A viral marketing approach to any web 2.0 company is vital. The tools of the new internet allow information to disseminate quickly and inexpensively. A marketing executive in Austin recently told me: “if your company has a good product or service, people will talk about it.”
Is it enough to just have a good web 2.0 product or service? Will people tell their friends without you prompting them? The answer is yes, but how many friends will they tell? Will they tell enough friends to make the impact of viral marketing meaningful?
My friend mentioned that consumers will not necessarily come back to your service on their own….and in many cases, he’s absolutely right. Unless you’re a major brand, you need a way to communicate with the consumer so that you can remind them that “Hey, I’m still here, and I still have a great product for you!”
With all the competition for your attention on the internet, a passive approach to word of mouth marketing is probably not enough to really differentiate yourself. Look at many of the major successes in the web 2.0 world: digg.com, myspace.com, youtube.com, etc. These companies all had products worth talking about, but more importantly, viral marketing was inherently central to the product. When you post an article at digg.com, you are encouraged to ask your friends to digg the story. This value-added approach to your life is central for a viral marketing campaign.
At www.UnlockAustin.com, we create inherent value by having friends in your network. The complicate maze of the live music scene is difficult to filter. Now people can find live music events that their friends will enjoy seeing. This makes the process of finding live music shows much easier.
Ryan Pitylak
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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