Thanks to a little free time over Thanksgiving, I was able to tackle my massive pile of “to-be-read” books over the holiday. First on the list was Adam Penenberg’s “Viral Loop”.

In it, Penenberg discusses the viral nature of today’s Web 2.0 success stories. As a precursor, he examines some historical case studies to demonstrate that viral marketing has been around a lot longer than most people think. Who knew Tupperware, the famed brand responsible for housing people’s leftovers, was the first to employ the tactic. They recruited thousands of women after World War 2 to host Tupperware parties and had the host act as a direct sales rep for the brand.

By motivating each hostess with a financial incentive for the success of each party, Tupperware was able to mobilize an entire army of housewives, pushing their brand to millions.

Penenberg also explores the idea that viruses are a biological imperative. Humans seek out opportunities to pass on interesting content and products to our social networks. Viral companies take full advantage of the fact that we love to share with one another. As he puts, it “We are hard-wired to socialize.”

He goes on to dissect the Obama campaign, which one could argue would not have succeeded without its viral components. There were three cornerstones essential to Obama’s victory that apply to anyone starting or running their own business:

• A short, clear positioning statement

• The multiplier effect achieved when the campaign shared user generated content. They proactively promoted the creativity of supporters.

• Their focus on the long tail. They didn’t care about huge donations from corporate America. Rather they tried to mobilize normal people like you and me to donate what they could.

As the book unfolds, we learn about companies like Hotmail, Ning, Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook – all obvious viral sensations. Penenberg breaks down the success of each and conveniently draws some conclusions around characteristics they all share.

If you’re thinking about launching your own viral marketing campaign or building virality into your next product, here are some important factors to consider:

• Web-based – frictionless

• Free – Start Free then overlay premium services

• Organizational Technology – Do not create content, just let your user organize it i.e. Google

• Simple concept – Easy and intuitive

• Built-in virality – Users spread out of own self interest

• Fast Adoption

• Exponential Growth – Each user attracts more users

• Virality ceofficient – Must exceed 1.0 for exponential growth. (Virality coefficient = the number of additional members every new member brings.)

• Predictable growth rates – If properly designed, product should spread at a constant rate

• Network effects – The more who join, the more who have an incentive to join

• Stackability – Viral networks laid over the top of one another. i.e. YouTube on Facebook

• Nondisplacement – A tipping point, where it is impossible for competition to enter a market

• Ultimate saturation – When network has spread far and wide and reaches a point of maturity. Growth will level off.

I’d highly recommend this book to people wanting to learn more about the origins of viral marketing or how to implement viral marketing programs for their own companies. My approach to reading these types of books is simple; If I can get one new good idea out of book I’ve read, I consider it a win. With this book, I got many. Happy reading.