Viral Marketing

Viral Marketing - Going viral is the new measure of success, spreading fast like a viral infection. It was sparked by ads in and through email, offering low-cost advertising that is effective, new channels, means and way to reach consumers, not there before, optimizing and leveraging relationships and contact information in a unique way. Implied endorsement can be very powerful and are faster than third-party traditional advertising campaigns. Viral marketing is a marketing strategy that relies on individuals rather than traditional campaigns to pass along a message, word of mouth, spread the word, so to speak, to others. It is sparking and inspiring all different kinds of new marketing initiatives and trends online, like social media marketing and social networking like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others. It usually refers to marketing on the Internet. Types include (i) pass-alongs or forward type messages (ii) Incentive-driven, links, rewards(iii) Undercover viral marketing with news-worthy items (iv) Buzz marketing starting conversations, creating interest. (v) unsolicited e-mails, avoiding negative responses and bad practices fuel its success.