Shooting Down Three Myths of Viral Marketing
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The word "viral" has become synonymous with social-media success, writes Ian Greenleigh in a post at ReputationOnline. "It's even showing up on business cards." Some of the professional titles Greenleigh has recently seen: Viral Brander, Viral Marketing Planner.
But the companies that assign these titles "don't understand social media," Greenleigh asserts. In short, no one "creates" viral content, he says, and "no amount of blood, sweat or tears can make something 'go viral.'"
In his Anti-Viral Manifesto, Greenleigh lists the assumptions he says need to be shot down regarding viral marketing. Among the myths:
If success is repeatable, there is a formula for creating successful content. No there isn't, Greenleigh states: "Normally, it doesn't even matter if the second piece of content bears any resemblance to the [successful] first, [what matters is] that it is marketed to the same network," he notes.
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The way I see it, any business tactic hitting a 'viral' stage is simply a manifestation of solid marketing strategy and clever execution. While elusive in nature, viral is to online marketing what an Olympic gold is to an athlete. Many train, plan, and work hard but only one can take the top tier. Does that marginalize the results of the others? I think not. Sometimes circumstance and a little bit of pixie dust create a tipping point.