VIRAL MARKETING AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING
In addition to strong content and value, some of the common factors among sites that have quickly built communities of repeat visitors include positive word-of-mouth, positive media exposure, and the fulfillment of an untapped audience segment. The most loyal audience of visitors is one that feels empowered. Giving them a sense of involvement and even ownership has been a key element in developing a loyal following.
Creating an online community within a Web site is an effective way to encourage users to visit more often, stay longer, and become repeat customers. Depending on the type of Web site, online communities can be structured in different ways and offer different features. In business-to-business e-commerce, online marketplaces have created community programs through bulletin boards, live chat sessions, distance learning, Webcasts, streaming video, collaborative work tools, user profiles, industry newsletters, and expert advice.
The principal function of an online community is to provide information through interaction. This keeps visitors returning to the Web site and creates a relationship with them. Over time visitors become more comfortable with the site and how to conduct business there. In some cases successful online communities turn individuals into evangelists who spread the word to others about the site and its products and services.
Viral marketing is simply word-of-mouth. Community-building is one way to generate positive word-of-mouth comments and draw visitors to a Web site, but there are many other viral marketing techniques being used to promote Web sites. These include interactive online advertising games, specialized e-mail campaigns, and product samples. The key to a successful viral marketing program is to identify and target opinion leaders among an identified group of users. Once the opinion leaders have been identified, a compelling message must be delivered. In order for them to tell others about your Web site, they must have had a positive experience with it. Then when they do tell others about a Web site, people are likely to trust them because their opinion is respected.
Through viral marketing, companies can build personalization and loyalty programs around their Web sites. Viral marketing is especially effective when marketing to passionate consumers, such as Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners. Web sites that have built a community of users with common needs often gain visitors when friends and relatives recommend it to one another.
Online interactive games are used in some viral marketing programs. The idea is to get Web users to challenge their friends to play the game, thereby gaining more traffic for the site where the game is played. Major companies including IBM, Nike, Ford Motor Co., and General Motors have begun to include games in their online advertising as a way to draw traffic to their Web sites. People are typically notified of the games through e-mail marketing programs. According to E-Commerce Times, Ford Motor reported that 40 percent of those who received an e-mail clicked through to play an online game, and those people forwarded the game to an average of three friends each. Other fields for which viral marketing has been recommended include entertainment industry products, such as movies, records, books, and television shows.
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