Viral marketing
Viral marketing is the strategy of designing content or actions so that people themselves share them and spread them quickly among their contacts
What it means, how it is used and where it comes up, with its related concepts.
What it is and how it works
It takes its name from the way it spreads, likened to contagion: each person who shares exposes the message to new audiences. Today it spreads mainly through social networks and messaging apps, and often relies on humour, surprise, emotion or usefulness.
It is the digital, accelerated version of word of mouth, but its success is hard to predict: many pieces designed to go viral do not, and when they do, the brand does not control the context in which they are shared. Disguising an advertising message as spontaneous or amateur content may amount to covert advertising, which is prohibited, and can damage trust if exposed.
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