Do you know that viral marketing campaigns can work for virtually every business model? Some of the most famous products in history have benefited from a viral campaign.

In this blog post we’ll talk more about how these great campaigns got started. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to get your very own viral marketing campaign up and running.

To create a marketing campaign use inexpensive, cost-effective methods that are about building excitement about your brand or product.

Most viral seeding methods are free, but today I want to talk about one that – while not free – can be a real benefit to any campaign.

Advertising for Your Viral Marketing Campaigns

There are a couple of kinds of advertising you can use to kick-start your viral marketing campaigns. The first is probably the most obvious: paid ads on relevant blogs, websites, and in email newsletters.

You can use banner ads (fancy graphic ads that look like ads) if you like, but text links are actually more effective and have a better click through rate. Consider what your objective is before deciding on your ad type. For branding use graphic ads. For clicks, use text ads.

Either one should be relatively inexpensive, unless you want your ad to appear on the likes of Mashable or The Huffington Post. Then you should be prepared to spend a fair amount of cash. But for the average blog, text link advertising is pretty reasonable.

The other kind of ad to consider is a pay per click ad, but maybe not for the reasons you suspect. Pay per click is especially good for testing a campaign.

Say you want to know which of two keywords produce better results for you. Test it with a pay per click campaign. Or if you want to know which landing page converts better, a PPC ad is the fastest way to find out. Of course you’ll get some viral action from a PPC ad, too, but that shouldn’t be your primary purpose.

With either form of advertising, be sure you set a budget you can live with, and stick to it. This is, after all, a viral campaign, and that means not spending a ton of money on advertising.

How to instantly be an authority in your niche

Want to make a name for yourself as a leader in your niche when you create a marketing campaign? Want to be known as the go-to person for your target market? Want to accomplish both those things while kick-starting fantastic viral marketing campaigns that will put your business on the map?

Press Releases

Then it’s time to issue a press release.

Press releases have been around for as long as the news has been printed. Newspapers and magazines don’t just magically know when something newsworthy happens, they rely on press releases to tell them.

And you can use press releases to let them – and the rest of the world – know about your upcoming product launch, and give it just the push it needs to start a viral stampede.

Here’s how it works: First, determine what’s newsworthy about your product. Did you develop a new way of doing something? A new design for an old favourite? Start a new business? Take over an old one?

Nearly every launch can be turned into a valuable news story if you just put the right spin on the story, so spend some time thinking about what’s noteworthy about you and your business. If you’re struggling, you can hire a professional to write and even distribute your press release for a very reasonable fee.

Next, distribute your release to the top news release sites online. Most offer a free distribution package, but if you prefer, you can pay a fee for more prominent placement.

The beauty of news releases is that there’s a high probability of being picked up by sites like Google News and other aggregators, which will have far-reaching effects on your marketing efforts, for very little cost!

Your Blog

When it comes to getting the word out about your new viral marketing campaigns, there’s no better place to start than on your very own blog to create a marketing campaign. Of course, that limits your exposure to those who already read your blog, or those who find your blog due to your fantastic SEO skills.

That’s not insignificant, but there must be a better way, right?

Of course there is.

Guest blogging is an absolutely fantastic way to get your message out to the masses, introduce yourself to a whole new audience, and get some free advertising while you’re at it. How does it work? Simple.

You start with a well-researched, beautifully written, useful blog post, and you give it away for another blogger to use on his or her blog – with a catch. They have to include a blurb about you with a link back to your website or blog.

In a viral marketing campaign, that link should be to your freely downloadable product, either a video, eBook, or other content that you’re hoping will go viral. It’s a simple plan that has the potential to have a dramatic effect on your bottom line, and it won’t cost you a thing – other than your time, that is.

Start by finding the influential bloggers in your niche – those with loads of traffic – and offering to guest post for them. Make sure you study their blog ahead of time, so you can have a good feel for the tone and level of expertise they expect from guest bloggers. It helps if you approach them with a topic in mind, or even a post you’ve already written, rather than asking them what they’d like you to cover.

Make sure you craft a compelling resource box about you and your business, with a link to your offer, and sit back and wait for the traffic. If you’ve targeted popular blogs with large followings, this alone can be enough to make your marketing campaign turn viral.

If you think viral marketing won’t work with your business model, think again! Viral marketing can work with every kind of business.

Article Marketing for Viral Marketing Campaigns

So far we’ve talked about getting your next viral marketing campaigns to go viral by using a variety of promotional, or seed, methods. I hope you’ve gained some valuable insight into your own marketing efforts, and come away with a few good ideas you can put to use right away.

Like our next featured promotional method for viral marketing campaigns: article marketing.

You’re probably familiar with article marketing. Basically, it involves writing articles which answer questions in your niche, which you then post for free on article directories.

The benefit for you is that each article contains an author resource box with keyword-rich links back to your website or blog. This helps enhance your SEO campaign while at the same time bringing traffic to your site.

When you use article marketing to kick-start a viral campaign, you’ll be doing exactly the same thing, but the link will not be to your website. Instead, you’ll be linking to your viral video or downloadable resource.

It’s a simple plan designed to build backlinks to your campaign (important for SEO, just like it is with a blog or website) and also to introduce new visitors to you, your business, and your brand.

Articles are similar to guest blog posts in that they are designed to be reprinted by other websites, so you want to make sure that your articles contain useful, well-researched information that bloggers will want to pass on to their readers.

Don’t skimp on the information, and be sure to include a compelling resource box that leaves readers interested in finding out more, and you’ll get your viral campaign off to a great start!

Learn More

How To Make Your Marketing Viral
The Viral Nature Of Facebook And Measuring Your Success