My own experience with GAMEEEEE-

When I was young, I liked to play PC games, especially Tycoon games. These Tycoon games are very interesting because all wanted game players to deeply think and create strategies to develop and expand the game business. The drawback of those PC games is that you cannot interact with other people, and your competitors are within the offline games.



 




With the development of technology- the Internet, I started  playing game online. 5 years ago, my first online game was Audition-Vn. I played this game a lot, and i felt like a game addict. I liked it due to its content, 3D graphics, music and the interaction with other online game players in its virtual world.

5 months later, I stopped playing Audition because I didnt have time and I was busy with my studies in University.

In January, 2011 I played the second online game, Dynasty Warriors Online- I knew it because I used to play it on PS2. Well, the game is so interesting lol... heiz.... but then i left it because I realized that the virtual world is so complicated and i saw too many dramas in game. It is not the game for me to entertain anymore.

Why online games are so attractive !!!==> all I can say are as follows:

- Create your game character as you want
- Dress-up in game
- Interaction with online players
- An interesting content which people want to follow- a goal needs to be achieved (events in games with bonus)
- Create a Clan - the purpose of a Clan is that Clan members can play and help each other- create a strongest clan in the virtual world
- Players can exchange items and make real money
- Online dating- ??? (most games have this trouble- that s why i said it s so complicated)

In relation to Facebook games, my first FB game is Barny Buddy. this is a funny game- the most interesting aspect of this game is that players can steal fruits from each other :D. However,  I didnt play that one anymore because it has nothing new to attract me to continue to play anymore.
 Then, I played CityVille and now I am playing the Sim.

Why Facebook games are so popular now?
- You can play games with your friends on Facebook
-  Game graphics is very sophisticated
- Hemisphere in games is attractive
-  Creative game stories 
- The effect of psychology: people feel like they can make a lot of money on Facebook games- can afford to purchase anything for their own virtual world ==> increase game players' fun and happiness.
- Make more friends
- Convenience- no need to install like other kinds of online games- You can play games anywhere and anytime - all you need is access of the Internet


Implications for game developers:

- Create a game community -> build a loyal community-> enhance a commitment
- Boost advertising through Facebook games
- Maintain the game hemisphere -> create  new game features
- Increase revenue = offering game currency exchange by using real money and  offering limited items in special events


What do you think about my topic?Please tell me your experience- thanks :D

Wow Bao's social media marketing strategy: What we can learn!

Do you like BUNS???? :D

Today, I wanna introduce you to Wow Bao restaurant, especially their social media marketing strategy. I am sure that you'll like the way they are doing!

Wow Bao is a fast-casual Asian restaurant with five locations in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

In 2003, Wow Bao's first location launched at Chicago’s Water Tower Place, a Michigan Avenue shopping mall.  Two more locations in downtown Chicago followed in 2007.

Geoff Alexander, managing partner of Wow Bao and a vice-president at its parent company, Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. took over Wow Bao's operations in January 2009.

In the same year, Alexander launched a bicycle delivery service and set up electronic ordering kiosks at two of Wow Bao’s three locations.  The kiosks, which accept credit cards for instant payment, remember a customer’s previous four orders.

In 2010, Alexander launched an iPhone app for Wow Bao which allows users to place and pay for orders right from their phones. Moreover, customers from other states in US can place orders, which are then shipped to them.

In the past 2 years, Alexander saw the potentials of social media for further reaching and interacting with customers, so he established a Wow Bao's social media marketing mission :" GIVE AWAY AS MUCH OF ITS PRODUCT AS POSSIBLE".  He says “What better way to get people excited about your business than to give them your product?”  and  “That way, we can educate them about our product, get them to like it, and it makes it fun for them to try it.”

The following social media marketing strategies of Wow Bao are the most successful ones:

1. Give Product Away When They Check In

Every time,  customers visiting the restaurant who 'check in' on FourSquare or Facebook Places, are eligible for a deal ' buy 1 get 1 bao  free'. The first time customers 'check in' using Scvngr, a new location -based platform, they will receive a free bao. Furthermore, the one with the most FourSquare check-ins gets a free six packs of bao-  as often as they visit.

I know you will be surprised at what Wow Bao's doing, but Alexander states:

"If I were to spend $10,000 on a billboard, radio ad or magazine ad, I have no idea what’s the return on investment is ,” . “For the same amount of money, I can give away 7,500 baos. I can touch 7,500 people and hopefully 100 percent of them are going to like the product and become hooked".

I think it makes sense-  a good way of doing business and also attracting people's attention.

On “Secret Word Wednesdays” customers of Wow Bao’s Facebook page can learn a secret word to tell the cashier for a free bao at the restaurant.

                           or other events:




He further explains why Giving Away Product to Customers Who Check In is " A Conversation-Starter"
“Most of the people on Foursquare have their accounts tied to their Twitter accounts, and their Twitter accounts are tied to their Facebook accounts, which are tied to their blogs. When somebody checks in, it goes viral on these different (platforms), and you start a conversation. First, it's ‘Hey, I'm at Wow Bao'; then, ‘What's that?' Then, ‘I love it—have you tried it?' “ 

2.  Create an Twitter Avatar for your business










We all know that a right Twitter avatar can generate many benefits: It helps define your brand and spread it around the Internet. Whenever you're participating in some social activities online including commenting on blogs, tweeting, sharing a link on Facebook, you want to be recognizable.

@BaoMouth's job is to:

• tweet a daily deal
• reply to inquiries from customers
  
• retweet from loyal customers
• engage in conversations with customers regarding any issues
• make customers happy- give a big surprise as possible. 

3. Let Customers Place an Order through  your Facebook fan-page

When customers place their orders on Wow Bao's Facebook page, they can automatically share their purchases with other friends on Facebook. Then , their friends might ask them " what is Wow Bao" or they can check it by clicking on Wow Bao's link

In another article, Alexander told QSR  reasons to launch online ordering -CLICK  ME






4. Build a brand ambassador program

Interestingly, a loyal customer can become a Bao Mouth. They just need to register online, then they will be given a Bao Mouth card. Wow Bao will protect card holders' personal information. Bao Mouth member's job is to look for people who love Wow Bao, are really promoting Wow Bao and sharing Wow Bao with other people.
Bao Mouth members will receive exclusive offers from Wow Bao.  For instance, during the week before Christmas, Bao Mouth card holders will be given free meals at the Wow Bao restaurant.


5. Utilize new technologies  

- Offer technology -driven customer experiences
- Provide customer convenience
-  When a customer forgets his wallet, he can use his smartphone to pay for the order at the restaurant -

Source: Chicago Business , 2011

What do you think about Wow Bao's SM marketing strategies? Do you think Wow Bao will go further????

Social Media and Child Safety Issue - PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN !!!

This morning I read some news in relation to Facebook privacy and safety issues which most people are currently concerned about. Suddenly, I remember that  few months ago a 17- year- old girl named Emily Longley, was found dead days after she posted a status on Facebook that she was being stalked.

Moreover, there are many suicide cases that happened among teenagers related to cyberbullying and social media in recent years.

In February 2010, Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old South Hadley, Mass., girl hung herself after alleged repeated bullying at her high school.

In September 2010, Tyler Clementi,18 years old, jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and a friend allegedly streamed a Webcam video of his sexual encounter with another man.

A few weeks ago, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself after being bullied online regarding his sexuality. Jamey used social networking sites to show that he was struggling with his sexuality, though he encouraged others on the It Gets Better project webYoutube to fight off the bullies. He took his own life after posting an online farewell.

Honestly, after reading these stories, the question which came up in my mind is that where the hell their parents and teachers were ..... why things like this happened to those teens...

What is Cyberbullying? “Cyberbullying is any harassment that occurs via the Internet. Vicious forum posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web sites, and sending cruel email messages, are all ways of cyberbullying”. It is true that it is easier to bully in the online world than in the real life. Kids and teens these days have more opportunities to use new technologies including SMS, email, instant messages on MSN, Skype and Yahoo, blogs and other social networking sites. They became more freely to talk about themselves or voice their opinions regarding any issues, and if others dislike or disagree with them ==> it can lead to a Fight or even Cyberbullying

To prevent cyberbullying, parents need to understand how to use these new platforms and also be proactive in observing their children's activities. If you are a parent, you should read tips from Microsoft- Family Safety.
For example, parents should:

1. Understand how a new technology works. Learn how your child will use it, who he/she will communicate with and what information he/she could potentially share.
2. Always set up privacy settings on any new technology. My Mobile Watch Dog lets parents monitors the texts, emails and phone calls their kids’ cell phones are receiving. Net Nanny is a software that can be downloaded onto a computer and can schedule Internet access, block social networks,  stop inappropriate chats, stop illegal file sharing and monitoring where children are going online.
3. Talk with your child about cyberbullying. Encourage your child to tell you immediately if he or she is being harassed online or contacted repeatedly via email or cell phone by an unwanted person. Also explain to your child that cyberbullying is harmful and unacceptable behavior.

If a child is being cyberbullied, you can look for certain signs - CLICK ME

If you suspect your child is being cyberbullied, there are some guidelines from Stop Bullying Now which you can have a look, briefly:

1. Encourage your child to stop communicating with the cyberbully.
2. Do not erase any photos, video or texts–you’ll want to keep all evidence. Take as many screenshots and print them out if possible.  Cyber Bully Alert is an online software the lets children using computers automatically alert their parents when they are being harassed online. As soon as the child presses a button, the software takes a screenshot of the computer and immediately alerts the parents via email or text.
3. Try to identify the cyberbully if he or she is anonymous. Your Internet Service Provider (like Comcast or AOL) should be able to track them. However, if the cyberbulling is criminal–or you suspect it is–contact the police and ask them do the tracking.

Source: The Link Paper

What do you think about cyberbullying? It seems that Australia's current anti cyber bullying laws failed to deal with this issue... Please let me know your thoughts!

How Google +1 affect your Google search results

While I was searching for some information on Google, I saw this Google +1 button. Honestly, I have known its existence on Google results for long, but I never tried to use its function in my personal life or even have a look at its benefits in business. Thus, this is a good chance for me to write a blog about the Google +1 button today :D

What is Google +1 ?


Well, surely everyone can see that Google + 1 is simply a feature that adds "a button" ( to illustrate "Like") to the whole web search (Note: you can only see it if you log into your Google account). It is much like the Facebook "Like" button. The Google + 1 button allows all users'"likes" to be shared with the user's entire contact network on Google. The difference with the Google +1 button is that it is made visible to the whole web. Furthermore, it appears on advertisements, sites across the websites and in Google search results. All of the users' likes are saved in a tab on their Google profile and if they want, they can choose to share this tab with the whole web world. Currently, the Google +1 button is included in blogs and news sites as a logo which readers can click on to like the page and share with the web world.

How does  Google +1 affect your Google search results ?

As mentioned above, the Google+1 button gives all users a personalized search engine experience. The personalization allows them to search in Google and see results that are recommended by someone in their social circle either in Google+ or Twitter. People can connect their Twitter account with Google+, and if they follow you in Twitter have Google+ accounts their +1′s will show up in the results too.

As a result,  the Google + 1 button has an influence on our search results because it shows us the search behavior of our friends and family. Furthermore, this button may influence the ranking of the search results. This means if businesses integrate the Google +1 button into their sites, it can help push them up in the search rank.

However, what if Google users repeatedly click  on the Google +1 button or someone does cheat the Google + 1 clicks for their business, will it be a disaster? The answer I found out is that Google is not that easily fooled. Firstly, you need a Google Plus account to click the Google +1 button. Google has their own system that can check who is clicking and also the other buttons that person has clicked. If you use the same account or even create a new account it is quite easy for Google to detect false clicks and accounts. It is advised that businesses shouldn't use " buying clicks" because Google can find out and these business sites will be penalized.

How Google + 1 can promote your business - TIPS

 ==> Integrate the Google +1 button in your sites: Google Plus Your Website <=CLICK ME :D

It can be cleary seen that the Google +1 button is certainly a better deal than the Facebook Like and Google Buzz.Why? The reason is that it brings many benefits to advertisers including its function used for social ads promotion.. Definitely, it will make ads more effectively, and one thing is that even if it is not able to be adopted by the whole Google world, it will still have far reaching effects.

 

What do you think about the Google +1 button? Will it be successful in the future?  :)

 P/s:  There are  more than 50 million active Google plus users - wow- the number is growing faster-- :D

Daily Deal Sites: Good or Bad???

Honestly, before I didnt care about daily deal sites, but these days I heard my friends talk a lot about them. Thus, I did some research about this topic. It s quite interesting! :D

The spread of daily deal sites has been significantly increasing and penetrated the small business world. There are a number of leading daily deal sites including Groupon and Living Social which have attracted millions of shoppers around the world.

There are few questions we need to consider:

1. How can small businesses run an effective daily deal and reduce risk?
2. Are they better off avoiding daily deals sites altogether?

First of all, we will examine 3 different daily deal sites as follows:

• Groupon: Last year,Groupon entered the Australian market and is now operating under the StarDeals.com.au. Groupon allows consumers to signup for coupon offers from local businesses. If a set number of Groupon users signup for a particular coupon, the customers are granted the coupon. Groupon charges a cut of the coupons sold, and the businesses get increased exposure and potential new customers. Of the daily deals sites, Groupon has the widest range of discount offers.

• LivingSocial: Living Social works similarly to Groupon, with consumers able to register in a specific city or market. Living Social has a greater number of household and personal care offers than other daily deal sites and has a dedicated section for travel getaways.

• CuDo: Every day, Cudo emails you an exciting experience packed full of value from handpicked businesses. Things like day spas, salons, hotels, restaurants, theater tickets, tours, holidays and much more. You experience them daily, or whenever you choose.

If these deals can be done correctly with the right type of business, they can be very effective. In other words, when local merchants runs daily deals, shortly there will be an effect on their online reputation.

Through using search tools, these deals can be browsed and selected. Moreover, the link is also provided to direct back to their websites. However, the thing needing to be considered here is the effect to their online reputation. Consumers who seek and purchase these deals are often the most active online and in social media channels. This can be good or bad, depending on their experience. If local businesses effectively take care of these customers, they are more likely to post on Facebook, Twitter and Google Places and share their opinions about how they experienced.

However, there are many problems related to these daily deal sites. For instance, when these deals have been taken, many shoppers still don't know how to redeem due to unclear instructions on these sites. They also have problems with the quality of customer experiences. Additionally, a lot of people got trouble with the payment systems of these sites. Then, these users go online and write negative reviews, which can then really damage local merchants' reputation. Therefore, here are a few tips for running effective daily deal sites including Groupon, Living Social and CuDo

1. If you run a daily deal, you must plan for and anticipate how to handle a big increase in volume on a short term basis to insure a great customer experience. Line up short-term staff to come help in case you need them. On most sites, you can put a cap on the number of coupons sold. This can help prevent you from being overwhelmed.
2. Negotiate! There are millions of these "Daily Deal" sites today so don’t just try the first one that calls you. Be sure to shop around and do your homework. Furthermore, you should choose some daily deal sites which have a good reputation/ high credibility.
3. It would be great if you can provide a clear instruction to help customers know how to redeem their coupons in order to avoid the confusion. Ask customers when they come in to present coupons upfront. This will ensure you know about them ahead of time. We all know that it’s hard to take special care of customers that are paying 1/3 the price, but these are likely to be the critics of today. You have to take care of them.
4. To redeem, ask them to provide an email address to send them other deals in the future. Tell them they can opt-out after getting the first email. However, you need a digital way to create a relationship with that customer to encourage future visits.
5. Setup an online review management service to track what people are saying. You need a social media monitoring service like chatmeter to monitor the response and track all of the online reviews. Chatmeter notifies you of all new online reviews and social media mentions every day, so your just one click away to responding.
6. Respond to all customer comments, good or bad. If you receive any negative reviews, try to invite them back when business is back to normal, most people would understand the circumstances. If positive, say Thank You. This helps your online reputation and shows the business cares and will drive loyalty and word of mouth, which is crucial for any business to thrive. 

Source:  chatmeter Blog, 2011


What do you think about these daily deal sites? any experience?
Please feel free to share your comments :D

Return on Engagement (ROE) !!!!

I m sure that everyone’s heard of Return on Investment (ROI) but have you heard of Return on Engagement (ROE)??? 

Today I’m going to talk about the concept of Return on Engagement and present some ways you can use to measure it.

 Let’s have a look at social media usage statistics 2011

• 750 million Facebook users are building their social identities and connecting with others (Facebook statistics, 2011)
•   200 million Twitter users are sharing thoughts, links and information (White, 2011, September 16)
•   7.5 million people are “checking in” on Foursquare(Yarow, 2011, March 8)
•  Over 3 billion videos are viewed a day and 100 million people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc) every week (Youtube statistics, 2011)

It is evident that most people love social media and if companies' customers including existing and potential are there, shouldn’t they be?

Nowadays people don’t just search these social networking sites for people; they also look for many other things including products, services, brands and companies.  The reasons is that they are looking for coupons, exclusive discounts or chances to win. Furthermore, they are interested in what other people are saying and what companies are saying back. Thus, it is critical for companies to understand how to benefit from engaging with their customers.
 

Through using these social networking sites, companies can build relationships with their friends, fans and followers and potentially make them become their newest customers. Moreover, companies can create some interesting activities in order to give their customers something fun and exciting to talk about is that they will do just that—share it with their friends and  spread the world, and that’s what companies want.

After all, we all want results, numbers and measurements of traffic. Well, by using these platforms, companies can get as specific as they want, providing offers and prizes for “fanning” a page, “re-tweeting” a phrase, checking in at a store location and more. From here it becomes as simple as monitoring the buzz. We call this ROE, return on engagement.

There are some ways marketers can use to measure ROE as follows:

#1: Use a URL shortener like bit.ly to show how much traffic you are driving and from where.

#2: Follow your tweets and retweets on Twitter to see how far they travel http://tweetreach.com/
#3: Track positive, negative and neutral along with # of comments posted on your sites
#4: Read “calculating the ROI of blogging” http://bit.ly/Z6xqP

#5: # of RSS subscribers and your repeat traffic (demonstrates loyalty) 
#6: Develop specific tactics which improve your ranking on popular search engines
#7: Remember traditional methods like polls and surveys to get results.

 

#8: Keep track of what topics/issues/conversations
 #9: Measure customer satisfaction via social media, take a quick pulse to see where you stand. 
#10: Track # of people recommending, whether it’s a RT, “like,” “favorite,” which results in new members of your community
#11: Determine your “share of conversation” vs. your competitors http://bit.ly/Gjxgg

Source: PRSarahEvans, 2009

Let’s give them something to talk about. Let’s also talk about it with them.

What do you think about ROE? How does your company measure engagement via social media?

Man won a Twitter bet against his boss!!!!!!!

On 26th August, a UK man tweeted on his Twitter account with a message as follows:




The situation here is that they were discussing Twitter and the “Company Twitter Account”  has less than 30 followers and still has. His boss said that it was a waste of time and it was only competitors that were following them. The man disagreed with his boss said it could be better....  He bet he could get 10 RTs if he tried from his twitter account.



Surprisingly,  after 3 days he came back from his holiday weekend, he checked his Twitter and saw that there were 23,000 retweets ( equal to £11,500).  Now , his boss is scared of him :D





Looking at Topsy today, the tweet had been re-tweeted around 24,000 times… and made it into the Twitter Top 100 over the weekend.

 
I think that this number (24K for few days) could make any social network members stunned. Furthermore, this is no longer simply a bet, which triggered a wave on Twitter towards anyone who dares to be against any social netwking sites.....

We can see that  it is the power of social media...nothing is impossible-

One thing we need to consider is that it is one of those tweets that people just retweeted without even looking at the content of the message ....this may lead to another issue; that is, many brands and companies will see this as a great new marketing tool to get exposure and try this for their own business.


My question now is that : is Twitter a big waste of time like the UK man’s boss claims or do these 24,000 tweets actually help?

BEST IN CLASS Facebook Pages and why they are successful!

2 weeks ago we discussed about Facebook and its basic features in class. It s quite interesting, so I did research about some popular Facebook Pages and why they are so successful. I hope it can help you gain some Facebook page experience to prepare for the next step.

Some questions I firstly want to ask you  is that "Does your business have a Facebook Page?" and " Are you using the features of Facebook in the best possible ways?"

Today I am going to focus on some "Best In Class" pages.  These pages are considered as the " Best In Class" is because each of these pages has utilized Facebook features available in unique and interesting ways, and  they have attracted millions of fans throughout the world.

# Red Bull

When I visited Red Bull FB Page for the first time, I was completely attracted by the Welcome tab (see the image below). It can be said that Red Bull encourages fans to “Like” their page with an attention-grabbing image.  Furthermore, the welcome tab sticks to one call to action, making it very clear what Red Bull want to happen.

Additionally, they have created many activities on Facebook page to engage with their fans, including series of online games, Red Bull web Tv and Red Bull Athletes.    

Tips:

• Consider spending some money in designing a creative page to attract your fans
•  Pay close attention to your call to action, specifically for the “Like” button

#The Twilight Saga



No matter if you have seen the movies or not, you can’t deny that the Twilight Saga is hot.

Last year, they created a “Tweet Sweeps,” where they encouraged fans to tweet about the movies for a chance to win movie tickets. The best strategy with this type of contest is to tell fans specifically what to tweet. Thus, there is no confusion, and they can take action quickly. 


This year, in order to prepare for the new movie coming soon on November 18, 2011, they have created a WeddingGuestBook tab (see the image below). The purpose of this tab is to encourage fans to get involved in the new movie by sharing their thoughts.

In addition, the Twilight Saga page has taken advantage of the “Discussion” tab where fans can post topics of discussion and all fans can join in and comment. The discussion tab creates a great sense of community and dramatically increases the engagement on the page.

Tip: 

• Encourage more conversation among fans on your page by starting a few discussion streams to get them talking.
• Create a discussion tab to encourage fans to post their own topics

# Jonas Brothers

With millions of fans around the world,  Facebook page is the best way for the Jonas Brothers  to stay connected.

Their page allows fans to  watch to their video clips through a music application  "BandPage". In addition to connecting with other fans through videos, photos and the open Wall, the page keeps their Event tab updated with all their concerts.



The Jonas Brothers were among the first to integrate UStream, a live streaming service, and the Facebook Live Chat box into something they called JonasLIVE (see the image below).
In June 2009, the Jonas Brothers held their webcast with the UStream and Facebook Love Chat integration. To help spread the message, a "Share" button was directly below the UStream window encouraging fans to  invite their friends.




Tips:

• Create some interesting events to attract fans' attention
• Utilize the "Share" button to spread the message to the world

..............................................

The selected pages above are among hundreds of great pages that are not mentioned here. I am sure that after looking at these pages, you may start to consider your own page and think about how to develop your page better with a proper strategy. Here are 5 takeaways for you:

1. Use all available features on Facebook including upload photos, videos and events, interacting on Wall and sharing links
2. Try to extend your page with Iframe,  then you can make your page more unique 
3. Promote your page. Include your page in your email signature, in your email marketing. Come up with creative ways to expose your presence
4. Interact. Receiving comments and making feedback. Encourage your community to interact with one another and try to respond to as many questions as you can.
5. Be helpful. Provide your members with a variety of types of content and interact often with them; you will want to be as helpful as possible to them.  

Reference:

Levy, J. (2010). Facebook Marketing: Designing Your Next Marketing Campaign (2nd Ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

I hope that after reading my blog today, you will get some helpful ideas for your Facebook page.

Please feel free to leave any comments here-



 Cheers :)

A new successful viral video: The Ipad Head Girl

Few weeks ago, as a piece of viral marketing, the video of Ipad Head Girl  has been a runaway success with most major news  organizations and websites picking up on the stunt that saw a woman boxed in by four Ipads walking around NYC promoting  the launch of Cosmo For Guys.

Someone will say "it s so amazing" and  some will call it creepy. Before I was wondering how she is seeing where she is going,  and finally I found the making of Ipad head Girl Video which has been released by the viral marketing company behind Ipad Head Girl, Thinkmodo 

We appreciate Ipad Head Girl not because it promotes a men’s magazine, but for its use of mobile technology and video cameras to show us something new and creative- A new way of Advertising...cheers :D

Viral Marketing: What is it?

Well, I must say that I am very interested in "Viral Marketing". Thus, I decided to write about it on my 1st blog :D.

 OK, let s start!

• What is Viral Marketing?

-  The concept behind viral marketing is that it encourages individuals to propagate a message to others, thus creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. It also ensures that the receivers have the interest to pass along the messages to their acquaintances.

- There are two kinds of Viral Marketing:
1.  The original classic one in which the marketing is the product or service (e.g YouTube and Hotmail). "The more people use them, the more people see them. The more people see them, the more people use them". The product or service must be something that improves once more people use it.

Will It Blend?

"Straight from the success of YouTube, Will It Blend has been known as a viral  marketing sensation, with more than 65 million video views"


2. The second one is a marketing campaign that spreads but isn't the product itself. This can be illustrated through Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign 2008 (for more details at David Billion's Blog -CLICK ME).At that time, posters of Barack Obama were everywhere, because people chose to spread them. It was viral (it spread) and it was marketing (because it made an argument--a visual one--for a candidate.).

It can be said that viral marketing is a marketing tool that uses social networking sites to lead to increased brand awareness, increased sales and then marketing goal achievement through viral processes.

Due to the increase of  the number of people spending time online, it has helped companies grow their business by adopting viral marketing  to further reach their customers.

Nowadays, organizations get involved in social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter in order to target potential customers with advertising and promotion. Video sites such as YouTube and Google Videos allow users to build a profile, upload videos, post comments, and even allow others to subscribe to a channel. Another way is to circulate it through email; people usually forward information to their family and friends  if they find something informative and interesting.

==> Viral marketing is just like any physical virus!!!

Please leave a comment if you have any other thoughts about Viral Marketing  :D