What is Viral Marketing? If you’ve been marketing online for some time, you should have heard of the term viral marketing. It is often dubbed as the most effective form of marketing due to its viral and credible nature and not to forget that it often does not cost you much to implement (in fact it can be free!).
So the next question is, “What exactly is viral marketing?” 'Viral Marketing' has been one of the big buzz phrases of the past few years. Many books have been written on the topic, but this phrase is probably coined by the owner of Hotmail around 1996. In the offline world, this is commonly known as 'word of mouth' advertising. It basically refers to letting people spread the word about your website/products to others when they come into contact with each other.
In other words, when you create something that is so interesting or involving that others feel that their acquaintances must know about it too, they pass it on without any direct involvement on your part. Viral marketing therefore works on the basis of tapping into the resources of existing social networks that you are in, and the people with whom you have already networked with. Therefore, as long as you can create something that is worth talking about, you will actively encourage people to pass the message along, and by doing so, will create a buzz about your product that effectively takes on a life of its own.
