It is not enough for a site to be hosted by the leading web hosting company and platforms such as WordPress or Blogger. There are millions of website out there competing to be the best and to be in the top of Google’s page rank. A website needs creativity and ingenuity in order to survive and be noticed.

It really doesn’t matter if you have an eye-candy website or have a product that people are dying to have—if people out there don’t know you exist and your shadow didn’t even reached their shore, you’re nothing. There are numerous methods taught online about internet marketing and its techniques and one of them is called Viral Marketing.

Viral marketing is a technique use to develop traffic campaign and responsiveness for a certain product, services or company. It utilizes all media forms to reach the targeted market without actually directly promoting the product or services. The advertising aspect in viral marketing ‘rides’ in the addictive facet and popularity of the media, whether it’s a video, music, games article etc. People who get amused or moved in any way are subliminally subjected to a cunning scheme of endorsement.

In a nutshell, people who like the content of the viral media would pass it on through emails or word of mouth to their friends and family along with the logo and brand of the product or services where the media originates. Suffice to say, you have to get people be infected with the ‘virus’ you are making. Just make sure to include your URL with it, logo or anything to reciprocate the effort.

Viral marketing is an effective yet low cost advertising campaign. However, internet ethics should be observed carefully so as not to be tagged as a spammer. Let the ‘virus’ flow its natural course by letting the recipient of the viral media have his way of promoting your medium as he is struck by the eagerness to impart it through email or embedding it in his blog site.

Other companies extend their effort in the forms of giving incentives such as discounts and rebates to those who will help spreading the viral marketing campaign. The number of recipients made is often the gauge for the said incentives. Email is the most sought after viral marketing vehicle, because if you received an email from a friend containing the viral marketing campaign, there is a very slim chance that it would be tagged as spam.

The Viral Marketing Advantage

The main benefit of viral marketing is publicity. Publicity equals traffic and traffic equals conversion rate, a succession of event that every business website owners want and longs for. Viral marketing is just a scheme using ingenuity and some incentives in order for the world to notice you. One such example of viral marketing scheme would be the ever popular YouTube video of Coke and Mentos

, wherein a couple of wacky guy experimented on the product without really endorsing it. The result is a series of other videos produced by people who found it amazing and would like to try it on their own using the same product. The ‘accidental’ viral campaign yields a whooping 9 million views on YouTube alone. Not bad if you haven’t spend a penny for that campaign.

All it takes is a great idea, the one that people would love to laugh at and worth forwarding to their friends and families. You may create a game, gossip or a buzz others would create a scandal. The recent death of Michael Jackson sends a whole lot of opportunities for companies to hone their viral marketing campaign, though it may sound like bandwagon jumping, it is still is marketing campaign. Check your inbox, you may have an email or two there from your friends and colleagues that may be considered as viral marketing campaign without you knowing it. Study it and use it for your advantage. Let the world know your site exists.