Viral Marketing and Social Networks (Digital and Social Media Marketing and Advertising Collection)

Viral marketing is the key to marketing success in the 21st century, and advertising is one of the most important tools in the viral marketing toolkit. This book offers an in-depth look at viral marketing that includes a short overview of its history and evolution. The author provides a viral marketing toolkit--exploring the use of each tool in social media, as well as differences between connected terms such as marketing buzz. Viral advertising, as a significant tool and source of viral message, is discussed in detail with examples of various companies' viral campaigns. The focus is on how and where businesses can post messages with viral objectives and which consumer segment is the center of the initial targeting initiative. This book is for anyone--students and professors in business and communication schools, as well as marketing practitioners. Annotation In 1994, Rust and Oliver were predicting the death of traditional, outbound advertising stating that, by the year 2010, new media and the new marketing will be the dominant paradigm. While traditional advertising is still up and running, the second part of the prophecy is not far from the truth. Viral marketing is a significant part of the new marketing dominant paradigm, with viral advertising spreading in the new media and even in traditional media. Given the significant importance of viral marketing in the modern business era and the evolution of new media and marketing, this book will offer an in-depth look at viral marketing not only from theoretical point of view, but also from a more fun, practical perspective. We begin with a short overview of the history and evolution of the viral marketing term. As well, differences between connected terms, such as marketing buzz, will be explored. The book will discuss the viral marketing toolkit and explore the use of each tool in social media. Viral advertising, as a significant tool and source of viral message, will be discussed in detail and examples of various companies viral campaigns will be described. The discussion will also focus on how and where businesses can post messages with viral objectives and which consumer segment is the focus of the initial targeting initiative. How to contend with negative viral campaigns is another topic of interest debated in the text. This book is intended for a broad audience, including students and professors in business and communication schools as well as marketing practitioners Content: 1. Viral marketing -- 2. The social network -- 3. Viral marketing media -- 4. Viral marketing characteristics and tools -- 5. Viral advertising -- 6. Hybrid marketing -- 7. Releasing the virus -- 8. Results and evaluation -- 9. Negative viral campaigns -- 10. Conclusions -- References -- Index.