The Death of Viral Marketing? 
Thursday, October 5, 2006, 05:18 PM - Marketing
The Sydney Morning Herald posted a news item yesterday questioning the ongoing feasibility of viral marketing. The problem they identify is that Web users are no longer interested in thinly disguised advertising campaigns masquerading as entertainment. Fair enough. Even if there is a prize to be won, most people would rather be surfing sites with interesting content than participating in advertising schemes.

So the bad news for the advertising and marketing folks is that people are becoming a little more informed and wising up to the game. The good news for Web site co-ordinators is that the mechanism of viral marketing is as valid as ever. The catch is that you have to provide something of value to your visitors...

For me - as a 'Micro-ISV' with a viral marketing style product (Send2Friend) - I see it as a renewed movement away from gimmicky pseudo-sites towards content-focused sites. People will still refer your site to a friend if it offers something useful. That's partly why (interesting) blogs are such a good way of getting noticed.

My conclusion is this. Rather than spending big dollars on a glossy advertising campaign that has a built-in lifespan, you're better off diverting resources to improving your core Web site - tutorials, help, tips, news etc (and now for the thinly disguised marketing campaign...). Then you use a low-cost referral tool (like, say, for instance, maybe Send2Friend!) to allow your visitors to share that content with their friends and colleagues.

Whether you build it yourself or you use a service provider, it has to be easy to use, good-looking and not interfere with the Web browsing process (ie: no popups or page refreshes). That's why Send2Friend uses AJAX and GUI themes. If you can build an opt-in mailing list at the same time, you've got a double whammy!
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