What Is Ideavirus?

Do You know how a single person sneezes and everyone around them starts coughing? Well, that's an Ideavirus. An idea is so good that it makes you want to do the same thing. It's like an infection that spreads quickly through networks like the Internet and grows within a target population. And it usually comes from a single person. Marketer Seth Godin coined the term Ideavirus in his book "Unleashing the Ideavirus." Like a virus, an Ideavirus infects and changes every individual it touches, even in a minimal way. The outcome of this infection may not be noticeable, or it can lead to the creation of new products or companies. With each person influenced, the idea is interpreted, modified and often improved before it is passed on. One of the most favored methods of marketing is viral marketing. It's a way to spread ideas through the Internet and is more effective than traditional advertising. The idea behind viral marketing is that you don't have to do anything but create a good idea and let it spread on its own you don't have to pay for ads or get people involved in your campaign—you make something they'll want to share with their friends and then sit back and watch it take off like wildfire. It's like waiting for lightning to strike or for a baby to be born: You don't know what will happen, but you can prepare yourself for the best outcome possible. Viral marketing is like a virus. It spreads fast and is highly contagious but does not make you sick. Viral marketing relies on an Ideavirus about a product or service. An Ideavirus is a concept that spreads from one person to another through word-of-mouth and social media. Social media has made spreading an Ideavirus much faster and more potent than before because it allows people to share their ideas with millions of others in minutes. For example, if someone posts an interesting video on YouTube, someone else will watch it and post it on Facebook or Twitter so that even more people can see it.