Viral marketing occurs when a marketing message influences people to pass on the message to other potential customers. Similar to a biological virus, viral marketing has the potential to never end. The idea motivating viral marketing is to succeed by means of numerical power. With viral marketing consumers to pass the message on to others. A message forwarded from a friend or colleague has much more credibility than most advertising messages. In this way, a marketing message can initially be targeted to a few consumers but over time be seen and considered by millions. According to Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, viral marketing has six elements:
1. Gives away products or services
2. Provides for effortless transfer to others
3. Scales easily from small to very large
4. Exploits common motivations and behaviors
5. Utilizes existing communication networks
6. Takes advantage of others’ resources
Viral marketing has grown rapidly with the advent of the World Wide Web. Examples of this include AOL offering free Internet, MSN promoting free e-mail through Hotmail. com, and various promotional offers making their way to our private e-mail inbox. A Dallas, Texas, automobile dealership bought a local e-mail list and sent a message offering a chance to win a new car. They received more entries than the number of people they initially sent the message to when recipients forwarded the message to their friends. Nonprofit groups and political organizations utilize viral marketing to promote their causes. In one viral marketing effort, Planned Parenthood sent a message to their e-mail distribution list warning about a change in government policy and providing a link to the White House for members to voice their concerns. The message was passed to thousands of people beyond the initial distribution list, increasing the number of people writing to voice their concern and increasing Planned Parenthood’s membership. Similarly, an e-mail message comparing the relative IQs of President George W. Bush and former president Clinton was shared by millions over the Internet before it was proven to be a hoax. Businesspeople recognize the power and potential of viral marketing to benefit and harm their enterprises. Many large companies monitor Internet chat rooms, posting responses and even issuing press releases when negative information or misinformation is being distributed.