Advantages and Disadvantages of Viral Marketing

Advantages and Disadvantages of Viral Marketing:

We will discuss about advantages and disadvantages of viral marketing. 

Advantages:

The advantages of viral marketing service are high credibility, low costs, great reach, high efficiency and the opportunity to continuous promotion adjustments. The time and resources are easily available.

Viral marketing uses the network effect of the Internet so that the marketing messages can be reached mass audience rapidly and effectively. It is an effective online form since word-of-mouth communication is also known as ‘buzz marketing’. Once a buzz is created, even there are some incentives that are value-added for the audiences, so that they are more willing to forward the message to the others. They contacted more and more people and the chain goes on.

Disadvantages:

Viral marketing is a high-risk marketing communications technique, since it requires significant initial investment in the viral agent and selling. However, there is no guarantee that the campaign will ‘go viral’, in which case the investment will be wasted. Of course, although positive viral marketing can spread rapidly, negative sentiments about a company can be also spread. Besides, viral marketing indicates you to work in association with an unknown group, so chances of getting an unsolicited e-mail threats and the dilution of the brand and much more.

References:

1.  http://www.outsourcestrategies.com/blog/2007/05/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-viral marketing.html

2.  http://www.articlesbase.com/outsourcing-articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-viral-marketing-927147.html#ixzz1RlF4v1sf

3.  Textbooks: Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick, Mayer and Johnston. (2009). Internet Marketing – Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, 4th edition, Prentice Hall, P. 556.