Viral Marketing and Social Networking - Thesis Example

It would have been rather impossible to write this research without the help of the kind people around me. Most of all, I would like to thank my friend KamranHaqwhose support and patience at all times compelled me to stay determined in completing this research. I would like to acknowledge the advice provided and the unsurpassed knowledge he holds without which this research would not have been possible.

The data thus collected is effectively analyzed to find answers to the research questions developed. It has been concluded that the variables under discussion, viral marketing, and social networks, are directly linked to each other and both have aided the advancement of each other over the growth cycle.

Marketing is a business technique in which a marketing message is spread to the targeted segment by several means, with the aim of creating value for customers. This technique encourages and facilitates marketers to increase brand awareness, aids product/brand/service outreach to its targeted customer segment, and achieves aims related to product/service promotion and/or selling. Out of the many types, viral marketing, according to Allen (2008, p 15), is a technique that uses social networks of other people so that they can promote their business products and/or services. In viral marketing, advertising is done by the passage of a marketing message by the word of mouth. The current research will be focusing on internet social networking and is being carried out because this relation has not been identified yet at the University of Sweden.

This technique is referred to as viral marketing because like a virus it has the power of self-replication. Person-to-person information is bound to spread as people share their experiences with others and if a large number of people receive certain information, an even larger percentage of people will get to know about it.

The viral marketing originated by the investment firm of Draper Fisher and Jurvetson in the year 1997 with the introduction of the free email-service Hotmail (Viral Marketing, 2005, p.14). One of the characteristics of viral marketing is that it is closely associated with traditional word-of-mouth. Through email and the internet information sent out in viral marketing and due to incredible speed of internet this information reached to a large number of people. Viral marketing gives motivation to the customers, which inspires them to expand a message voluntarily within their personal social network. (Viral Marketing, 2005, p.14)

Kirby and Marsden defined viral marketing as “the viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions”.(Connected Marketing, 2006, p.88)