Viral Marketing and Attracting Mouse Killers

We hunted for mouse killers and we found where they hang out. Search Engines, Blogs and content websites about mouse killing seem to be favorites. We also see that we need content and other shiny objects to attract them into our website. Let’s look at viral/social marketing as the first or our shiny objects.

Unlike the name, viral marketing is not about making your potential customers sick. Rather, it’s about making word of your great mouse trap, or other products, spread like a virus. Basically, you’ve got to create the high-tech version of word-of-mouth marketing. You job is to set the message into motion and then let the viral aspect do the work, with a little nudging from you.
Ever notice how easily and effectively a cold passes from person to person? It’s really not as easy as it looks. A number of things have to be just right and interestingly, although maybe not for readers with a weak stomach, those right things have a lot in common with making viral marketing easy and effective.

First the cold virus needs a living host to survive. In the internet world a living host is an active blog site, forum or content website. Just like a cold virus, if it is passed on to a doorknob, for instance, it will soon die unless someone, a living host, touches the door handle and picks it up. The lesson here is that for viral marketing to survive the ‘virus’ has to be spread to vibrant, active, highly trafficked sites. You’ll need to look for sites that have high readership, relative to other sites in your niche, and have fresh content.

The other thing a virus or viral marketing message needs it needs is a way to spread. For the cold a robust sneeze works great, or being left on the front door knob of a busy office. For viral marketing to work you have to essentially create a sneeze and make sure you hit lots of front door knobs.

The sneeze in viral marketing case is spreading your message, and website link, over a wide range of places. You’ve found the places where the mouse killers hang out so you know where to sneeze. Content related blogs are great places to drop your message and link. Find (and actually read) several good blog posts about mouse killing (our whatever you’re selling) and then add meaningful comments making sure that you include a link to a relevant page on your website.

These comments will serve multiple purposes. First they deliver links to your website. This make you become a next door neighbor of an already established store. Remember the next door grocery store? Next, they build your credibility as an expert in your field. This goes back to the (and actually read) comment. Your posts need to be on target with the site you’re at and add value to the discussion. Otherwise they’re just so much spam to be ignored and likely deleted. Lastly, and most importantly, they attract mouse killers to, wait for it… YOUR MOUSE TRAP WEBSITE. (You got the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ reference, right? Can’t help it, I enjoy the show.)

The last thing a cold needs to flourish is for it to spread. Your marketing message, reputation and links now need to be spread by others. By creating a credible reputation, by attracting mouse killers to your website and then by delivering high quality services and products you have created potential carriers of you viral message. You can even do things to encourage them to spread the word like hosting a dead mouse photo contents, giving away free somethings, offering to exchange links or whatever interests your target audience.

I think I’m beginning to feel feverous so enough of the cold virus analogies. We’ve learned that for viral marketing to work we have to find active, complementary websites, blogs and forum and sneeze on them (okay, last cold reference). Once we’ve started the viral message on its way we then help it along by prudently dropping our message in other places and encouraging others to do so also.

Next up we’ll look at another shiny object, search engine optimization, where we’ll learn a little more about attracting those mouse killers who hang out at Google and Yahoo!.

This is the point in our series where we're obligated to throw in our shameless plug. If you need help getting your small business website off the ground or in growing your existing business, Webs 4 Small Business can help.

We provide small and home office businesses with affordable, budget friendly internet services including internet marketing planning, search engine optimization, pay per click advertising managment. We also provide Raleigh, NC and Triangle business with on-site consulting services through Riverbank Consulting.

Visit us on the web at Webs 4 Small Business or contact us at 1-877-468-6402 to get started today.

To be continued...