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Are you ready to go viral? Do you have what it takes to be viral? Viral marketing are hot buzzwords used today to describe marketing that isn’t paid for by a business. Last December 2014, a list of the hottest viral marketing events were named starting with the Old Spice video ad that came out in 2010 and generated more than 49.5 million views. Another amazing example is the LG ad on its new IPS monitors launched in 2012 and generated 22.9 million videos on YouTube with its elevator prank that made it appear that the elevator floor was falling away. This strategy was the inspiration for another hallmark video on the Red Bull channel which garnered 37.4 million views. Then, of course, there is the Ice Bucket challenge that became a global phenomenon and drew attention to the issue on ALS.

Your Viral Marketing Strategy: How Should You Approach This

The dream remains the same for all app developers and creators: to launch an app that millions would want to have. The fastest way for that to happen is for those who get it first to turn around and issue shout-outs about it to their network who do the same until your app becomes the new buzzword.

P.S.: It’s not Word of Mouth Marketing

Before anything else, it is important to differentiate a viral marketing strategy from a word of mouth marketing plan. Viral marketing is “word of mouth enabled” according to Dave Balter , the founder of BzzAgent. He adds that viral marketing usually takes the form of video or email messages while word of mouth is opinion-sharing.

For a viral marketing strategy to be successful , it is recommended that you aim for a viral loop which will require app users to run to people they know to help them out in using the app. An example would be a game that requires the occasional help from friends to move forward in a game or to get extra lives in order to continue playing. Creating a viral loop for your mobile app will make your app more competitive, fun, and social-oriented. You can use the following strategy for your viral loop:

• Getting into the viral loop. For users to be a part of a viral loop, they have to find a friendly entry point that isn’t cumbersome to go through. And for users to want to stay in the viral loop, you have to make sure the app is easy to integrate, the content is appealing, and the app is fully responsive.

• Making it easy to use and share will eliminate fall-out. If there is one thing the Internet has taught users it is that there is always another option. Thus, it is very easy to lose users if the procedure for using and sharing your mobile app is too complex and drawn-out.

• Offer incentives or a reward system for sharing. User of mobile app have to see value in doing something for the app otherwise they won’t want to spend time sharing and may eventually drop the app for something better.

• Cater to your target market which should keep your marketing and content crisp and concise. You can do this by integrated related content or tag relevant communities that add value to your app. Avoid trying to keep up with a mish-mash of trends since it can confuse your app users and cause them to lose interest in the app.

Finally, any strategy needs data to measure its success or failure. It needs analytics and a proven formula like N x P1 x P2 = VC wherein N stands for the average number of users that come in because of an invite, P1 refers to those who are invited who sign up to be users, P2 refers to active users who like to share the app, and VC refers to the success of your viral loop. Aim for a VC that is higher than 1 as anything less means stagnant or zero growth.