Viral Loops

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:09:00 +0100

It is one of the most common things you hear about marketing as a new business owner. The best form of marketing is “word-of-mouth”. Customers like your product or service and are willing to recommend it to their friends.

It is also the most effective form of marketing. Once you have been recommended something via a friend you are much more likely to buy that product or use that service than if you saw a TV advertisement or online ad.

Online, this form of marketing has been exploited extremely effectively and put to great use giving some internet companies incredible growth in a short space of time.

This caught my eye in an article I read in an edition of Fast Company titled “Ning’s Infinite Ambition”. Ever since, I have not been able to forget about the concept, so thought I should share it on here. The term “Viral Expansion Loop” was quickly a trend in new Silicon Valley startups but little is said about it outside of the valley.

So, how is a “viral expansion loop” different to “viral marketing”?

It’s like taking the “word-of-mouth” that everyone loves and adding steroids. Creating a feature (or several features) that gets a user to recommend people they know to your site. By inviting it adds value and improves their experience of your website. Implemented well it almost guarantees a self-replicating growth: One user becomes two, then four, eight, to a million and beyond. These viral loops expand according to what is known as the Power Law Curve and can be predicted with great accuracy.

Internet companies like Facebook, YouTube, Google, Ning and eBay have all been using different types of viral loops to help grow their businesses quickly. Ever since reading about it I have been interested in learning and applying this. I recently read the book “Viral Loop: The Power of Pass It On” by Adam L.Penenberg and I recommend you get yourself a copy (pun intended!). Adam talks about how Viral Loops work in great detail. He also explains the different types of viral loops that are being used and also how easy it is to predict growth. Now it’s just applying it.

All you need first is a site that people love and want to share with people they know. Easy…right?!

Spotify: If The World - Guns n' Roses

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:54:00 +0100

Spotify: If The World - Guns n' Roses:

I heard this song during the credits of the film “Body of Lies”. Really like it. It’s from Guns n’ Roses’ album “Chinese Democracy”.

Spotify: Black & Blue - Miike Snow

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Spotify: Black & Blue - Miike Snow:

Loving this song - think it was used in a recent Sony TV Commercial - its got a real good warm vibe going on…

Mozartmatt

Viral Loops

Spotify: If The World - Guns n' Roses

Spotify: Black & Blue - Miike Snow