There Is A Down Side To Viral Marketing

Writing by Brick Marketing on Saturday, 23 of August , 2008 at 9:38 pm

Viral marketing is one of the flavors of the month at SES San Jose. The subject has been covered on many blogs over the last twelve months or more with many ‘how to’ type posts. When it comes to viral marketing, however, it is not all rosy; there are several negatives.

Viral Marketing Is Hit and Miss:
You can put a lot of time an effort into planning a viral marketing campaign only to see it fail and not cause a whimper let alone a storm.

Viral Marketing Has No Control Measures:
Once a viral marketing campaign takes off there is no control. Generally speaking, you cannot control which direction it goes, what people are going to say and what ultimate effect it has on your business.

Viral Marketing Can Go Negative:
As you have no control over the direction and discussions that may take place, you need a good reputation management program in place. Google Alerts may not be enough as these often arrive too late. With a good reputation management strategy in place you can defuse any issues before they get out of hand.

Viral marketing, when it works, can be a real bonus to any business. When it goes wrong, it can cause a lot of stress and much longer to reverse. Before planning to start a viral marketing campaign, be sure you have plans in place to handle the negatives as well.

                      Category: Viral Marketing