Viral Marketing- An Understanding About ''How To Explode Marketing Virus''

‘’Viral Marketing is an ideavirus in which the carrier of the virus is the product’’

-S. Godin, Author

Viral marketing campaigns are an amazing way to generate a huge amount of buzz and brand awareness whether they are carried out online or offline. A virus doesn’t even have to mate. It just replicates, again and again with geometrically increasing power, doubling with each iteration.

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In a few short generations, a virus population can explode.

Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions.

Off the Internet, viral marketing has been referred to as “word-of-mouth,” “creating a buzz,” “leveraging the media,” “network marketing.” But on the Internet, for better or worse, it’s called “viral marketing.”

Elements of a Viral Marketing Strategy

An effective viral marketing strategy:

1. Gives away products or services;
2. Provides for effortless transfer to others;
3. Scales easily from small to very large;
4. Exploits common motivations and behaviors;
5. Utilizes existing communication networks;
6. Takes advantage of others’ resources.

Let’s examine at each of these elements briefly.

1. Gives Away Valuable Products or Services

“Free” is the most powerful word in a marketer’s vocabulary. Most viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. Free email services, free information, free “cool” buttons, free software programs that perform powerful functions but not as much as you get in the “pro” version. Wilson’s Second Law of Web Marketing is “The Law of Giving and Selling”. “Cheap” or “inexpensive” may generate a wave of interest, but “free” will usually do it much faster. Viral marketers practice delayed gratification. They may not profit today, or tomorrow, but if they can generate a groundswell of interest from something free, they know they will profit “soon and for the rest of their lives” (with apologies to “Casablanca”). Patience, my friends. Free attracts eyeballs. Eyeballs then see other desirable things that you are selling, and, presto! you earn money. Eyeballs bring valuable email addresses, advertising revenue, and ecommerce sales opportunities. Give away something, sell something.

2. Provides for Effortless Transfer to Others

Public health nurses offer sage advice at flu season: Stay away from people who cough, wash your hands often, and don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Viruses only spread when they’re easy to transmit. The medium that carries your marketing message must be easy to transfer and replicate: email, website, graphic, software download. Viral marketing works famously on the Internet because instant communication is easy and inexpensive. The digital format makes copying simple. From a marketing standpoint, you must simplify your marketing message so it can be transmitted easily and without degradation. Short is better. The classic is: “Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com.” The message is compelling, compressed, and copied at the bottom of every free email message.

3. Scales Easily from Small to Very Large

To spread like wildfire, the transmission method must be rapidly scalable from small to very large. The weakness of the Hotmail model is that a free email service requires its own mail servers to transmit the message. If the strategy is wildly successful, mail servers must be added very quickly or the rapid growth will bog down and die. If the virus multiplies only to kill the host before spreading, nothing is accomplished. So long as you have planned ahead of time how you can add mail servers rapidly you’re okay. You must build in scalability to your viral model.

4. Exploits Common Motivations and Behaviors

Clever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations. What proliferated “Netscape Now” buttons in the early days of the web? The desire to be cool. Greed drives people. So does the hunger to be popular, loved, and understood. The resulting urge to communicate produces millions of websites and billions of email messages. Design a marketing strategy that builds on common motivations and behaviors for its transmission, and you have a winner.

5. Utilizes Existing Communication Networks

Most people are social. Nerdy, basement-dwelling computer science graduate students are the exception. Social scientists tell us that each person has a network of 8 to 12 people in his or her network of friends, family, and associates. A person’s broader network may consist of scores, hundreds, or thousands of people, depending upon his or her position in society. A waitress, for example, may communicate regularly with hundreds of customers in a given week. Network marketers have long understood the power of these human networks, both the strong, close networks as well as the weaker networked relationships. People on the Internet develop networks of relationships, too. They collect email addresses and favorite website URLs. Affiliate programs exploit such networks, as do permission email lists. Learn to place your message into existing communications between people, and you rapidly multiply its dispersion.

6. Takes Advantage of Others’ Resources

The most creative viral marketing plans use others’ resources to get the word out. Affiliate programs, for example, place text or graphic links on others’ websites. Authors who give away free articles, seek to position their articles on others’ webpages. A news release can be picked up by hundreds of periodicals and form the basis of articles seen by hundreds of thousands of readers. Now someone else’s newsprint or webpage is relaying your marketing message. Someone else’s resources are depleted rather than your own.

Examples Of Viral Marketing:

-Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold (Nike)

Watch as Ronaldinho takes delivery of a new pair of boots and spends over two minutes demonstrating the most amazing football skills the internet has ever seen.

23.5 million people have watched this ad on YouTube. Pure genius.

-In 2006, shortly before Christmas, Threshers leaked a voucher worth 40% off wine and champagne via the internet. Apparently the voucher was only intended for suppliers and the belief that Threshers had mistakenly released the voucher made it spread faster and faster around the world via email, social networks and blogs.

Threshers pretended to be worried about losing money on the promotion but no doubt ended up making a huge profit and getting publicity in a month than they got for the whole year.

“It was never intended to get this big,” a company spokesperson said.

The company admits it is slightly concerned about the popularity of the offer.

“We are waiting with bated breath… Early next week, we should get the figures for what level of business we have seen this week and over the weekend,” the spokesperson added.

“This is a better offer than normal and it could end up hitting our profit margins.”

-Gorilla Advert (Cadbury’s)

Another recent example of how an amazing advert can get millions more views thanks to the web comes in the form of a gorilla playing the drums for Cadbury’s.

Absolutely fantastic.

-Hotmail

In todays era of social networking it’s easy to think how quickly the likes of Facebook and Myspace grew but the real viral marketing pioneer was Hotmail.

In December 1996 Hotmail had 500,000 registered users – less than a year later they had over 12,000,000 users. This astonishing growth rate was down to the fact that every single email sent from Hotmail included a small advert promoting the service in the footer.

When Hotmail came into the email niche, there were already players and the list was growing. The challenge for Hotmail was to sign up as many users at the shortest possible time. How will they do it? They used a viral marketing technique called tagline insertion. The tagline says “Get your free e-mail at Hotmail.” It was strategically placed at the bottom of every e-mail sent out by Hotmail users. Every outbound message still conveyed an advertisement and a subtle implied endorsement by the sender - the recipient knew that the sender was a Hotmail user, and that this new free email thing seemed to work for them. Each new user becomes a company salesperson, and the message spreads organically. 

The viral marketing resulted in 12 million users in just 18 months. It was the fastest growth during the years 1996-1997 of a user based media company. Later on Hotmail reached 66 million users and was having 270,000 new accounts daily. Viral marketing is word of mouth marketing and it works.

-Paint your url on a streaker

In 2002 Vodafone paid a New Zealand rugby fan to run onto the pitch during an All Blacks vs Australia game wearing nothing but the Vodafone logo. Thanks to Tim from SEO Agencies for the tip about this one.

The streaker was fined £30,000 and Vodafone were more than happy to pay it in return for publicity in almost every newspaper across the world.

If you can find somebody willing to streak at a major public event the press coverage is likely to far outweigh any fines levied, especially for large companies with multi million pound marketing budgets. Recently television networks have been reluctant to give coverage to streakers so this tactic may not be as effective in 2008.

-Honda Pintermission

Pinterest is a great platform to find new crafts, exercise routines, life hacks, and general inspiration to do something really fun and different with your life. Unfortunately, some people spend so much time on Pinterest, they never realize any of their pinned aspirations.

Honda set out to change that by offering Pinterest users $500 to pursue their goals. This campaign stood out to me because in addition to being a great piece of marketing, it also produced a fantastic content series. And in a place like the Internet, where good content is king, adding that aspect to any marketing is a big win.

-Dumb Ways to Die

Marketing something... I'll just go ahead and say it, boring, like public transportation safety, can be very challenging. Reminiscent of The Itchy & Scratchy Show from The Simpsons, this public service announcement campaign by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Australia became a viral sensation.

Why was it so successful? Well, it's cute, catchy, and violent – three factors that always get people's attention.

-KLM Surprise

In a fantastic example of a surprise-and-delight style campaign, Royal Dutch Airlines used Foursquare checkins and Twitter to identify passengers waiting for their flights. Then KLM representatives stalkedscanned the passengers' profiles to find out more about them and presented them with thoughtful gifts.

The act itself would have been fine, but having a camera crew around with them while they did it was a crucial piece of the promotion. This example shows that not only do you have to use effective marketing to appeal to your consumer, you also have to market your marketing.

-Paranormal Activity

Five years later and I'm still amazed that a small independent movie with a $15,000 production budget was able to become one of the most profitable movies of all time. Its success was due in no small part to a fantastic viral marketing campaign.

The movie was initially released to a small number of cities; however, after the goose-bump inducing trailer, a call to action appeared prompting fans to "demand" the movie play in their city.

Through a partnership with Eventful, Paramount created a petition system. If a city reached a certain number of people demanding the movie, it would play in that city.

If there's anything that piques people's interest, it's not having access to something.

PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR)

What is Public Relations (PR)

Public relations (PR) is the way organisations, companies and individuals communicate with the public and media. A PR specialist communicates with the target audience directly or indirectly through media with an aim to create and maintain a positive image and create a strong relationship with the audience. Examples include press releases, newsletters, public appearances, etc. as well as utilization of the world wide web.

PR and the World of Business

The world of business is characterised by fierce competition and in order to win new customers and retain the existing ones, the firms have to distinguish themselves from the competition. But they also need to create and maintain a positive public image. A PR specialist or firm helps them both create and maintain a good reputation among both the media and the customers by communicating in their behalf and presenting their products, services and the overall operation in the best light possible. A positive public image helps create a strong relationship with the customers which in turn increases the sales.

PR Tools and Techniques

PR specialists and firms use a number of tools and techniques to boost their clients’ public image and help them form a meaningful relationship with the target audience. To achieve that, they use tools such as news releases and statements for media, newsletters, organisation and participation at public events conferences, conventions, awards, etc.. PR specialists of course also utilise the Internet tools such as social media networks and blogs. Through the mentioned tools, PR specialists give the target audience a better insight into their clients’ activities and products/services as well as increase publicity.

Early History

Public relations (PR) is not a recent invention. The importance of communication with the public and maintenance of positive public image was known as early as in the antiquity but the beginnings of modern PR are traditionally dated in the 18th century London. One of the first PRs was Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire who heavily campaigned for Charles James Fox and his Whig party. PR in the real meaning of the word, however, dates only to the early 20th century. The first real PR specialist was according to some Ivy Lee (1877-1934), while the others see Edward Bernays (1891-1995) as “the father of public relations”.

Who Needs PR Services

PR services are sought after by many organisations, companies and prominent individuals. A PR specialist communicates with the public and media in their behalf in order to present them in the best light. This helps their clients create and maintain a good reputation. But it also helps them stand out from the crowd and attract attention of both the public and media as well as create a two-way communication.

The Usual PR Clients

PR services are utilised by many organisations and individuals who want to create a better image of themselves in public. The most frequent clients of PR firms include:

• businesses; they utilise PR services to present their products/services and the way their firms work and of course, create a strong relationship with the customers and reach more potential buyers
• non-profit organisations; examples include charity organisations, schools, hospitals, etc. who use PR services as a part of fund-raising events and promotion campaigns
• notable individuals; examples include celebrities who use PR services to communicate in their behalf with the media and their fans but PR specialists are also highly sought after by politicians who can succeed only if they have a good public reputation

Benefits of Using PR Services

PR specialists are professionals who have the knowledge and skills to communicate with the public and media. Many come from the lines of journalists and know exactly what it takes to attract public attention which is the key to success in the increasingly competitive business world. But they also know how to respond in critical situations and protect their clients’ public image and reputation.

By helping create and maintain a good reputation in the public, PR specialists and firms play an important role in the overall success of their clients. For example, an effective presentation of the products/service significantly increases the sales by presenting them in a consumer-attractive way. Politicians, on the other hand, can count on support of their voters only if they have a good reputation.

How to Utilise PR Services

Most organisations and individuals who decide to use PR services hire a PR firm or specialist only for specific tasks. Examples include presentations of a new product/service, communication with the public and media during political campaigns or fund-raising events, management of unpleasant situations and controversies, etc.. But many also work with PR firms on a regular basis, while a growing number of companies and organisations have their own PR department.



PR Vs Advertising

PR and advertising often go hand in hand but they are two completely different things with a completely different goal and overall effect. While advertising is exclusively focused on promotion of products or services with an aim to encourage target audience to buy, PR is specialised in communication with the public and media.

Difference Between PR and Advertising

Just like advertising, PR often helps increase the sales as well and may include elements of marketing. However, it is mainly focused in creating positive publicity about a particular company, organisation or individual and maintain a good reputation in the public. By doing so, PR helps create a relationship between let’s say a commercial company and its customers who are more likely to choose the products from a company they have a good opinion over those from a firm they have never heard off before or heard something negative about it.

The Effect on the Public

The public reacts very differently to an add than to a newspapers article or a TV report. They know very well when they are reading/looking an add and the information they are communicated is perceived with a certain degree of skepticism. They know that the add wants to persuade them to buy a particular product or service and will either believe or disbelieve the information they are communicated. But when they are communicated news about a new product or service through a third party, for example a newspapers or online article they perceive it as informative and worthy of their attention. A press release for instance does not directly encourage them to buy but it often achieves just that by creating a positive image about the product/service or its manufacturer, or both.

Cost

Neither a professionally led marketing or PR campaign is inexpensive. The cost depends greatly on who you hire but generally, PR is a lot less expensive than advertising. But it is also true that PR has a lot less control over the way their clients are presented by the media in comparison to paid adds that oblige the media to publish them unchanged. At the same time, a press release is published only once by a single media, while the adds can be published over and over again.

But given that press releases and other PR tools to attract publicity usually achieve a greater impact on the target audience, there is no need for repetition of the same stories over and over again to attract attention of the public like this is usually the case with adds. In addition, an article or TV cover of purely informative nature is more likely to led the target audience believe the content of the adds. As a result, PR campaigns often precede or/and accompany marketing campaigns or are an integral part of advertising strategy.

How Can PR Boost Your Business

In today’s world, publicity is everything of course along quality service or product. There is a fierce competition in just about every sector, while the consumers typically decide for brands they are familiar with and which they trust. In order to earn the consumers’ trust, companies rely heavily on marketing strategists but they also rely heavily on PR specialists.

PR Much More than Just Promotion

Unlike marketing which is focused on promotion of the company’s products or service, PR is primarily focused on communication with the public, e.g. the potential buyers and the media. By communicating relevant information about the company and of course its products/service, PR specialists also help in the promotion of the business. But above all, they create a positive public image and establish a relationship with the target audience and media. That way they gradually earn the consumers’ trust which as mentioned earlier, has a major influence on their decisions including the product/service they choose from the many available.

“Damage Control”

Besides attracting public attention and helping establish a good reputation which directly influences the sales, PR specialists also play an important role in the times of crisis. Imagine that an angry employee or the competition starts to spread unpleasant rumours about your company. The public does not know the story behind and if you do not react, they may think that the rumours are true. And even if they find it hard to believe, they will remember that they have heard something bad about your company.

Now imagine the consumers choosing between a brand from which they have heard only the best and your company. Most of them will not take any chances and choose more respected company instead. And you cannot really blame them because you would probably do the same if you were in their shoes. Therefore it is not a good idea to leave the public wondering about the truth whatever it is and this is where a PR specialist steps in.

In the times of crisis like the situation described above, you need someone who reacts quickly and efficiently to at least minimise the damage. And that someone can only be a person who can think and act fast under pressure as well as communicate well with the public and media – a PR specialist.

Utilising PR Services

Large firms typically have their own PR departments. This is without a doubt the best way to utilise PR services because the PR specialists can focus on your needs alone. Having own PR department and keep full time PR specialists, however, is usually too expensive for small to medium sized companies. In order to benefit from PR services without jeopardising their budget, small to medium sized companies can hire a PR firm or freelance PR specialist for a limited time and job.

Public Relations (PR) Disciplines

In order to represent the client in the best manner possible, public relations (PR) has to cover a wide range of areas. All communication with the target audience and media can be carried out by a single PR specialist but the profession is getting increasingly specialised. According to the areas covered, we know the following PR disciplines:

• Financial PR:- Like its name suggests, it is focused on financial matters including investments, disclosure agreements, takeovers, adherence to government regulations, etc.. Due to the complexity of the financial matters, financial PR often includes a staff of lawyers who present the client’s financial matters in a way that creates and maintains a positive perception of the client in the public. Rather than with the general public, the financial PR is usually specialised in communication with the media, stockholders, businesses and the investor community.
• Consumer PR:- This PR discipline is specialised in presentation of products or service with an aim to attract publicity and make them attractive to the target consumer audience. Although consumer PR in a way helps promote particular products/services and subsequently increase the sales, it has little in common with marketing.
• Crisis communication:- PR services are especially sought after in crisis situations in which PR specialists are often the best “lawyers”. The goal of crisis PR specialists is to get the situation under control in a way that causes minimal damage to the client in terms of public image and reputation. In order to prevent the client from losing good reputation, crisis PR requires excellent communication skills in order to tell the other side of the story and change the public opinion. Crisis communication PR methods may also include spin which, in contrary to the common perception, does not always include deceit or manipulation of the public opinion.
• Government PR:- It refers to a discipline of PR which is specialised in engaging with the government bodies with an aim to influence policy making. The methods and tools used also include lobbying but the latter is not enough to win the support of the politicians for a particular position. Government relations should not be confused with government communication which refers to communication between the government and the public.
• Internal PR:- This PR discipline is focused on communication within the company or organisation. Most organisations that utilise internal PR usually have their own PR departments which make sure that relevant information is communicated to the employees on time.

Public Relations and the Internet

The Internet has caused a revolution in communication by giving a voice to those that previously could not have been heard. This has opened a whole new world of opportunities for both businesses and individuals that were unimagined in the era of the traditional media. These still play an important role in shaping the public opinion but with the entire globe moving to the online world to search for information and buy products/services, a PR that does not effectively communicate with the online community can no longer effectively shape and maintain the desired public image.

Challenges of the Internet for PR

Although the Internet is one of the greatest inventions in human history, it has dramatically changed the world and above all, the communication. The world wide web has opened a number of opportunities but it has also opened a number of challenges, especially for the PR sector that has mastered communication with and through the traditional media. While PR specialists virtually had no competition in the era of the traditional media, the democracy of the Internet has forced them to compete with the entire world.

The Internet has given just about everyone the ability to share their opinion just about everything with the entire world in a matter of seconds. The ability to reach thousands or millions of people in virtually no time gave PR specialists a powerful tool but it also made their jobs more difficult, especially in case of an attack on integrity of their clients. Just imagine restoring the client’s reputation if the first page of search engine results contains mainly compromising or damaging content.

The Importance of Internet PR

Why businesses and individuals who want to succeed in the modern world cannot afford not to utilise the Internet PR is clearly evident from the example of “anti-campaigns”. These can either be an unfortunate incident or a carefully devised plan of unethical competition. But regardless of who stands behind and why, negative campaigning can have a devastating effect on public reputation of a company or an individual. The risk of negative publicity, however, is not the only reason why the Internet PR is increasingly gaining in importance.

The Internet has a major influence on people’s opinion and the decisions they make, especially when they are uncertain. For example, let’s say Joe has difficulties deciding which anti-acne cream to choose. He will open his search engine and look for information about the creams he is considering buying. He will most likely take into account a variety of factors including the price and other people’s opinions but his decision will also be influenced greatly by the information he will be able to receive about a particular product. And if he finds little information about how the product is supposed to work, how soon he will be able to see the results, etc. there is a great chance that he will not buy that product.

In order to encourage Joe to at least consider buying your cream, he needs to be provided accurate, trustworthy and up-to-date information about both the product and your company. And this can be achieved only through an effective Internet PR.

BAV Model For Brand Equity

“A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by a customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless.” 


-Stephen King

Consumer awareness is the key to brand value

The Y&R BrandAsset™ Valuator (BAV Model) shows realistic prospects for brands. This is because the Y&R BrandAsset™ Valuator measures the value of a brand where it is created: in people’s hearts and minds.

Relationships are what count

Brand strength and brand stature are the BrandAsset.

Brand strength
The relationship between a brand’s differentiation and relevance factors is the yardstick for a brand’s growth potential: the Brand Strength. A “relevant differentiation” is the vital prerequisite for dynamic and successful brand building.

Brand Stature
Esteem and knowledge indicate the involvement with a brand: the Brand Stature. It is the decisive gauge of the goodwill which a brand enjoys. Properly managing these relationships is the key to successful brand building and to retention of brand value.

The look outside the box delivers inspiring insights

With the Y&R BrandAsset™ Valuator it can be proven that successful brands–regardless of their category – develop systematically by a specific pattern.

The Power-Grid shows the status of your brand

With help of the Power Grid, a brand’s strengths and weaknesses–as well as its growth prospects–can be mapped out. Based on these findings, it can be predicted whether a brand is able to establish itself as a strong power brand, or whether erosion is causing it to lose ground.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He believed that individuals possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires.

Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fullfil the next one, and so on.

The earliest and most widespread version of Maslow's (1943, 1954) hierarchy of needs includes five motivational needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

This five stage model can be divided into basic (or deficiency) needs (e.g. physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and growth needs (self-actualization).

The deficiency, or basic needs are said to motivate people when they are unmet. Also, the need to fulfil such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. For example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become.

One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs.   Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.

Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization.  Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Life experiences including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of he hierarchy.

Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully self-actualized because our society rewards motivation primarily based on esteem, love and other social needs.

The original hierarchy of needs five-stage model includes:

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, freedom from fear.

3. Social Needs - belongingness, affection and love, - from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships.

4. Esteem needs - achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others.

5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

Maslow posited that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy:

'It is quite true that man lives by bread alone — when there is no bread. But what happens to man’s desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically filled?

At once other (and “higher”) needs emerge and these, rather than physiological hungers, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, again new (and still “higher”) needs emerge and so on. This is what we mean by saying that the basic human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative prepotency' (Maslow, 1943, p. 375).

The expanded hierarchy of needs:

It is important to note that Maslow's (1943, 1954) five stage model has been expanded to include cognitive and aesthetic needs (Maslow, 1970a) and later transcendence needs (Maslow, 1970b).

Changes to the original five-stage model are highlighted and include a seven-stage model and a eight-stage model, both developed during the 1960's and 1970s.

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Social Needs - Belongingness and Love, - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

8. Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualization. 

Self-actualization

Instead of focusing on psychopathology and what goes wrong with people, Maslow (1943) formulated a more positive account of human behavior which focused on what goes right. He was interested in human potential, and how we fulfill that potential.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth. Self-actualized people as those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of.

The growth of self-actualization (Maslow, 1962) refers to the need for personal growth and discovery that is present throughout a person’s life.  For Maslow, a person is always “becoming” and never remains static in these terms.  In self-actualization a person comes to find a meaning to life that is important to them.

As each person is unique the motivation for self-actualization leads people in different directions (Kenrick et al., 2010). For some people self-actualization can be achieved through creating works of art or literature, for others through sport, in the classroom, or within a corporate setting.

Maslow (1962) believed self-actualization could be measured through the concept of peak experiences. This occurs when a person experiences the world totally for what it is, and there are feelings of euphoria, joy and wonder.

It is important to note that self-actualization is a continual process of becoming rather than a perfect state one reaches of a 'happy ever after' (Hoffman, 1988).

Maslow offers the following description of self-actualization:

'It refers to the person’s desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially.

The specific form that these needs will take will of course vary greatly from person to person. In one individual it may take the form of the desire to be an ideal mother, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in still another it may be expressed in painting pictures or in inventions' (Maslow, 1943, p. 382–383).

Are you self-actualized?

Maslow (1968): Some of the characteristics of self-actualized people

Although we are all, theoretically, capable of self-actualizing, most of us will not do so, or only to a limited degree. Maslow (1970) estimated that only two percent of people will reach the state of self actualization. He was particularly interested in the characteristics of people whom he considered to have achieved their potential as persons.

By studying 18 people he considered to be self-actualized (including Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein) Maslow (1970) identified 15 characteristics of a self-actualized person. 

Characteristics of self-actualizers:

1. They perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty;

2. Accept themselves and others for what they are;

3. Spontaneous in thought and action;

4. Problem-centered (not self-centered);

5. Unusual sense of humor;

6. Able to look at life objectively;

7. Highly creative;

8. Resistant to enculturation, but not purposely unconventional;

9. Concerned for the welfare of humanity;

10. Capable of deep appreciation of basic life-experience;

11. Establish deep satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few people;

12. Peak experiences;

13. Need for privacy;

14. Democratic attitudes;

15. Strong moral/ethical standards.

Behavior leading to self-actualization:

(a) Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration;

(b) Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths;

(c) Listening to your own feelings in evaluating experiences instead of the voice of tradition, authority or the majority;

(d) Avoiding pretense ('game playing') and being honest;

(e) Being prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of the majority;

(f) Taking responsibility and working hard;

(g) Trying to identify your defenses and having the courage to give them up.

The characteristics of self-actualizers and the behaviors leading to self-actualization are shown in the list above.  Although people achieve self-actualization in their own unique way, they tend to share certain characteristics.  However, self-actualization is a matter of degree, 'There are no perfect human beings' (Maslow,1970a, p. 176).

It is not necessary to display all 15 characteristics to become self-actualized, and not only self-actualized people will display them.  Maslow did not equate self-actualization with perfection. Self-actualization merely involves achieving ones potential.  Thus someone can be silly, wasteful, vain and impolite, and still self-actualize.  Less than two percent of the population achieve self-actualization.

Educational applications

Maslow's (1968) hierarchy of needs theory has made a major contribution to teaching and classroom management in schools. Rather than reducing behavior to a response in the environment, Maslow (1970a) adopts a holistic approach to education and learning. Maslow looks at the entire physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual and how they impact on learning.

Applications of Maslow's hierarchy theory to the work of the classroom teacher are obvious. Before a student's cognitive needs can be met they must first fulfil their basic physiological needs. For example a tired and hungry student will find it difficult to focus on learning. Students need to feel emotionally and physically safe and accepted within the classroom to progress and reach their full potential.

Maslow suggests students must be shown that they are valued and respected in the classroom and the teacher should create a supportive environment. Students with a low self-esteem will not progress academically at an optimum rate until their self-esteem is strengthened.

Critical evaluation

The most significant limitation of Maslow's theory concerns his methodology. Maslow formulated the characteristics of self-actualized individuals from undertaking a qualitative method called biographical analysis.

He looked at the biographies and writings of 18 people he identified as being self-actualized.  From these sources he developed a list of qualities that seemed characteristic of this specific group of people, as opposed to humanity in general.

From a scientific perspective there are numerous problems with this particular approach.  First, it could be argued that biographical analysis as a method is extremely subjective as it is based entirely on the opinion of the researcher.  Personal opinion is always prone to bias, which reduces the validity of any data obtained. Therefore Maslow's operational definition of self-actualization must not be blindly accepted as scientific fact.

Furthermore, Maslow's biographical analysis focused on a biased sample of self-actualized individuals, prominently limited to highly educated white males (such as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, William James, Aldous Huxley, Gandhi, Beethoven).

Although Maslow (1970) did study self-actualized females, such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Mother Teresa, they comprised a small proportion of his sample. This makes it difficult to generalize his theory to females and individuals from lower social classes or different ethnicity. Thus questioning the population validity of Maslow's findings.

Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to empirically test Maslow's concept of self-actualization in a way that causal relationships can be established. 

Another criticism concerns Maslow's assumption that the lower needs must be satisfied before a person can achieve their potential and self-actualize.  This is not always the case, and therefore Maslow's hierarchy of needs in some aspects has been falsified.

Through examining cultures in which large numbers of people live in poverty (such as India) it is clear that people are still capable of higher order needs such as love and belongingness.  However, this should not occur, as according to Maslow, people who have difficulty achieving very basic physiological needs (such as food, shelter etc.) are not capable of meeting higher growth needs.

Also, many creative people, such as authors and artists (e.g. Rembrandt and Van Gough) lived in poverty throughout their lifetime, yet it could be argued that they achieved self-actualization.

Contemporary research by Tay & Diener (2011) has tested Maslow’s theory by analyzing the data of 60,865 participants from 123 countries, representing every major region of the world. The survey was conducted from 2005 to 2010.

Respondents answered questions about six needs that closely resemble those in Maslow's model: basic needs (food, shelter); safety; social needs (love, support); respect; mastery; and autonomy. They also rated their well-being across three discrete measures: life evaluation (a person's view of his or her life as a whole), positive feelings (day-to-day instances of joy or pleasure), and negative feelings (everyday experiences of sorrow, anger, or stress).

The results of the study support the view that universal human needs appear to exist regardless of cultural differences. However, the ordering of the needs within the hierarchy was not correct.

"Although the most basic needs might get the most attention when you don't have them," Diener explains, "you don't need to fulfill them in order to get benefits [from the others]." Even when we are hungry, for instance, we can be happy with our friends. "They're like vitamins," Diener says on how the needs work independently. "We need them all."