What is online viral marketing? It is called a successful advertising campaign. The phrase was a creation of a business school graduate, popularized a media critic named Douglas Rushkoff. It simply refers to your ability to reach an unlimited number of people by starting out with a handful.

If you tell me something that I think is interesting, I will tell my friends about it. They will tell their friends as well if they like it. They probably know people that I do not. So, growth can literally become exponential. It traditionally was called word of mouth advertising.

The biggest difference between word of mouth advertising and online viral marketing is the potential number of people that anyone at any given time communicates with daily. I can give you a personal example. I speak to my family every day in my personal life. I may speak to my family and friends once per week.

Some of them I haven’t talked to in years, “live”. I communicate to everyone at least once every day or so via e-mail and social networking sites. If something really grabs me that I think my friends will love too, I will share it with at least 30 people.

Surveys indicate that the average person shares this type of thing with 12 people max. So, I may be a little outside of the loop. The point is that the 30 people that I know will share with others. Effortless, this information ripples through this wave of people. Will the wave eventually crash?

If you have an effective online viral marketing strategy, you may be able to generate numerous waves; when one crashes, another forms. There are a number of different strategies, but all of the effective ones include one element. There is something “free” of value for people to share.

In some cases, it is just a well-done, simple commercial. Sony had one some time ago. It was posted on YouTube and people got it out there to people they knew. To date, it has been seen by thousands of people. How many people bought something? Who would possibly know?

The point is this. To reach hundreds of thousands or millions of people in the not so distant past, TV advertising would have been the only option. And, of course, you would have had to buy space on the most popular shows and the costs are prohibitive. With online viral marketing, you can reach that many people for next to nothing.

Do you really need viral marketing software? Here’s a look at the five elements of an effective strategy. After you learn these, you may realize that what you require is something completely different.

Offer something of value for no charge. What you choose to give might be simply information, an ebook or even software. One idea is that you might give a free download of a limited function software program. But, in order to get the “premium” version, the customer would have to pay.

Video game providers use this technique to the full extent. You can play their games free on the web, but to get certain features, you must buy their “complete” version. People that enjoy playing the game will usually pay for the full version or upgrade to the extended version. Viral marketing software cannot tell you what to give away. Only you yourself, or a specialized company that offers personalized service could determine that.

Another element is to create a methodology that would enable your free offer to be accepted if others were to receive it. Typically, this is done via e-mail. Surveys show that when a person finds something interesting on the web, they share it with an average of six friends. You can see how the number of people that you can contact grows exponentially, which makes the next element very important.

You must be able handle the increased business generated effectively. You may need to have an auto-responder set up or other virtual “assistants” in place. You might need to increase your stock, if you are selling an item or even overhaul your site to handle massive traffic. If you are providing a service, you will need to figure out what your ability is to handle new clients. Is is possible that viral marketing software do that? No.

The fourth element is to use common reactions to your advantage. Think of it this way, a common reaction to a picture of food is to stimulate hunger. If you sell food, you want every photo on your site and in any email communication that appears so tasty looking, it will create a feeling of hunger. Another example is the “what can it do for me” mentality. People don’t care to know every detail showing that a car has reinforced side beams. People just want to know that their family is protected in the automobile in the event of an accident. Show and tell a potential client what your product will do for them and you will have a new customer.

The last element, is to take full advantage of existing communication networks available. That’s the one thing that viral marketing software might be able to do for you. But, it cannot offer everything that you need for your campaign to be a success.

When you have a business, perhaps the most important thing that you can hope for is a referral or customer endorsement. A customer endorsement is going to say that you’re wonderful – that they should deal with your company – and a referral is going to entice clients like bees to honey. You should be doing all that you can to make sure that you get an endorsement, because this is really what is going to increase your options. With the right word of mouth, you’ll find clients and customers who are willing to help you out, and willing to become your own clients and customers.

When you get a referral, it means that someone who has worked with you before, and who knows you, is telling others that you are the person that they should go with. This may come from an existing customer, or from someone who has been dealing with you previously. Wherever it comes from, it is your opportunity to excel, and to show others what you are made of. When you get an endorsement, it means that you are getting the opportunity to shine and prove someone else’s vision of who you are.

There are many ways to make ensure that people recommend your brand. Take the time to think this through – so that you know you are going to be the one who benefits from the referrals. When you get a glowing testimonial, you want to be sure that you have earned it. There are several ways that you can be sure you are the one getting referrals.

First of all, recognize that each and every customer you deal with has a chance of becoming someone who can give you an endorsement. This is very important because it is the one way that you have to make sure that you can bring in customers. Treat your customers as if you value them each individually, and be sure that you show them how much they mean to you. This shows you what you can do with them, it will enhance your popularity, which increases the chances of referrals. When you are dealing with all customers, be energetic, positive, and always exceed expectations – even if things don’t go perfectly. This is certainly an easy way to prove that you deserve their business, and is also a great way to get more word of mouth!

Referral programs are a very good way to popularize your brand and increase your sales. A referral program works well in the following manner – you reward the people who send you new customers. This, in turn, encourages them to send you more business. It is as straightforward as that. What makes these programs highly successful? Let me explain.

Humans, by nature, crave to get rewarded for their actions. If there is an incentive that is immediate, it motivates people to act. So, naturally, when customers get rewarded for sending new business to you, they feel elated. This increases your response rate enormously.

The advantages of a customer referral program include:

1.The cost is little. Friends and clients bring you new business – remember, all you need to do is reward them by giving service credits.

2.It will attract high lifetime value customers. Customers who are referred by your satisfied clients are likely to do a lot of business with you, as they already know that you are trustworthy and dependable.

3.It will assist in building brand awareness. When many of people talk very highly about your business, it has a very positive effect and your brand’s popularity explodes.

4.    It creates a channel to launch your new products and services. This is most likely the biggest advantage of a referral program.

5.    It creates a platform to maintain the excellent relationship you have with your existing clients and to build rapport with new clients.

To get great results, you should inform your existing clients about your referral programs. You can do this by making a phone call, text message or by sending an email to all your clients. You may gradually build a mailing list and send a short message to your inactive clients now and again. In effect, you keep reminding them that you appreciate what they do and would love to reward them.

When you are a business owner, your should understand an important thing about a good customer referral program. Any incentive you wish to give need not be overtly extravagant. Mostly, service credits would be sufficient. A box of chocolates will show your appreciation for your customers, or even a donation to a local charity in the name of your customer will go a long way.

The only thing that matters is your intention. Avoid worrying about spending a lot of money on your incentive program. Set up a referral marketing program today and get the results you want.