When you hear the term “viral marketing”, you probably don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. That is, unless you know the history of how it began and the incredible story of what it’s become.
For internet marketers and business owners alike, viral marketing has not only woven its way into the advertising and marketing culture of modern-day success stories, but it is quickly becoming as necessary as billboards, newsletters and direct mail campaigns were just a decade ago. In fact, some may argue, it has already surpassed these archaic forms of marketing and is now the single most cost-effective, reliable and strategic way to share information while gaining customers through an approach that truly offers the most bang for your buck.
So how did this technologically-driven marketing approach get its start? One word – Hotmail. Thanks to Hotmail, the first among free web-based email service providers, viral marketing has taken on a life of its own.
When Hotmail first began, they decided that the best way to entice new customers would be to reach the friends, family and colleagues of each user they had. So, in the footer of each and every email that was sent from a Hotmail account, the Hotmail team placed a link that read something like this: “Want a free email account? Sign-up for Hotmail today!” And yes, believe it or not, this strategy went, as we know call it, viral. Hundreds of thousands of users hurriedly signed up for their free email accounts and the rest is history.
That Hotmail model is the foundation for the viral marketing we are familiar with today. From Facebook, to Twitter, to YouTube and LinkedIn, viral marketing takes many shapes and forms. It can vary in approach and evolve within each format, but the bottom line is to share information and do so on a large-scale – for free. Rather than spend thousands on expensive advertising campaigns, businesses (both large and small) have come to recognize viral marketing as a cost-effective way to not only get their message across, but to increase sales and improve business overall. It truly is a phenomenon that continues to gain momentum.
And the more businesses that recognize viral marketing as an acceptable and reliable form of marketing, the more intriguing this approach becomes. Why? Because more and more people and businesses are joining the conversation. More and more we are seeing the positive effects of viral marketing and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
While Hotmail has suffered the consequences of major competition, they are still an important player in the email game, and an extremely influential model in the world of internet marketing. As the grandfather of viral marketing, Hotmail will forever be recognized as the service that started it all. Thanks to them, we have all been bitten by the viral marketing bug and our businesses are better for.
whcenter
aiai-51
seasidedata
monadnocklocal
holsingerscharlottesville
mune9n
onlyinark
christiannkoepke
vibes-only
energeiaplus
45
dgsworld
rlosrubio
pokato
safeboatingamerica
wixdns
iselect
thisitaliankitchen
kentaylor
nleworks
jadebeall
activepitch
nestle
onlineregistration
sudutdesa
clickresult
bonpuf
gresficufu
atomgood
fiatprofessional
schizophreniaforum
txssw
internetbokningen
serc
yenc
touch4health
724dinle
54gene
shzgf
gimmychina
gratowin
barangpadu
172
rirasup
matrixdesign
modernaweb
circlemedical
disneymusicpublishing
haidingls
thewvsr
cdxfmf
lawandtheworkplace
lacitadelle
xiaomaigongkao
klientiks
kfsbutik
whereisthenomad
united-internet-for-unicef-stiftung
konpa
pioneer-rus
kinderaerzteschweiz
unmortgage
itswitch
betfrenago
greycroftpartners
della
kaji-navi
gruenspar
craggs-shoerepairs
smsgedragscode
theoriesofthethirdkind
justice
internetke
thienmochuong
thaifooddirect
occhosting
wolfberger
holtesdesign
digitalmarketingmastery
againstthecurrent
sumasearch
psyllium
hngcjs
w8r
ministrygrid
bubbys
sqw0
aiforpeople
akamsremoteconnect
ebamin
lamda
electaweb
promuovo
momentum
magnuscommunications
dehaan
loduale
fourcornersexpos
bingfu
uni
zhifuwang
aerztefueraufklaerung
zhihuiji
andreasgregor
brunata
densipaper
krisechinebclovtu
allgaeu-orient
mytraffic
stanwith
baiduzzc
hauptstadtsport
whmsh
audiyou
conservice
caliburnmicro
hillingdontimes
segert-icons
z-bau
scanmyphotos
io
roofcalc
pressharbor
moodynolan
mygreencloset
ctas-coach-trainer-pool
400key
chenghongplay
ameryaran
christienmeindertsma
bentang
nathanieljames
mironet
terrafermamedia
xosomb68
cargonaut
dstewart
cnmeiw
informationdiet
moderne-landwirtschaft
liveadvice
clydeandavonvalley
ufabet999999999
smartmatchapp
azubicard
xsjsj
hbakrf
agrdigital
breadnbutterconcepts
fourpointsniagarafallsfallsview
town
touscontribuables
cupscalgary
4-c
py16-ab
identityv
fly
patrimoine-lyon
celere
top3x
car-ins
ting-shop
coverprotocol
bitcointechtalk
cadal
hereforth
peertube
wi-problemgamblers
b2bdecisionlabs
polkboom
postboxservices
c-n-r
juliachildfoundation
codexisuno
e1988
ebnhc
hdca
portrait-my-pet
lasershowpro
festival-interceltique
brandchamp
kere-architecture
filesland
thegenuineleather
javascript
shxdzj
tian-su
kocka-dev
ajwashroom
ruhrlink
shangbiaocheng
socialmediahound
przyrodniczeazyle
cryptocontrol
skisnowcreek
publicsearch
zgppny
cpssoft
onloan
cotefarma
fundacjalotto
overdope
hasadna
crowdform
haujournal
gdesen
actionpaper
objectcode
ieeemce
elezioni-europee
saarlb
stonemarket
arghlabs
marieclaire
globalsign
gardenresearch
leipropoltiri
listo
listaweb
topbranded
skylog
hermit-media
careables
relatable
radiantmarketingsolutions
brighterbites
knowledgeforgrowth
raslider
grabrooms
conildelafrontera
houmar
myownfreehost
clfcard
lvvp
afsys
giardinihanbury
chakbocorxitiloss
affop
book-of-dead-echtgeld
magicoflife
yn119
regoproducts
voetreflex-info
glavmatures
