Exploring Viral Marketing – The Latest Trend in Social Media Marketing

Have you seen the recent viral phenomenon of fidget spinners? What started out as a children’s toy has steadily grown into a global trend. So, what is the reason behind this viral trend? Let us break down this emerging new scene of viral marketing.

The extent of viral marketing

 The phenomenon of fidget spinners has given rise to over five million videos on YouTube. Google has reported that there have been over 110,000 searches in a month!

So, you can well understand the extent to which it has spread. So, what made it possible for a mere children’s toy to become a global trend? The answer lies in the clever use of social media marketing.

Role of internet and social media in viral marketing

 In this age of digitization, social media marketing plays an extremely important role. It is a great way for brands to reach out to more people in a relatively lesser amount of time.

This has lot to do with the prevailing news cycle. Earlier, newspapers and television channels were the recognized medium for circulating news. With the widespread use of the internet, the pace of news has become much faster.

The changing face of News Cycles

 With the advent of social media, the earlier 24 hour news cycle has given way to a much faster publication and distrubution process.

With so many channels available at easy disposal, the time taken to publish and circulate a news is much less. For example, a blog will be published and available to the readers much faster than a newspaper. A simple Tweet is faster than the blog also.

With so many forums for the audience to be a part of, people are no longer simply a passive observer. They are active participants in the making of the news itself.

Also Read: How Emotional Marketing Helps To Sell Your Facebook Ads?

Viral Marketing – the emerging trend

Traditional media, in a way, has a way of promoting a trending topic. When they get wind of an emerging issue, they will usually write a feature style article on that. Thereby, leveraging an already growing interest.

There are so many articles that we see on papers about internet trends and phenomenon. This only piques the curiosity of a person who is not fully aware of the same. This in turn generates more interest leading to discussions and searches. Ultimately, it becomes a viral phenomenon.

Social Media Marketing encourages conversation

The aim of any social media marketing campaign is to create interactive content and promote conversation. It seems easy enough, but it isn’t that simple either. The idea or product can only become “viral” if the content encourages reaction from the people. This includes difference of opinion.

Successful social media marketing can only be possible if you are able to seize the opportunity at the right moment. Look at trend indicators such as Google and Reddit to feel the pulse of the internet. Then place your product onto a developing trend, or create your own viral idea.