What is Viral Marketing & Referral Marketing?

Remember when you walked into a superstore and picked up a brand because you saw a video about it on WhatsApp? You received it from your brother or your friend at work. It was funny and cute. Now, your brain thinks that the logo and the brand name are familiar and everyone is talking about them. Though hard to believe, it is actually marketing that brought that advertisement to you. Major brands have chosen two different ways to market their products to you, viral marketing and referral marketing. Let’s talk about them in detail.

Viral Marketing:

Do you know that Xerox is actually a brand? Making a copy is what you mean when you say you need a Xerox. This is viral marketing; you see it everywhere you look and you hear about it from more than one source. Be it a funny advertisement, a meme, or a statement, we are wired to share it. If you want your product to go viral, let the consumers do that work. Make something so irresistible that people just want to keep passing it on. Once you create a chain, you start a domino and your skill is in creating something that lands with an impact.

Referral Marketing:

All of us book an Ola or an Uber to commute. Every smartphone user has downloaded the app and it is stored away for emergencies. If you carefully track it back to where it came from, you will know that a friend or a family member invited you to the app. They liked the service; it was safe and they wanted you to have the best. They also got a reward for it. Branding is one of the toughest things that a company needs to do. Especially when there is strong competition, it is a bullfight. The trick is to have people hear it from people they trust. Impeccable service and small rewards are all it takes.

Who comes up on top?

There is always a debate about which one of them is better. Viral marketing puts pressure on the creator, it can be controlled and monitored. Referral marketing, on the other hand, comes has a lot of elements, products and services need to be strong and flawless. But while viral marketing takes up a lot of time in coming up with the content and there is no way to make sure only your target market is reached. Referral marketing makes sure that only people who need it find it and it is done by simply doing your job right. Bottom-line, pick a path, and stick to it. It takes time, effort, and patience to succeed. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find out which glove fits you best.