Now what? - Viral Marketing

With a viral campaign flying around the connected Internet, a company should be ready to capitalise on the benefits of the campaign.

Be prepared for the traffic

Anticipate wild success and ensure that the server can cope with the additional traffic. Nothing will kill a campaign faster than it being unavailable, and this has happened countless times.

Ensure that all parties know about the viral marketing campaign, so that they can be prepared for any feedback that arises from this. If there is a cryptic element involved, or information that should not be released, ensure that all employees know about this.

If the campaign is to increase sales, be sure that there is sufficient stock in place.

Start relationships

With millions of people being exposed to a brand, a company should plan to make the most of this first contact. As well providing all the tools to send a campaign on, a well planned campaign will also ask their audience permission to keep in touch with them.

Build on the nature of the campaign, and ensure that future communications are not far removed from the viral campaign.

Prepare a marketing success report

Consider the additional traffic and traction if the campaign becomes a case study, archived and accessed by marketers, journalists and other interested parties. Make the most of this additional latent traffic avenue by preparing useful case studies, screenshots and contact details. Even though the viral marketing campaign may be over, make sure it appears in online conversations and continues to generate traffic and links for your company.

If possible, keep relevant web sites up and running, and games still available once a campaign has finished.