1. Viral Loop: How to reach from
0 to 1 million users?
Your Business. Discovered.
Adrian Teh, Feb 2012
Copyright © Leanis Solutions Sdn Bhd
www.leanis.com.my | enquiry@leanis.com.my

2. The ultimate goal of every website or application
is to increase user base from zero to millions
Too many information. So easy and simple Absolute
It’s so useful
What’s the focus? to use convenience
There’s a better
one
I’m confused
Nothing
special
Boring!!
Not useful at all How ?
Not again Where’s
everybody
Too hard to
read What was the
site again?
I’m telling my friends
about this
This is fun. One of a
So hard to
kind
navigate
Solar torch light? No way! Never thought
this was possible
What ever your organization goals & objectives are, it doesn’t mean anything
(doesn’t exist) if you don’t have a sufficiently large user base to see, click &
share your content. Period!
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3. How to reach from 0 to 1 million users?
There’s no magic. It’s a cooking process!
 Just like a good recipe, you need the best ingredients with
a clear step-by-step outline of directions to cook up a storm!
 Ingredients consists of:
 A great story to tell.
 Have a product that people like using so much that they
tell other people to join and use it.
 Make it easy (as little steps possible) for users to share & for
invited guests to join (bake Viral Loop right into the product)
 Directions are a series of calculated steps to take, grouped into 3 phases:
Pre Launch Private Beta Public Beta
1. Facebook Page 1. Notify early birds of a private 1. Optimize Viral loop co-efficiency
2. Twitter Account & exclusive launch to create Viral growth
3. Launching Soon Page 2. Opportunity to gather 2. Consistent use of online & real
4. Blog about the entire process feedback & reviews world marketing strategies
from start to launch
Tell your story to people that matters. Tell the story in a way that fits into their
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existing world view that makes them relate to themselves

4. Viral loop: Steps a user goes through between
entering the site to inviting the next set of new users
“On-ramps” to Kick Start Loop Register Choice of Media:
•SEO Email, Facebook Newsfeed, Blogs
•Paid advertising Conversion:
•Traditional marketing Piece of content sent ► Receiver’s sees content
•Email marketing Optimization factors:
•Social media influencers Eye Catching, Universal Topic, High Emotion Topic
•Blogger outreach
•Social networks
•Journalists
•Events
•Flyers/Direct mail Viral loops are created when
the customer experience
incorporates virality into the
very functionality of a
Tell Friends Evaluate VIRAL LOOP product or website
Conversion: Keep it short (2 – 3 pages
User wants to share ► User shares at most) with progressive
Optimization factors: commitment of personal Tell Friends
Clear option to share, Sharing is information
suggested by app, Channel facilitates Use Product
sharing
Conversion:
Receiver’s sees content ► Receiver clicks
Conversion: into or engages with content
User has engaged with content ► User Optimization Factors:
wants to share content Low barrier to consumption, Precise Text,
Optimization factors: Use Product Clear Action, Immediacy
Trait Signaling, Emotional Venting,
Conversation Starters Evaluate
Viral loop is the cheapest & fastest way to increase your user base, with
accurately predictable growth rate. If you4 can’t predict it, you’re doing it wrong!

5. Why do people share?
Human nature: We seek to pass on interesting or funny memes or
products to our personal social networks, whether they are included in
our email address books, part of our collection of friends on Facebook,
visitors to our blog, followers on Twitter, or participants on discussion
threads
Trait Signaling
Trait Signaling Emotional Venting
Emotional Venting Conversation Starter
Conversation Starter
•Places individuals into personality
•Places individuals into personality •Instinctual need to share something
•Instinctual need to share something •Social networks are all about
•Social networks are all about
definitions that say meaningful
definitions that say meaningful funny or delightful.
funny or delightful. conversations. Starting aa
conversations. Starting
things about the person’s
things about the person’s •ItIt is likely we share during moments
• is likely we share during moments
conversation isis difficult.
conversation difficult.
personality.
personality. because we realize we can offer aa
because we realize we can offer •Social network posts are aa good
•Social network posts are good
•People also signal traits by attaching
•People also signal traits by attaching positive experience to our friends for
positive experience to our friends for way of starting open ended
way of starting open ended
themselves to meaningful brands. (i.e.
themselves to meaningful brands. (i.e. basically no cost. ItIt is like a free gift of
basically no cost. is like a free gift of conversations eg. pictures of my
conversations eg. pictures of my
wearing Liverpool Jerseys)
wearing Liverpool Jerseys) funny to our friends.
funny to our friends. crazy party last night.
crazy party last night.
Framework to decide on what social integration points &
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what content to use in a viral marketing campaign

6. Building your own viral loop
Ultimately, viral loops are like induction proofs in that you are jumping to a steady state situation in which your viral
widgets/emails/messages are already out there, and you are optimizing some set of steps that users have to jump
through. Then, once you get this right, then you are figuring out how to build "on-ramps" into your viral loop so that
you bootstrap the entire process.
Register
Share 2 pages Use
What’s your viral Evaluate
media? Register
Evaluate 3 pages Share
What’s your
funnel design? Use
What’s the viral
hook in your
product?
What are your
on-ramps to your
viral loop?
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7. Characteristics of a successful viral loop
Web based Virality Index >= 1.0 Tipping Point
In the aggregate, one user becomes two, When a company attracts so many users
turns into four, eight, and so on. Anything it continues to grow; it becomes nearly
less than 1 and the virality cannot be self- impossible for a competitor to take it
FREE sustaining. down.
Ultimate Saturation
Organizational Technology
Predictable Growth Rates After a network has spread far and wide,
They don’t create content – their users
If a product is properly designed with viral it can reach a point of maturity when
do. They simply organize it. But facilitating
hooks, it spreads at a constant rate – and growth slows.
can lead to a mass audience.
can be accurately forecast, in the same
way epidemiologists can predict with
some certainty how quickly a virus will
Simple Concept spread through a city.
Built-In Virality
Network Effects
Viral loop products have within
The more who join, the more who have an
themselves the seeds to grow on their
incentive to join.
own.
Stackability
Extremely Fast Adoption A viral network can be laid over the top of
another, each fostering the other’s growth
(PayPal and eBay; YouTube and
Exponential Growth MySpace).
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8. How to measure & manage a viral loop?
Viral Co-efficient index
Viral Co-efficient (v) = x * y
X = Total average invites
Y = New users / Total average invites (Acceptance rate, %)
 The viral coefficient refers to number of new users acquired for each of the existing users
passing through the viral loop. For example, if 1 user enters the viral loop, sends 10 invites to
their contacts, and 1 of those contacts accepts the invite and becomes a new user, we would
have a viral coefficient of 1 or 1 new user acquired.
x = 10 invites x = 10 invites
y = 1 new user / 10 invites = 10% y = 2 new user / 10 invites = 20%
v = 10 x 10% = 1 v = 10 x 20% = 2
 The viral coefficient is the key performance indicator you can use to measure the growth
provided by your viral loop. In fact, once you know your viral coefficient, you can quite
accurately predict future user growth.
To achieve “Viral Growth”, your Viral Co-efficient index needs to be >= 1.0
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9. 2 key metrics: Increasing the average # of invites
and increasing the % of acceptance rate
Viral Co-efficient (v) = x * y
X = Total average invites
Y = New users / Total average invites (Acceptance rate, %)
Increase the number of average invites (x) Increase the acceptance rate of new users
coming from the invites (y)
x = 10 + 1 = 11
v = 11 x 10% = 1.1 y = 10% + 1% = 11%
v = 10 x 11% = 1.1
Small, incremental changes to either one or both of our two metrics with push
the needle into viral growth territory.
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10. Turn conventional marketing funnels into viral
loops to increase user base or sales
 The process of consumers
moving through a series of steps
towards a desired action (such
as a sale) is often described by
marketers as a “conversion
funnel”. While the conversion
funnel is often thought of as a
solitary process between a
consumer and a seller, it can be
turned into a viral loop through
the addition of user feedback
and reviews at each step.
 As the consumer moves through
the steps of a online transaction,
they will seek input from review
sites and their own social
networks. Creating a viral loop
involves displaying reviews and
recommendations when people
are deciding on what to buy and
making a purchase, and allowing
them to provide their own
reviews and recommendations.
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11. People are your brand’s best advocate
Websites are actually
much more fun and
useful when your
friends are there.
People share and read
and generally engage
more with any type of
content when it’s
surfaced through
friends and people
they know and trust.
– Andy Katzman, Head of
Platform Partnerships, Facebook
Reviews play a tremendous role in our decisions to buy products.
Reviews build trust and more reviews mean higher conversion rates
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12. Interested in our services? We are eager to hear
from you. Feel free to contact us.
Leanis Solutions Sdn Bhd (871506-U)
The Strand, Kota Damansara
51-3 Jalan PJU 5/21, Third Floor
47810 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
enquiry@leanis.com.my
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13. Thank You
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