The Swine Flu got me thinking about how the phases of the best viral marketing campaigns are similar in growth to the rising threat levels of a flu pandemic. Yes, I admit, I really have to get a life beyond marketing if I’m seeing marketing theory in the Swine Flu outbreak, but honestly, it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the CDC’s Flu Pandemic Phases. I need to get out more, but I digress.
Anyway, I put together a viral marketing theory pyramid with the 5 phases of the best viral marketing campaigns. In my mind, the best viral marketing campaigns are not just campaigns that spread across the Internet, but rather the ones that people become emotionally involved in and speak out loud and vehemently about. Take a look at my pyramid below, and then leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. Do you see anything missing? What would you add or change?
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Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc. and Founder & Editor in Chief of an award-winning blog, WomenOnBusiness.com. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored 10 books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.
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That’s a great summary. And it’s true viral marketing all begins with one message being distributed to a few news sources. Video seems to be more effective in going viral than other forms of media. You could submit one video to a handful of sites like Adwido, and it could go viral if the content is newsworthy.