Viral Mapping

by John R. SedivycloseAuthor: John R. Sedivy Name: John R. Sedivy
Email: john@capecodbranding.com
Site: http://www.capecodbranding.com
About: See Authors Posts (216)

Introduction
Recently I ran across an item through my professional network called a viral map. This led me to look into what exactly this was and if it was worth pursuing for our blogging efforts. This article will define a viral map, as well as the concept of viral marketing, as well as provide a history of this concept. Finally, I will inform you as to why viral marketing and in particular viral mapping is of value to you and worth pursuing for your blog or website.

Viral Marketing

Viral mapping has it’s roots in viral marketing which is defined by Wikipedia as “marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses.” One example of viral marketing is the spread of information by word-of-mouth which is accelerated by use of social media tools such as Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter. The basic premise behind viral marketing is that word-of-mouth regarding a product or service spreads fast, the speed and ease of use of the Internet allows for word-of-mouth to spread much, much faster. Viral marketing receives it’s name from being likened to its fast spreading nature among a social network similar to a virus.

History Of Viral Marketing
Viral marketing is a relatively recent concept; here is a brief history as provided by Wikipedia:

1. 1994: Douglas Rushkoff releases book titled Media Virus.
2. December 1996: “Virtual Marketing” coined by Harvard Business School professor, Jeffrey Rayport in a Fast Company article titled “The Virus of Marketing”; this an excellent article and worth reading for anyone interested in the subject.
3. 2004: Bob Gerstley writes about identifying people with high social networking potential – concept of Alpha User released; algorithms able to target key members who are able to spread the word the fastest concerning a marketed product or service

It appears that there is some debate as to the future of viral marketing; some believe it is unsustainable, while others believe that with the advent and popularity of social media, which is expected to grow in the future that  viral marketing has a bright future ripe with possibilities. I personally am of the latter mindset, for that reason I am planning on researching viral marketing more and develop and maintain a viral map for Cape Cod Branding and implement it as a key part of our strategy. I will discuss viral maps later in this article.

Although it is said that viral marketing is not self-replicating, meaning it cannot sustain itself, there is a concept called the viral expansion loop which is meant to pick up where viral marketing leaves off. The viral expansion loop is meant to be self-replicating and is being attempted by social networking sites and if achieved theoretically would mean the existence of such sites indefinitely. Further explanation of this concept is beyond the scope of this article, just know that viral expansion loops exist and they are meant to augment viral marketing. I hope to address this subject as part of a later article.

Viral Marketing Example
Last week I had traded a few e-mails with one of my Linkedin contacts Patricia Filomeno Hunter. I met Patty through the Art Marketing group on Linkedin, my association of which is based on the design aspect of Cape Cod Branding. During our conversation she had forwarded a website which contained a diagram titled “The Brickfish Viral Map”. Brickfish is a website which “lets you create videos, blogs, and photos while engaging with your favorite brands and share them across the Internet for a chance to win recognition and rewards”. Patty is using Brickfish to promote her artwork which is where I stumbled upon the viral map. To check out the viral map and Patty’s artwork, click here.

[Begin update 2/1/09  - According to Becky Carroll of Brickfish, the Brickfish Viral Map "maps out all the places a Brickfish member has posted their entry on the Internet. For example, looking at Patty's viral map, she has posted her most recent artwork on Facebook, Live, hi5, as well as a few other social media sites. So, it maps where links OUT are rather than the links IN.  We track viral maps by entry (like Patty's) and also for an entire campaign." - End update 2/1/09]

Also, an example of Patty’s artwork is being featured on Brickfish which allows users to vote. To check out Patty’s art and vote click here. By the way, this is an example of viral marketing. As Patty and I met on a Linkedin marketing group we had a mutual interest which expanded to Facebook thus strengthening the social networking connection. Patty’s use of social media tools to promote her artwork led me to visit the site, cast my vote and accidentally stumble upon the Brickfish Viral Map which in turn led to a new strategy for Cape Cod Branding. In turn, I am writing this article and informing others of her artwork which will essentially spread the word at a faster rate, and the cycle will continue to others. This is in essence viral marketing, now on to viral maps.

Viral Maps
When I first came across the Brickfish Viral Map I was fascinated, the concept of visually representing the relationship of the Brickfish website’s [outgoing] traffic sources. Although to some extent all web developers with a blog or website do this, it was the first time that I had seen the concept committed visually. This makes perfect sense – as an engineer in my past life, when confronted with something complex that is not readily visible one of the first things I would do is diagram it,  or in other words draw a picture of how it operates.

Here are just a few advantages of illustrating your web traffic sources by use of a viral map:

1. Increased understanding of the environment in which you operate
2. Communication of your strategy within and outside of your company
3. The ability to make changes and quickly view the results of these changes

Of course for this to work you must not only document your current traffic sources, but also maintain it over time or you will be working with outdated information. The only disadvantage I can think of for doing a viral map for your website or blog is that it will take time to develop and update. My guess is that the time and effort will be worthwhile, but as with everything else I will document as we go along and confirm this.

CCB Viral Map
[Begin update 2/1/09 - Cape Cod Branding is using this concept as a basis to elaborate and focus on increasing incoming traffic and a method of determining we are targeting and receiving the right kind of traffic. The CCB viral map will serve as the basis for this strategy. - End update 2/1/09.]. See Figure 1 for the Cape Cod Branding, or CCB viral map.

Figure 1. CCB Viral Map

I will address each item in the CCB Viral Map in greater detail:

1. CCB: Cape Cod Branding: The middle circle represents Cape Cod Branding, specifically this blog, CCBbuzz. The arrows are depicting visitors coming to our blog from outside sources representing arrows originating from the outside circles to CCB. Bi-directional arrows represent visitors referred from CCBbuzz.
2. Social Media: CCBbuzz uses an aggressive social networking strategy based on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. Refer to Social Media Part I, Part II, and Part III for information as to why we specifically chose these social networking sites. The diagram shows that we are receiving visitors from each of these sites based on our continued presence there.
3. Referrals: This represents a website which maintains CCBbuzz on their blogroll. To the best our knowledge we are maintained on one website’s blogroll which is cofebuz. Based on the mutual subject matter we share with cofebuz we maintain cofebuz on our blogroll and therefore send that site visitors and CCBbuzz is located on the cofebuz blogroll who sends us visitors as well.
4. Internal: This refers to internal actions that we take to bring more traffic to our website which is not covered by the other categories. One such action is that of trackbacks. We generally tend to attempt to visit other blogs on a regular basis and participate in discussions relevant to CCBbuzz which ultimately leaves a trackback to our website and builds credibility by demonstrating mastery of relevant subject matter. Established links are provided within CCBbuzz in order to provide our readers with direct links to relevant material that is referenced in our blog. On occasion we have received traffic from these links as well as other opportunities.
5. Content Management System (CMS): Sites such as digg, flickr, StumbleUpon, and Technorati offer a convenient means of storing media content such as sample work files, videos, etc. in order to share with the online community. We have established accounts with each site and where relevant, store sample work or media files. We plan on writing a series of articles addressing each in greater detail in the near future. Although I am unsure if CMS is the appropriate term for this category, it matches the function performed by these sites so for the time being it will be an appropriate placeholder until I hear otherwise.

The CCB Viral Map is a living document that will evolve over time as our company evolves. We will continue to update and provide additional information as it becomes available to us. I plan on providing periodic updates as time progresses in the form of new articles focusing on our viral mapping strategy.

A Complicated Relationship
The CCB Viral Map is a snapshot of our traffic sources for only two months of our existence. As you can imagine this can get complicated very quickly, and therefore it is essential to maintaining order and determining your strategy in the online community let alone just keeping things straight. My recommendation is that you develop your own viral map for your blog and base your strategy upon it as well. Although it takes time to develop it will give you a sense of where you are and at least make you consider where you are going.

Viral mapping is essential to determining where you are and where you want to go in the online community!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

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