In the late 1990s, Hotmail.com pioneered an effective online marketing campaign that later came to be known as viral marketing.  By including a link advertising their services at the bottom of all Hotmail messages, every user of the e-mail service became a participant in the Hotmail marketing strategy.  Such guerilla marketing strategies are a great way to spread the word about your business, reach out to a wider audience, and take advantage of online social networks.  When used effectively, viral marketing can produce dramatic results at a low cost.  The following tips offer a glimpse at some of the best guerilla marketing tactics you can use to promote your business online.

Motivate Your Customers with Guerilla Marketing
One of the keys to succeeding in viral marketing is to motivate and inspire potential customers to take action.  Successful guerilla marketing campaigns get customers to contact your business and purchase your product or service.  How can you encourage customers to respond to your message?  By using calls to action, your audience will feel compelled to seek out your business.  Calls to action ask users to take some additional step that will benefit them in some way.

Build Word of Mouth with Social Marketing
Social marketing can be a highly effective way to promote your business.  Blogs and social networking websites are great tools for reaching out directly to your audience.  Note how many musicians, television networks, and movie studios utilize Myspace blogs to promote new albums, programs, and films.

How can you use a blog in your viral marketing campaign?  Start a business blog to discuss your company and your industry and become an active participant in the blog community.  Post meaningful and information-packed comments on related blogs with a link back to your own sites.  By becoming an active blogger, you can generate buzz and incoming traffic from other bloggers.

Networking
Thinking of your business in isolation can hurt your marketing strategy.  Your business is part of a community and so are your customers.  By reaching out to other businesses and people in your industry, you can dramatically increase the profile of your company.  Working with other companies that complement your own can lead to valuable cross-promotions and help make your business a more valuable resource for customers.

Think Outside the Box
Creativity is the key to successful viral marketing campaigns.  This is your chance to express your imagination and personal vision for your business.  Set yourself apart from the competition by being unique and compelling.  Don’t just fall back on the same old marketing strategies that everybody else is using.  Effective guerilla marketing campaigns draw attention by offering the unexpected.

Stay in Touch with Your Customers
Newsletters and RSS feeds are great viral marketing tools that ensure your audience always has access to the latest updates and news about your business.  E-mail newsletters are easy to create and can help guide past customers back to your website.  Real Simple Syndication (RSS) lets your readers subscribe to your site and track new articles, promotions, and blog posts.  RSS feeds can also be displayed on other websites that are interested in your business, which can greatly increase your audience size.

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