Viral marketing or advertising is a commercial approach that promotes a product by utilizing existing social networks. Its name alludes to how customers share information about a product with others through social media, much as how a virus spreads from one person to another. It can be given orally or through the network effects of the internet and cell networks. The notion is frequently misapplied or misinterpreted, as individuals apply it to any successful enough tale without considering the word “viral.” Because viral advertising is personal and comes from a known sponsor, it does not imply that corporations pay for its spread. The majority of well-known viral advertising spreading online are advertisements paid for by a sponsor firm and placed on their platform or social media platforms such as YouTube. Consumers obtain the page link from a social media network or copy the full ad from a website and forward it through email or post it on a blog, web page, or social media profile. Video clips, interactive Flash games, text messaging, email messages, and web pages are all examples of viral marketing.
The most frequent viral message transmission vehicles are pass-along-based, incentive-based, trendy-based, and undercover-based. However, the creative nature of viral marketing allows for an infinite number of alternative forms and vehicles for message delivery, including mobile devices. The ultimate goal of marketers interested in developing successful viral marketing programs is to develop viral messages that appeal to individuals with high social networking potential and have a high likelihood of being presented and spread by these individuals and their competitors in their communications with others in a short period. The word viral marketing has also been used derogatorily to refer to stealth marketing campaigns marketing methods that advertise a product to individuals without their knowledge.