The Application of Social Networking as a Marketing Platform to Young Adults - Adoption, Usage, and Global Impact of Broadband Technologies - page 194

increasing return on investment to the company
(Kirby, 2004).
Thirdly, using social networking to break com-
pany hierarchies and truly connect with customers
seems to be smart business practice. Here, em-
bracing the blogosphere may allow the company
an opportunity to effectively utilize the online
environment to create interactive relationships
with its customers. The two fundamental points
that differentiate blogging from mainstream media
are that it is firstly a consumer generated form of
communication and secondly, readers of blogs are
seeking and expect to find objective conversations
(Corry & Mundell, 2006). For such reasons, most
consumers appear to trust the information found
on blogs as the opinions and information given
are generally not influenced by a bias towards
promoting a specific product or point of view.
An increasing trend has been shown towards
consumers utilising blogs to supplement product
information found on corporate websites (ibid).
Somewhat strangely, companies have now
taken the next step and developed their own corpo-
rate blogs. Here, executives record their thoughts,
opinions and observations on general business
issues as well as matters relating to their specific
company (Corry & Mundell, 2006). However, in
the creation of a company blog, it is crucial that
the creators retain a degree of freedom in what
they are producing. Here, it is recommended that
a company position the content of the blog in a
direction that captures readers' interest, such as
providing an appropriate blend of entertainment
and controversy (ibid).

to account for heightened sales as well as providing
the catalyst for positive WOM about the product/
brand (Sarah Manners, Quirk E-Marketing).
In the attempt to promote consumer communi-
cation of a product, marketers need to distinguish
between which factors stimulate product memo-
rability and which do not. Marketers refer to this
as the “stickiness” effect. In the viral marketing
context, this is what spurs consumers to pass along
viral information (Welker, 2002). Another aspect
of successful viral marketing concentrates not on
incubating a message, but rather on spreading it. In
other words, the viral message has to be contagious
(Brier, 2005) and in turn should be used to gauge
the effectiveness of a viral marketing campaign.
There are four ' Questions of Contagiousness '
which are essential in determining the level of
contagiousness pre-implementation:
Did you heed the connectors? There are mil-
lions of consumers out there writing blogs, tell-
ing marketers exactly what they like and don't
like and sharing their personal opinions with the
world. Other consumers listen to these people
who love to be at the forefront of any opinionated
discussion. Therefore it is up to the marketer to
find these consumers, listen to them, engage them
and let them help you by becoming co-marketers
(Brier, 2005).
Did you ask people you know? It is vital that
marketers test their approach on people that they
know, ask them what they think and most impor-
tantly see if they would be willing to pass on the
message. As previously discussed, the more of a
connector they are the more valuable their opinion.
This demonstrates the strength of viral marketing
- potential carriers (co-marketers) are not hard to
find, they are all around us (Brier, 2005).
Is it honest? Nothing spreads faster and is
more damaging to a marketing campaign than
bad publicity. Therefore this question enforces
the focus on being honest and up-front with
consumers. This is because if you are pretending
to be something you are not and you get caught,
that negative publicity can be just as contagious

Perpetuating the Infectiousness

The quickest and most effective way to create
new product awareness is to create “buzz” about
the product amongst the target audience (Angela
Banks, Unilever). Buzz, a term typically used by
industry professionals, describes the excitement
accompanied with the release of new brands or
products as well as price discounts. Buzz is thought