Viral marketing is simply word-of-mouth delivered and enhanced online, with marketers able to reach vast social networks in an instant.

By exploiting the power of peer-to-peer advertising, brands are able to raise their awareness and achieve valuable dwell-time through attracting the full attention of their audience for minutes rather than seconds. This is undoubtedly a major strength of advertising online, when compared with most other traditional media.

Creating a successful viral campaign

The success of viral marketing is often based upon the concept of 'cool' - if a recipient enjoys the content of an email they will pass it on to their friends or colleagues. Furthermore if something is seen as particularly informative or useful the same rule applies. You can create a buzz around a new product or service at a relatively low cost, by distributing a cleverly constructed campaign to a specific and targeted database of internet users. These can include funny videos, entertaining microsites, games, special offers, interesting stories or images that are passed around the online community.

If a viral campaign is based upon offensive or controversial content, advertisers must be aware that this can damage brands. Essentially, what makes a successful viral campaign is intelligently created and delivered content in keeping with the values and tone of a brand’s communications strategy.