Earlier this year, Facebook paid $16 billion for the mobile messaging service WhatsApp, a company with no discernible marketing budget. This was a truly viral product. If you want to create the viral effect, it’s one part luck, but there are other parts you can control. You can start by letting sharing your company benefit everyone. This is what cell phone carriers’ friends and family plans do – the more people involved, the better it is for everyone. Offer access to premium features or discounts to drive growth. You can even go so far as to make sharing the purpose of your product. GoPro, for example, tells its users to “Be a hero,” making showing videos made with their product an integral part of the experience. Think about how sharing your product can enhance the total experience for your customers. You should also do some research to see if you can align your product with an idea or theme. Can you join a community interested in the big idea behind your product? Look into these strategies and your chances of taking your business viral will go up. Read the full article here: 5 Secrets to Making Your Startup Go Viral