How viral marketing enhances the ingredients of a promotional mix

Type :

Research papers

Pages :

61 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

05/09/2009

Category :

Business & market

Sub category :

Marketing

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Summary :

Introduction
Word-of-mouth publicity vs digital media
Difference between biological virus vs marketing virus
1. History
2. Types of viral campaigns
3. Advantages of viral marketing
4. Examples of good viral marketing
5. Disadvantages of viral marketing
Effective use of viral marketing
Research methodology
Strategies of viral marketing
Tips for optimizing viral marketing campaigns
Prerequisites for using viral marketing
Data analysis and interpretation
The future of viral marketing
Conclusion

Abstract

Word-of-mouth publicity is a centuries-old marketing technique. Once customers had a good experience with a product, they would tell their friends, who would often buy and use that product and then tell other friends - dispersing information and recommendations about the product via a social network. Mary Kay Cosmetics and Amway, brands that relied on social networks to inform potential customers about their products, used this technique with great success to build highly recognizable brands. Technology makes the spread of product knowledge from one person to another faster and more efficient. Today, digital media like the Internet are the new word of mouth networks, which act as easy, additional resources for people to spread the word. "The Net amplifies the power and accelerates the speed of feedback from users to potential adopters." "People have always relied on word-of-mouth to spread the news about products and services. The Internet just speeds things along. Word-of-mouth techniques are vital to marketing on the Internet. Consumers say the primary source of credibility that makes them visit a Web site is word-of-mouth referrals, usually an e-mail from a friend. Tim Draper, one of the founding investors for the free e-mail product Hotmail, and a partner with the venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (www.dfj.com), coined the term "viral marketing" in 1997 when he first noticed similarities between the rapid adoption of products via word of mouth and the spread of biological viruses. Draper noted the viral phenomenon after Hotmail went from 0 to 12 million subscribers in just eighteen months, largely because the product included a linked advertisement link for their service at the bottom of every email and offered a compelling service. viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. On the Web, the technique has been called "word-of-modem," "word-of-mouse," "networked-enhanced word of mouth," "grass-roots marketing," and "a highly infectious digital sneeze." A virally-marketed product is often said to have "buzz."