Most businesses dream big. It’s a basic component of success. Ambition to spectacularly succeed is one of the steps towards achieving that success. There are other times, however, when keeping things in perspective can help you get to where you want to go.

Viral campaigns are an area when thinking in perspective can be a real help. Viral campaigns have come across as a miracle marketing solution in recent years, and are a part of the SEO arsenal. The hugely visible success of some campaigns has been an inspiration to a lot of businesses, and a deterrent to others. Both sides have it wrong. A viral campaign doesn’t have to be big to matter, and doesn’t have to be visible to be big either.

There is amazing potential in virals, but in truth most viral attempts won’t succeed. Some viral campaigns appear to flounder, but can succeed on a very small scale. A properly directed viral can achieve big things for a small site. These are the sorts of viral campaigns that the average site can aim for as part of their search engine optimisation plan.

The very first step is to define your goals with your campaign. Your reasons for a viral campaign might not always be highly specialised, of the need-to-promote-our-sale kind, but you do need a specific focus. This will help you define a message for your viral campaign.

The next step is choosing your targets well. Your site doesn’t have an audience of ‘everybody in the world’, so why would you try to aim a viral at that audience? In reality, the users your site most needs to reach probably aren’t even everyone in your industry. The users you are most likely to need to appeal to probably consist of one or several small and very specific groups.

Once you’ve chosen the user group that you need to appeal to, the next steps are easier. Studying the communities that these users interact in can give you some ideas of viral campaigns. What is the best way to deliver your message to these communities? How will you deliver it? Some communities will react well to a video viral, others will go crazy for a piece of software, and still others will react best to a simple article.

Studying your user communities will also give you an idea of how to get the viral into that community. Your industry is certain to have prominent bloggers or influential press. Look at the different forums within that community and research their rules on posting.

After you have laid down your plans, you will need to work to get your viral out to the community. The good news is, all of this adds to your search engine optimisation efforts. It is a good idea to talk to your SEO company for advice on virals, and you can consult our experts at SEO Consult. Garnering attention for a small viral is in some ways like getting attention for your site itself. It takes a little patience and participation, but will pay off in time.

Get Involved