Morph marketing ideas to create your own viral growth.
I was just reading a blog article about understanding viral growth. It was posted by Melissa Miller at HubSpot called Understanding Viral Growth [Marketing Math.] She was using Google's Gmail software as an example of how viral growth works.
But I'm not Google.
As I read I could hear the voices of my clients objecting “but I’m not Google and there is no way that could happen for me.” Or “I don’t create software so it won’t work for me.” Sometimes we take things so literally that we can’t see how a process can be adapted to our own business. Right away I started morphing the Google concept into one that applies to my business.
Morph ideas to your own business needs.
I found her marketing takeaway to be the most valuable part of the article for me and started thinking of ways to adapt the points she was making:
- Make an application that is easy to share. – Substitute ‘application’ with a worksheet, a white paper, an instructional video, a sales tool that can be downloaded or linked to. Think digital content creation.
- Encourage your users to share it; consider giving incentives for sharing. – Replace ‘users’ with customers, followers, subscribers, and friends. Get creative with the incentives. Perhaps a drawing or a discount on services or products for the referral. Use social media and internet marketing to get the word out.
- Create an application with value that is so compelling, your customers will be happy to share it with others! – Again, change the word ‘application’ to valuable information you have to share. What kind of business tool or guide can you provide potential customers that people are always looking for? What will make their job or life easier by having what you have created? What are your customers continually asking for or need? Make it easy to read and professionally presented. Attractive and branded.
Consistent growth is the goal.
Viral growth more than likely won’t happen overnight but it will be consistent if you make a point of sharing the offer in many different places and to multiple audiences. And that is where inbound marketing enters the picture.
Remember:
- When you hear of a successful marketing idea that worked for a big, influential (deep pocket) corporation, look at ways you can scale it to your own company size and budget.
- Look for marketing ideas from industries that are completely different from your own and morph them to your customer needs.
- Create something of value to your customers and share it with the world in as many marketing channels as you can.
