As mentioned previously, I am addicted to Quora. I think with the slogan “a best source of knowledge”, Quora has helped serve as a valuable platform for everyone seeking knowledge and information. Many answers to questions on Quora are eye opening and what I love the most about this platform, is understanding various the perspectives to the same question asked.
A recent and simple question posted on Quora had led to a variety of interesting yet insightful answers from many industry professionals and astute individuals. The question being “Is viral marketing effective?”.
It seems like a simple enough question but the answers was not as straightforward. I was intrigued by many of the answers and how well they were explained. Here is a summary of these answers.
An entrepreneur and viral marketer, Roxanne Gibert, of Echorank.io, had commented that it was useful to garner and retain customers by having them hooked on to engaging content while reducing acquisition costs. She goes on to define viral marketing as a means to communicate with users through “word of mouth” via sharing on the various social media. However she doesn’t just stop there but highlights the importance of your message being received by the right “target audience”.
Another user, a marketing specialist by the name of Claire Savelsbergh noted that it was difficult to quantitatively measure the success of viral marketing in monetary terms. However, she proceeds to point out that there are many useful benefits that can be observed. She states that viral marketing is able to create buzz about your brand and product or service by citing the example of the Oreo’s Blackout ad. If the aim of viral marketing is to get people talking about your brand, then it certainly is effective.
Utkarsh Jain on Quora has offered his own interesting take on the question. He defines viral marketing in a simple yet insightful way by assuming that users will promote the product or service to everyone that user interacts with.
A digital marketing consultant and growth hacker, Daniela Sztulwark offered her opinion on the subject as well. By citing a campaign done up by Frisia Marshmallow, which was getting their customers to send pictures of themselves consuming marshmallows in their own unique way via mobile device. This showed how viral marketing engaged users with their products and services.
Lastly Richa Gorel, an E-commerce advisor for Refiral indicated that viral marketing can help you expand your outreach to potential customers without spending too much on costs. The one thing she warned about however is that it must be done with care, instead of blindly spamming your Facebook and Twitter walls but by targeting the right audiences.
So is viral marketing effective? With the plethora of answers out there seeming to indicate its potential at attracting mass audiences but also warning us on the potential dangers of using such strategies, I leave it to you to decide on the answer.
Tags: is viral marketing effective, viral marketing, viral marketing strategy
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