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Viral Thinking – a “Viral Marketing Toolkit” is my ebook about how to maximize the potential for viral spread. Creating something that is viral is sometimes the goal, but it is not easy. In this ebook I have tried to cover the areas you can work with to improve the odds.

You could call it a “viral marketing toolkit”. However, just increasing the spread improves the ROI, even if it doesn’t go viral. So, my hope and belief is that it is helpful for anyone who works within marketing, PR or communications, whether online or offline.

I would like to thank the people who have generously helped me with feedback on this text and made it a lot better.

In alphabetical order: Valerio Franco (doublebblog.it), Anton Johansson (antonjohansson.com), Henrik Johansson (theviralcompany.com), Daniel Mencák (danielmencak.se), Patrick Möller (flavors.me/patrickmoeller), Cédric Rainotte (bwat.be), Niclas Strandh (digitalpr.se) Pere Tufet (tonterias.com) and Emmanuel Vivier (emmanuelvivier.com).

And of course, if you have feedback to give, do not hesitate to send me an email on kristofermencak[at]gmail[dot]com.

I hope you enjoy it!

And feel free to pass it on!

Not all companies can build their business on viral successes like the ones BlendTec has experienced with Will It Blend. Believing you can create something viral is pretty optimistic. However, I do believe there are tools you can use to make it more possible. I do think you can optimize for it, and that’s why I write posts like 12 viral content triggers, Some help with the viral loop and Network effects, game mechanics and stickiness.

But, something that might be even more important is how to use this thinking in the shift that is taking place today, where marketers have to fight for attention in a fragmented media landscape, on the user’s terms. Optimizing for spread becomes more and more important. I agree to what Niclas Strand writes in All marknadskommunikation är viral (in Swedish). Today, whether the goal is to create something viral or not, marketers need to understand a new way to work – and that is to participate and create content that is worthy of conversations. Content needs to involve and engage the consumers. And it must be easy to pass it on.

I believe “viral thinking” is important for any marketing efforts, in an online world as well as offline, through word of mouth. Creating and participating in conversations is fundamental for brands and businesses today. And that is why we need to optimize campaigns and use the same tools we use when trying to create something viral.

To illustrate why, let’s look at some numbers:

Say you manage to reach 100 000 people with a campaign that no one passes on.

What happens if the content actually makes people pass it on? Say someone who receives it passes it on to, on average 0.25 new people – that is, a basic reproductive number of 0.25. If this spread goes on, we multiply the previous number of people in the loop by the basic reproductive number, like so:

100 000 (first paid 100 000 people reached)
100 000 * 0.25 = 25 000
25 000 * 0.25 = 6 500
6 500 * 0.25 = 1 563
1563 * 0.25 = 391
391 * 0.25 = 98
98 * 0.25 = 24
24 * 0.25 = 6
6 * 0.25 = 1.5

As you can see, with every loop, the returns are decreasing. Adding it all up, we end up at 133 333 – a nice increase in effect by 33.3 %!

Performing the same calculation with a basic reproductive number of 0.5, with our example we would reach 200 000 – an extra 100 000. We get an increase in effect by 100 % – doubling the value of our money spent!

And, with a basic reproductive number of 0.75, we reach out to 400 000 people – an increase in effect by 300 %!

Yes, these numbers are hypothetical in the sense that there will be some saturation as the loop goes on.

And as Seth Godin writes:

The more people you reach the more likely it is that you’re reaching the wrong people.

So, there will be some saturation, you will reach some people who might not be interested (although I could argue that the ones who receive it from a friend might be even better targets), and it is not viral. But, looking at these numbers, the money is still much better spent!.That is why it is important to think about what can be done to incentivize people to pass the content on and make it really easy to do so, even if the result is not truly viral.

We already know it – everything communicates. But, it is great to see that businesses probably soon will start realizing this for real. One step towards this might be the “death of the brand manager“, leaving room for a “conversation manager”. Just like Tim writes, I don’t think job titles mean much either. But, I think the focus is shifting now, and changing titles might be one of the signs of this. Businesses start to realize that they have to know what conversations are going on, follow them and take part.

And I believe a next step in this would be looking after what conversations the company is actually creating. It is not only the press officer or CEO who “communicates”. Businesses need to think about what their “welcome letters” to new customers communicate? What does the returns policy communicate? What do their contact page on the site communicate?

Everything communicates, and there are so many different touch points to work with. Touch points that can be made into conversations, customer satisfaction and positive word of mouth. And one of the most important touch points is every person that is in contact with customers. So, there is a very good reason to make sure they all have authority and can take own actions which communicate what you want the company to communicate. In addition, it gives the company a conscience.

I believe that word of mouth has evolutionary origins. Put simply, the human race benefited from telling family and friends about where the best roots and berries could be found, where the year round waterhole was, or where the best hunting grounds were. In a way, something that goes viral can be seen as digital word of mouth. And thanks to the network effects of the Internet, the power of it is manifold. It can spread to in-numerous people in the blink of an eye, and all across the world. It has been freed from time and space.

Today, we don’t only share vital information about where to find resources, but also information that connects us to others. In a world where we don’t have time to keep up with all our “connections”, the act of passing something on is a very easy way to reconnect. It is a way to show that they are present in our minds. That is why we pass funny clips along, that’s why we update our status on Facebook or Twitter, and that’s maybe even why we press that little “like” button on Facebook. It’s a way to reconnect. It’s an act of recognition. It’s to say “I notice you”.

The origins of word of mouth
I believe word of mouth must have originated because of some evolutionary advantage. With a foundation in the rule of reciprocity, groups of humans that gave each other valuable tips about where to find food and shelter were able to survive and reproduce to a greater extent. People love to talk and give tips.

When society developed, and hunter/gatherers became farmers, the way to cultivate the land in the best way possible was also spread through word of mouth. And of course, people still hunted and gathered, as well as learnt how to build shelter from each other.

Markets are conversations
Development continued, and a new era for word of mouth came as farmers started to be able to produce more, and sell it on the market. We all know that markets are conversations. Word of mouth spread about who produced and sold the best corn, wheat, apples or what have you. Service also started to become important for the people working in the market. Another dimension was adde to word of mouth.

A world of abundance and marketing
As technological development moved faster and faster, and specialization moved us into the industrial revolution, we entered a world of abundance. We got more and more different products solving the same problem, with marketing becoming increasingly important. During the golden days for TV, word of mouth was still important, but the TV-medium, filled with advertising, could probably maintain a bad product on the market longer than before. If you had money, you could market your way to success.

The digital revolution
Then came the digital revolution. Word of mouth got rid of the chains called time and space. Powered by the Internet, word of mouth went viral. A positive review, posted in Australia could be read seconds later, in the US. The same for negative reviews, of course. Both positive and negative word of mouth could reach more people faster.

Word of mouth – from qualitative to quantitative
But word of mouth is becoming increasingly important not just because it is possible to reach much more people now. The most recent developments are that word of mouth is no longer just single individuals saying something about a product, that we then have to value and judge to make up our mind about the product.

Now word of mouth is also increasingly produced in an aggregated format, computing what people think about a product or service on average. Amazon.com (Amazon is just one example) gives us access to an almost unimaginable number of ratings.

Word of mouth is no longer just qualitative information. It is also quantitative. And I love it. I very rarely buy a book from Amazon if it doesn’t have at least 5 ratings and an average of 4 stars or above. That’s my first filter. If I want to dig deeper, I read the reviews, the qualitative information.

Customer satisfaction and evolution
I guess most companies that provide great products or services, that have happy customers, are happy too about this development. Providing great customer service is just one example of how to get positive word of mouth.

The ones that don’t provide great products or services will have a hard time, and will probably have to evolve or become extinct. So, speed up evolution!

It is interesting to see how different rules within businesses shape the way people within them behave. It is even more interesting to see how what these result in over time.

Even though they might have a short term benefit, rules and incentives can hinder a business on a longer perspective. The boundaries an employee has to keep within, the reward systems and internal goals (within customer service for example x number of calls per hour) are not in accordance with higher level goals. It is very hard to provide “world class service” if you have strict rules on what you are allowed to do and what not and can do it only within, say six minutes, if not less.

What a business measures, evaluates and rewards influences…
… how employees act, which influences…
… how clients are treated, which influences…
… how satisfied customers are, which influences…
… how positive they become towards the business, which influences…
… how likely they are to spread positive word of mouth, which influences…
… how well the business will do in the future.

So, what is measured and evaluated within a business is extremely influential on how people act. If you are not rewarded for solving problems, the business will never be able to provide world class service. If you only get x minutes per customer, independently on whether you solve the problem or not, it gets even harder to reach that goal.

The culture within the business is very important for how employees behave, and it is often created by explicit rules within the business, like evaluations and reward systems.

With social media’s leverage effect on word of mouth (both positive and negative) it is now even more important to measure, evaluate and reward the right things – the things that over time can increase word of mouth.These are tough times for many businesses. Word of mouth costs nothing in media buying. But, it still requires efforts and investments to get this “free” marketing. Are you measuring the right things?

It’s not rocket science, but it’s worth thinking about it even more when costs are in focus.

I just read a post on the Brains on Fire blog – When is it a movement? – where Spike asks Geno this very question. Geno’s reply:

“A movement starts with the first conversation.”

That means that it is the first person, which means that it could be anyone – influential or average Joe doesn’t matter. Spike continues:

“If that conversation is filled with honesty, transparency, true interest and a LOT of listening, then the first seed is planted. The movement has begun in one mind and one heart. And that’s usually the beginning of something powerful, meaningful and full of potential that gets realized more every day.”

I agree.

But why start that first conversation? I think we’re dealing with passion here. And to get someone to feel passionate about something a company has created, and spark that first conversation, it has to be remarkable. Now we’re in Seth Godin-land. I recommend reading his book Purple Cow, or reading an excerpt here. As he says, “remarkable things get remarked about”.

A campaign can boost awareness of a product or brand. It can generate sales. But in the end, campaigns come and go.

Movements, driven by passion, are long term. They can carry a brand forward, and are always based on a great product or service.

Activities to boost word of mouth just work as leverage – speeding things up. People get to know about the product earlier, communities can form and conversations more easily take place if there are arenas created for it. For products or services that are not so great, activities to boost word of mouth also speed things up.. .. but it goes downhill. The word spreads, and negative word of mouth often spreads even faster than positive.

There is no substitute for a great product or service to get sustainable word of mouth. None.