Definition of Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is also called buzz marketing (or word-of-mouth) and network marketing. It describes any marketing strategy or tactic that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others. Successful execution means the message's exposure grows exponentially - like a virus and hence the word viral.

Viral marketing is a clever idea, a game, a shocking idea, or a highly informative idea which makes compulsive viewing. It can be a video clips a TV ad, a cartoon, a funny picture, a poem, song, political message, or a news item. It should be amazing and with perceived value that can make people want to pass it on. Finally, the originator of the message can benefit from its propagation.

Viral marketing highly depends on the pass-along rate from person to person. If a large percentage of recipients forward a message to a large number of friends, the snowballs can grow very quickly and can create unexpected outcomes in a short period of time.

Reference: Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick, Mayer and Johnson, 2006 Third Edition, Internet Marketing Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Viral Marketing, P.400-401

Source: alvinchan