Buzz.Yovia

In a mid-morning brainstorming session, I was discussing the difference between Viral and Word of Mouth marketing with one of my colleagues. My colleague was convinced that they are the same thing, and I felt that they were wholly different. We began to iron out some solid distinctions between them and realized that, in some ways, they are also similar. The main conclusion we agreed upon is that the most effective marketing strategy is somewhere between them both, fine tuning a message to have some of the aspects of each.

Viral marketing, as the name implies, is much like a virus that spreads quickly from one person to another. When compared to WOM, it has a lower engagement. This lower engagement is what allows the message to transmit quickly. It is easy to forward an email, or post a YouTube link, but it is much more difficult to show someone how well a new tractor can plow a field, even if it is exceptional. The problem with viral marketing is that the audience hears the message then moves past it. It is a trend or a fad, then it’s gone. When was the last time you saw Star Wars Kid?
Word of Mouth is a little different from Viral Marketing. The increased engagement of WOM, makes it a much more effective form of marketing because the audience to the message is open and receptive. A person is more likely to buy or act upon the information if they are referred by a trusted source. The person receiving the message listens and retains the information. One problem with WOM is that it is difficult for the message to receive wide-spread exposure, since it usually requires a reasonable understanding of the message. Calculus and Philosophy are broad ideas that have little opportunity to pass from one person to the other outside of educational institutions. The other problem is that it requires a personal interaction. Viral videos or links, lack the personal touch and specific recommendation that WOM implies. Your best friend telling that you will like a CD, would prompt you to go buy it, but a video from them that is about the CD will likely be less effective.

Both forms of marketing are more effective than typical display advertising, like Banner ads, TV Commercials, or Billboards, since these offer virtually no engagement or means to spread their message. The main way WOM and Viral Marketing are similar is that they both rely on a highly polar message. Someone must feel either very strongly for or against the message to relay it to their friends. Mediocrity and blandness is the biggest enemy to both Viral and WOM, since people just don’t tell each other about things that are ok. The community around the idea must be excited to achieve either Viral or WOM.

The funny thing about this conversation was that, while analyzing Viral marketing and WOM marketing, we came to a greater understanding of Social Media marketing. When we looked at the weaknesses in Viral Marketing and Word of Mouth, we realized the importance of striking a balance between the two. Social Media marketing fills that gap. With Social Media, it is important to create a high-level of trust by using credible sources so that the audience is receptive. By analyzing and optimizing the message, it is possible to increase the interaction with the audience. It engages the users like WOM. The engagement should be easy so that someone can be fully-engaged and alert early in the message. That being said, it is important to make sure that the message can be spread easily. If the audience is too caught up in the engagement or overwhelmed by the information, then they are much less likely to spread the idea. Social Media is an interesting balance between the two.

By: Mike Palmer
Analyst

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Getting Started, SMO, What's Hot. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.