Viral Marketing Lessons From Online Gaming
The advent of the digital era has opened up a whole range of new options for marketers. From the unfashionable (but still highly effective) email marketing through pay-per-click to social media and content marketing, professionals working in this area have more weapons in their armory than ever before. Viral marketing is often seen as the Holy Grail of online marketing. It can be extremely difficult to both predict and achieve, but when it pays off, the results can be spectacular.
The somewhat unsavory name derives from the way a virus replicates and spreads, using the resources of its host. A viral ad, meme, video, game or other element is spread by the online equivalent of word of mouth, but where a biological virus doubles its numbers with every replication, a viral ad can spread even quicker, as every time it is passed on it may be seen by dozens, hundreds or even thousands of new viewers.
As already mentioned, it can be difficult to achieve. Videos and other content can seem to appear out of nowhere and explode into the public consciousness, even if it is only briefly. You can’t force your audience to pass your product on, but there are a few steps that can be taken to give them a nudge.
A strong social media presence is often key, as this gives you the largest possible base to start with. Online games like Candy Crush Saga, Farmville and Flappy Bird have all been either playable via social media platforms like Facebook or, at the very least, have had strong social presences. Many recent success stories have also built their own communities. Minecraft was an incredibly simple idea, essentially it works like virtual LEGOs, but it also became incredibly popular, not least due to the forums and community websites that sprang up around it. Similarly, online gambling sites, including online bookies and casinos, often have active communities who like to discuss odds and strategies.
It depends on the product of course, but it also generally helps if your viral message is visually stimulating and easy to grasp quickly. It should be easy to share, and it can also help if it has some sort of memorable psychological impact. Humor is a common approach, but messages that tug the heartstrings, elicit sympathy or even greed (there’s nothing like free stuff for grabbing the attention) can also sometimes work.
Viral marketing is not the only lesson that big business is taking from the online world. Companies are increasingly using ‘gamification’, which is the application of game like design elements in a non-gaming context. UK retailers Marks & Spencer, for example, have introduced the Sparks points scheme, which features game like progression and unlocks.
The ‘casual’ online gaming market is very big, with players of the ‘freemium’ model Candy Crush Saga spending $1.3 billion on in-app purchases alone last year. As mobile and other online games continue to rake in the cash, they’re also sure to continue having an impact and influence on the wider business world.
