Viral vs. Word of Mouth Marketing

“How to go viral? It’s the ultimate?hyper-growth?question that every beauty founder dreams of. Going viral is the pinnacle of word of mouth marketing.

However, many so-called “viral” sensations are not organic but artificially inflated through tactics like seeding with millions of emails or paid support, such as digital ads. It’s essential to recognize the darker side of social media influence, where likes, views, and followers can be bought and sold.

This article will delve deep into viral and word of mouth marketing for beauty brands. We’ll cover the following topics:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Chances of Going Viral?

2. Word of Mouth Marketing-The Alternative to Viral Marketing

3. Viral Marketing vs. Word of Mouth Marketing

???3.1 Speed of Spread: Overnight vs. Takes Time

???3.2 Deliberate vs. Unpredictable: Strategy, Campaigns & Fuel

???3.3 Single Channel or Initiative vs. Multiple Touchpoints for Speed of?Spread & Network Effects

???3.4 Unsustainable by Itself – Sustainable Solution: Which is Better for?Long-Term Success?

4. How to go Viral Maths

???4.1 Opt-In Rate

???4.2 Viral Coefficient

5. Steps to Create & Fuel Word of Mouth

???5.1 Core-community & conversation catalyst for word of mouth

???5.2 Channels & Initiatives for Word of Mouth

????a. Seed communities & groups

????b. Find & leverage ambassadors

????c. Create win-win partnerships with non-conflict beauty brands

????d. Emotionally resonant rewards program

????e. Brand community

????f. Channel partnerships

????g. Newsletter

?6. Summary

CHANCES OF GOING VIRAL

In 2014, Duncan J. Watts, a sociologist at Microsoft Research and the author of?“Everything is Obvious How Common Sense Fails Us,”?shared his thoughts on the topic at USC’s Annenberg Center. According to Watts, creating social epidemics through engineering is nothing but a fantasy we all aspire to achieve, yet we lack any evidence to support it.

The chances of going viral are one in a million, according to another 2016 Stanford study.

2.WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING-THE ALTERNATIVE

You can create buzz & advocacy with strategic word of mouth marketing initiatives around your brand.?According to a survey done in 2018 by?Convince & Convert?on US consumers, 83% of them claimed that a recommendation from a friend or a family member influences their purchasing decisions.

3. VIRAL VS. WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING

But what exactly is the difference between viral marketing and word of mouth marketing, and which approach is right for you??

3.1 Speed of Spread: Overnight vs. Takes Time

One of the primary differences between viral and word of mouth marketing is the speed of spread. Viral marketing is characterized by its ability to spread rapidly and achieve overnight success. On the other hand, buzz marketing takes time to build and relies on sustained efforts to generate interest over a more extended period.

3.2 Deliberate vs. Unpredictable: Strategy, Campaigns & Fuel

Another critical difference is the level of predictability. Viral marketing is often unpredictable and relies on a bit of luck or timing to take off. In contrast, word of mouth marketing is often more deliberate and involves carefully crafted strategies and campaigns to generate interest.

3.3 Single Channel or Initiative vs. Multiple Touchpoints for Speed of Spread & Network Effects

Another difference between viral and word of mouth marketing is the channels used to spread the message. Viral marketing often relies on a single channel or initiative, such as a social media post or a viral video, to spread the message. Word of mouth marketing, on the other hand, often uses multiple touchpoints and networks to spread the message quickly and effectively.

3.4 Unsustainable by Itself – Sustainable Solution: Which is Better for Long-Term Success?

While both viral and word of mouth marketing have the potential to generate significant attention and drive sales, it’s important to note that viral marketing may be unsustainable by itself and may require ongoing efforts to maintain momentum or might need work on conversions & loyalty. Word of mouth marketing, on the other hand, aims to create a sustainable solution that can continue to generate awareness, interest, conversions, and advocacy over time.

4. VIRAL MARKETING MATHEMATICS

To go viral,

Viral Coefficient>=1/Opt-in Rate

4.1 Opt-in rate=?

No. of people (aware of your brand) who refer/Total no. of people aware of your brand

4. 2 Viral Coeff.=

No. of people referred by those who opt-in

If the Opt-in rate =1, every aware person refers, so the viral coefficient>=1

-Problem with opt-in rate: Not every aware person refers

-Therefore, viral coefficient>=1/opt-in rate

Example:

-If one in five aware people refer, then opt-in rate =1/5

-So, the viral coefficient>=5 new people,

Everyone who does refer should refer at least five new people for your brand to go viral.

Whether for brand awareness or a particular marketing initiative, it is a challenge to achieve the above numbers.

And,

Since one in 100K campaigns goes viral, expecting a paid or a social movement to go viral could be a more dependable strategy. Plus, virality does not guarantee success though it can help immensely.

Either you go viral, or you manufacture virality. It is rare to manufacture virality, and there is luck involved.

But you can create word of mouth, and once it crosses a critical thresh hold, your brand can effectively go viral; it might not be overnight.?

5. STEPS TO CREATE & FUEL WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING

Instead of going viral overnight with one initiative, you can create a series of inter-connected initiatives and work on the maths of virality for each, thereby creating buzz. Over some time, after a certain threshold, your brand could reap similar but more effective and fundamental results for your business.

For example, In a 2018 interview with Glossy, Glossier’s President and COO, Henry Davis, stated that referrals have been a “massive driver” of growth for the brand and that word-of-mouth marketing has been one of the most effective ways of reaching new customers.

Finding a close-knit community and a relevant conversation catalyst is the core of creating word of mouth.

5.1 CORE: WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING

Find a Community

One example of a beauty brand targeting a specific community is Fenty Beauty, founded by Rihanna. It has gained popularity for its inclusive range of foundation shades that cater to a wide range of skin tones, including those often overlooked by other brands. Another brand, SheaMoisture, specializes in natural haircare products for Black women. By recognizing the unique needs and preferences of the African American community, these brands have created loyal customers and promoted diversity and inclusivity within the beauty industry.

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Create a Conversation Catalyst

A central idea that is most likely to be shared by one person from the community with multiple connections: members, friends, family members, group members, and interest followers. The goal is to spread & feed the funnel back for purchase & advocacy in one step.

e.g.,?Dove?emotionally transformed the brand and then created a master conversation catalyst: Real Beauty, with a series of derivative conversation pieces around what it means to be beautiful.

Since Dove had the coffers to spend money on advertising, it combined the power of money with a conversation catalyst and captured the market.

But, resource-constrained brands could make people their media by creating and fuelling a word of mouth campaign

You need to seed your conversation catalyst in your target community with capable tools and design and execute a collaborative experience for chosen channels.

5.2 CHANNELS & INITIATIVES-WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING

Here are six different channels/initiatives you can use to create word of mouth marketing for your beauty brand. When you combine more than one of these below initiatives or channels to create buzz, it becomes a part of your tribe strategy that yields 6x profitable super fans.

a. Seed communities & groups

Example:?Lush Cosmetics?

Community:?They have built a loyal following by promoting their commitment to natural and ethical products and activism on environmental and social issues alongside organizations working on ecological and social justice issues.?

Conversation Catalyst:?Annual “Charity Pot” program. Donate 100% of the proceeds from a specific product to the organizations championing causes.

Channel:?Their DTC business consumers + organizations focused on eco and social causes.

Collaborative Experience:?Campaigns and events such as “Charity Pot” organized & driven by Lush.

Capability:?Lush uses fundraising and donation tracking tools, and collaborates with grassroots organizations such as Rainforest Alliance, Animal Equality, Sea Shepherd, and 350. org. creates marketing materials such as posters, flyers, social media graphics, videos & a dedicated page on the site, and has a team dedicated to managing and promoting the program and its impact.

The program has raised over?$56 million?since 2007, per its website, and donated to various organizations, increasing Lush’s credibility and reputation as a socially responsible brand.?

For the other 5 channels/initiatives for word of mouth marketing, read the full article here: https://jumpaccelerator.com/viral-marketing-or-word-of-mouth-marketing/

SUMMARY

Every beauty brand wants to do viral marketing, but?going viral is a rarity, unpredictable, and often seeded with an insane amount of money and effort.

To go viral, your?opt-in rate:?people opting into promoting your brand/campaign?should ideally be 1;?otherwise, the?viral coefficient, the number of people buzzed by one person who opts in>=1/opt-in rate.

The above is a challenging task in one stroke or campaign.

Instead, you can focus on buzz or?word of mouth?marketing for your beauty brand. Word of mouth is slower and requires a multi-channel and initiatives approach but a much?more predictable and sustainable solution versus expecting to go viral.

To create word of mouth marketing, your beauty brand needs to identify a community and a conversation catalyst for the same and then leverage multiple initiatives to achieve buzz for conversions, loyalty, and advocacy.

Some of the?initiatives?include

-Brand Community

-Brand Partnerships

-Emotionally Transformed Rewards Program

-Brand Ambassador Program

-Seeding Groups

-Channel Partnerships

In addition to identifying a group with a suitable conversation catalyst, your beauty brand needs to create a collaborative experience with the tools to execute the program.

Have you?considered an alternative to super-expensive advertisements?but one that is?pure fundamental and converts the bottom of the funnel for sales, loyalty, and advocacy while driving more word of mouth?for your beauty brand?

Apply here?for a discovery call to see how your beauty brand can benefit from creating word of mouth marketing with a tribe strategy!?

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