by Gautam Banerjee

Created on: November 19, 2009

Viral advertising may be defined as 'digital' word-of-mouth advertising. The idea is to spread an advertising message around like a 'virus' online in communities or via forums or blogs or wherever people 'meet' and communicate to others. The idea is to 'infect' a few people with the ad message that is 'worthwhile sharing' with others, over the internet. It is easy to imagine the message on the internet delivery vehicle, as circles around circles that get larger and larger.

To begin with, a person may introduce such a message to his or her smallest inner circle of direct contacts. The recipients in turn passes it on to their own circle of direct contacts. The whole exercise presupposes that like the spread of a virus, a small number of vectors can spread it to a large group. This large group in turn, then infects an exponentially larger group leading to a snowballing effect.

Viral advertising which is synonymous with viral marketing is a low-cost method for gaining widespread notice for a product or service. A marketer can get the initial word out and let others do the work of spreading that message among their contacts who could be potential consumers for that product or service. But the important phrase here is 'worthwhile sharing'. Recipients must have a reason to spread the message. In other words the message must be worthwhile sharing with others.

The most cited example of successful use of viral marketing is Hotmail. It incorporated a link to its web address on messages sent by people using it's e-mail service. Each e-mail message, sent through Hotmail account included the promotion: Get Your Private Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com." The use of e-mail at that time was in a fast growth mode. Therefore, often the interested recipients of an email from a Hotmail user will click on the link and quickly sign up for the free service. These new set of users would then spread the word with their own emails.

Today, it would be difficult to replicate a similar success story through viral advertising. Nevertheless, as an advertising option this low cost method can be tried by marketers, if the advertising message contains a value proposition that is worthwhile sharing. The power of testimonials for a product or service to deliver value is perceived when the message emanates from a trustworthy source, such as an online community with shared interests. Technically within an internet driven social network, such a message is likely to be treated as a straightforward recommendation for a product or a service.

In viral advertising, the inclusion of links such as tell-a-friend" links on Web pages, makes it easy to track the spread of the message. Advertisers offering a contest often provide bonus entries for users who utilize the tell-a-friend" links to submit the email addresses of contacts. An email with information about the promotion or contest is then sent to these addresses. But the biggest handicap of viral advertising, is it's inability to map the target audience. The spread of the message is uncontrolled, to a heavily duplicated audience. It has the power to reach infinite numbers but how much of that number is potential customer base, is impossible to measure.

The success of any advertising campaign, in any media, is measured by the response it generates. The final proof of an ad campaign's success lies in the conversion of the response to actual sales, which is quantifiable. Unfortunately, viral advertising can not be done scientifically as yet, to conclusively prove that it is successful and a cost-effective method of advertising.

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