Viral Marketing On The Internet

The latest thing on the Internet is called viral marketing. Viral marketing is using the Internet to attract massive attention for your business, your product, or yourself. In his book, Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz, David Seaman explains the concept. As a marketer, you should examine everything you do for viral potential before you do it. Viral potential means the story is interesting enough that people will rush out to tell their friends.

If you think this is for celebrities only, it's not. Take Chris Crocker for example. He's the guy that put out the Leave Britney Alone video on You Tube where he wailed, cried, and gushed over Britney. Within 24 hours it was a national story picked up on all the major networks. He was invited to do Jimmy Kimmel. He's built a career on viral marketing.

Viral marketing is how the publicity game is played now. The key is to find a story that has viral potential. You don't have to be famous, but it helps to play off one. It also helps to go up against one in an openly confrontational way.

Household names like Paris, Lindsay, and Britney are masters at viral marketing. They know if the don't act out in a viral way (one that commands attention) they'll drop off the radar. Their behavior seems reckless and haphazard but nothing could be further from the truth. They know exactly what they're doing. They are masters at keeping herself famous using viral marketing on the Internet.

Some people are natural viral marketers. For the rest of us, it's a stretch. To take advantage of viral marketing find a story that is unusual, controversial, and compelling. If people start talking, it can go viral - setting off a firestorm of interest across the Internet. With the right story, your company could all over the world in a day or two.