viral marketing business strategy Written by Ryan S. Eanes Contributor to SAGE Publications's The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society (2020) whose work appears in Britannica as part of a joint publishing agreement with SAGE. Ryan S. Eanes Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated May 15, 2026 •History Viral marketing refers to a marketing campaign that is designed to utilize social media and word-of-mouth to spread content. By creating shareable, engaging content, marketers aim to have their message spread exponentially, like a virus transmitting itself through a population. A viral hit, as it is typically understood, is a piece of content (typically a video, a captioned image commonly referred to as a meme, or some other type of multimedia file) that spreads like...

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