Mackenzie_Chp 5

Viral Marketing 

In chapter 5 I learned that Viral Marketing is defined as a method of marketing where consumers are encouraged to share information about a company's goods and/or service through the internet and social media. Many marketers along with their advertising and/or digital agencies now use a variety of tools and techniques to generate viral buzz about their brands, many of which take advantage of the emergence and growth of online communities and social media such as Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube. However, successful viral marketing can be very difficult to achieve as the outcomes are affected by many factors that are often beyond a marketers control. Researchers have identified three major factors that affect the success of a viral marketing program, including message characteristics, individual sender or receiver characteristics, and social network characteristics. Message characteristics relate to the content and creative design of a viral message and include factors such as whether the information is entertaining, engaging, novel, humorous, and/or informative. For example, many videos and commercials have a strong viral component that make them popular and encourage consumers to watch as well share them.

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/100366-viral-principles