEST information away for free.
People who GIVE, GIVE, GIVE high quality content away for FREE build the largest most loyal following on the Internet. Those who hide their information away never get any traction from their viral marketing efforts.
That’s just the way the Internet works!
6. Ensure your content is published everywhere your audience visit
If your content is for people aged 13-24, then there is no point in publishing content on websites about gardening. Similarly if you are trying to publish content for elderly people, forget all about targeting Twitter, Bebo and MySpace.
So, make sure you know which websites your audience visits and only publish content and ads there.
7. Identify and contact webmasters who can help you get your content published.
Make a list of all the websites your audience visits and then search for the names and emails of the webmasters and owners of those websites. Then email them introducing yourself and your content and ask them if you can contribute content to their website with a link back to your website or offer a joint advertising deal.
Try to develop a relationship built on you helping them first, then asking them to help you. 
8. Always run campaigns where you are constantly asking people to share your content!
Be determined and don’t hold back asking people to share your content. If your content is fun, valuable and relevant people will always be happy to share.
9. Always incentivise and reward those who share your content
Always ensure your visitors are given sufficient incentive to share your content and are rewarded once they share it. That way they are likely to come back to your content again and even share it again.
Work on the principle that “you don’t get something for nothing”. If you want people to do stuff for you, then they are very likely that you will need to do or give something to them.
10. Only launch campaigns when people are there
Pretty obvious really. If you live in the UK and your target audience are in the US, then there is no point launching a campaign at 9am GMT, given 90% of the US population will be in bed.
Try to identify the best times to contact your target audience. For some, it will be weekday evenings, for others the best time could be at weekends and for others during work time.
I hope that has given you a flavour of viral marketing. If you’d like further information please comment below.
Best Regards,
Stephen
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