Viral marketing, while it sounds threatening, is actually a great way to build your brand while influencing prospective customers.  The term itself involves a unique or unusual message that is easily spread from one person to another.  With this in mind, how do you create a marketing campaign for your product or service that’s “contagious”?

1. Create a funny video - Videos are the hottest web technology, and a funny or clever way to include your product in one is a surefire recipe for success.  One great example of this is for the manufacturer of a high-end blender. 

   They’ve created several wildly popular “commercials” for their product called “Will it Blend?”  and take items such as broomsticks and cinderblocks to their powerful blender.  It’s amazing to watch and it gets spread from friends and family easily - helping spread the word about this powerful blender.

2. Create a useful tool - This could be a software program, an online web service or some other (preferably free) way to help spread the word about your product, while giving something useful away to your target audience. 

   One example of this happens at tax time in the U.S., with free federal tax filing as a promotion to buy the state tax software package.  This is especially attractive to people who wait until the last minute - so it’s a well-received relief for people who procrastinate on their taxes. 

3. Take an existing idea and make it unique - Everyone has seen advertising graphics like banners and buttons online.  But when Alex Tew, a 21 year old college student had the idea to sell slots of pixels on his home page for $1 each, he quickly made one million dollars and word spread to the press about his unique idea.  Now, the Million Dollar Homepage is a piece of Internet History, just like its creator had envisioned.

What can you do to give your own business a unique, useful or funny twist?  Try it out and let social networks like MySpace and Facebook know about it.  You’d be surprised at how fast word spreads on the ‘net.  Good luck!