Last week we defined it. This week we’ll explore what ingredients are needed to make a viral marketing campaign work. The right mindset: It sounds great in theory, but relinquishing control over an aspect of a marketing campaign is not always easy. It is all good until the first customer lobs a criticism or you end up on the news because someone thinks your idea is subversive. It takes a thick skin to utilize viral marketing. Courage: Viral marketing quickly takes on a life of its own. It is like releasing a butterfly. Once you open the cage, it is not likely you’ll get the butterfly to return. It is always an interesting ride, but it’s rarely a smooth one. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of a viral campaign and having a CEO get cold feet and try to reel it back in. That can destroy the campaign and create a public relations nightmare. Time: You are not in control of viral campaigns. Sometimes they launch like a rocket, but more often they take days or months to build momentum. So if you are in a hurry, you’ll need to either design the campaign for a short turnaround or not dabble in viral marketing this time. A gambler’s spirit: Viral marketing comes with no guarantees. Even the best ideas can fall flat. Or take a course you had not anticipated. There is no “pay for play” here. It is more like a spin of the roulette wheel. A willingness to be a maverick: Remember, the one thing that will sink a viral campaign faster than anything else is being predictable or just like everyone else. You have to be ready to do things as they have not been done in the past. Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2007 Drew McLellan