Are You Tired Of Search Engine Marketing?
Every online marketing plan includes search marketing. Though search marketing is no doubt effective, consider that organic SEO can take anything between 6-9 months to get your site listed. With keyword prices going through the roof, PPC ads are proving to be frightfully expensive.
Getting a decent rank in the major search engines is a long drawn out battle and more often than not, those with the bigger marketing budgets win. What then is the alternative? Viral marketing.
But what is viral marketing? Viral marketing is defined as a strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the marketing message's exposure.
Here are some viral marketing tactics that can help you stand out in the cluttered online world, without paying through your nose:
Email Forwards
This is the most simple and low-cost viral tactic. You'll get more forwards if your email content is funny, controversial or shocking. It can be a cool photograph or just plain text. Be careful not to let your brand's message be too overt or your email will end up in spam folders.
Tell a Friend Offer
Put in a "Tell a Friend" box on the end of online promotional offers. Visitors seeing the offer will happily pass it on to their network of friends.
Funny Video Clips
Nowadays, witty and humorous video clips are wildly popular. They go a long way in creating brand awareness with no media spend. With video sharing sites like YouTube getting over 100 million hits day, viral videos more often than not cover their cost of production.
Online Games
Sponsor an online game. On an average, gamers spend up to 20 minutes per play. That's 20 whole minutes for your brand to quietly make its presence felt in the background as a sponsor.
Flash Games
If you cannot afford to sponsor a high-end online game, consider creating a low-budget, fun Flash game. Send it out to all your friends and associates. Remember to include your website URL in the game.
Free Downloads
Offer a free digital download. It could be a free ebook, screen saver or software program, but bear in mind that your free download should be useful and unique.
Branded Microsites
Branded microsites are favored by many of the bigger advertisers. Burger King's http://www.subservientchicken.com did wonders for the brand online and offline. Ditto with Axe's http://www.axefeather.com
Branded microsites may be a bit expensive but the more than make up with the buzz factor, eyeballs and backlinks.
Article Marketing
To build effective and lasting online popularity there is nothing better than publishing quality content on a regular basis. If your articles are picked by bloggers and webmasters, they will boost your rankings quickly and without much effort.
Sunil Shibad is copywriter and brand strategist at The Flea, India's first non-traditional marketing communication agency. http://www.fleaglobal.com He blogs at http://newnimproved.blogspot.com
