We all love the idea of viral marketing. The big splash that gets thousands upon thousands of hits, that creates ‘buzz’, and that people talk about.  But how much of that really converts into sales, or even sustainable brand enhancement?  As with much of marketing, it is ‘hard to say exactly’.

Think about your own experiences with viral marketing. How much of it actually moved you to a purchase? Sure, you might have forwarded the marketing material (usually video) along to someone else, but did you buy something? Is it enough that you just enjoyed it (brand association)?

Combining potentially viral content with more directive targeting of populations is a way to up the ante in terms of conversion. The Journal of Marketing published an article out of Germany last year with some interesting observations on how to measure and how to connect viral marketing with action (see Hinz, Skiera, Barrot, Becker – Seeding Strategies for Viral Marketing) that suggests reconsidering how we think about the data that is available to us when we drop content.  Some of what they suggest feels like a step too far, but so did using Caller ID at one time not so long ago….  Fair warning, the article reads like a compressed dissertation, so recognize that the technicalities they discuss are important, but the conclusions are probably of the most interest.