What Is Viral Marketing?

This is a marketing technique that uses the word of mouth to advertise a product. The word viral refers to the speed at which it the advertisement travels. The ad is usually circulated through e-mails, blogs or websites that refer to a particular product or service. It often uses existing networks to propagate a slogan. This propagation is done mainly done to self replicating processes, hence the name viral marketing.  The internet is a very effective medium for viral marketing.  

The concept of viral marketing refers to the idea that people usually share information that may be interesting or funny.  It is sponsored by companies looking to develop and increase brand awareness of their product or services.  Viral ads are often in the form of media clips, interactive games, images or even text.  This marketing methodology is popular because it is relatively easy and cheaper to execute. Comparatively, it also has a better response rate. In fact one of the biggest strengths of viral advertising is its ability to reach more people at a lower cost.

Draper Fisher Jurvetson used this form of marketing when he first invested in hotmail. An advertisement was automatically sent with every Hotmail, informing the people of the free service and suggesting that they sign up too. With a year and half, the Hotmail users increased to 12 million.