Viral Marketing

ALSO CALLED: Referrals (Marketing), Word-of-mouth
DEFINITION: On the Internet, viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users topass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth inthe message's visibility and effect. One example of successful viral marketing is Hotmail, acompany, now owned by Microsoft, that promotes its service and its own advertisers' messages inevery user's e-mail notes.Some  … 
Definition continues below.

VIRAL MARKETING DEFINITION (continued): …  marketing people prefer terms other than viral marketing. In his popular e-mailnewsletter about selling on the Web, John Audette asked readers to suggest alternatives, includingother terms in current use. Among those suggested have been:avalanche marketingbuzz marketingcascading style marketingcentrifugal marketingexponential marketingfission marketinggrass roots marketingorganic marketingpropogation marketingreferral marketing (borrowing a term long used in marketing prior to the Web)ripple marketingself-perpetuation marketingself-propogation marketingwildfire marketingOne reader suggested word …