According to Reece et al.

(2010), in order to be considered a viral marketing,

marketing campaigns need to be associated with a value for sender and
receiver, they need to be free and reproducible and marketing campaigns need
to be spread exclusively via the internet.
Zarella (2010) specifies the goals of viral marketing strategy as customer
attraction, increasing the level of customer loyalty, and achieving a higher
level of brand awareness. According to Waldow and Falls (2012) viral
marketing is different from advertising in a way that it promotes products and
services in an indirect manner.
Carriers of viral marketing message have been specified by Middleton (2012)
as satisfied customers, individuals that are aspiring to be customers,
journalists, and experts in the field.
These carriers can transmit the viral marketing message in active and passive
ways. Active transmission of a viral marketing message involves carriers to be
spreading the message in active ways, such as making direct recommendations
via internet. Passive transmission of a viral marketing message, on the other
hand, occurs in situations where a particular brand or product is promoted by
carriers indirectly, such as through letting others know about the act of
purchasing from a specific brand.
Anjum (2011) divides the costs of engagement in viral marketing into three
categories: free, indirect, and direct. Viral marketing can be automatically
facilitated free of charge when the product is innovative or it offers
competitive benefits that are appreciated by consumers. In such occasions
innovative features of the product or its competitive benefits become a viral
marketing message to be spread by internet users with no costs for the
manufacturer. Wirtz (2012) mentions the promotion of Apples Iphone in
online channels as a case study for free viral marketing.
Indirect costs for viral marketing occur when marketing staff of a firm develop
marketing messages intended to be spread by internet users. In these
situations the costs of viral marketing is going to be limited to the
compensation provided to company marketing staff.

Direct costs for viral marketing, on the other hand, may be incurred when the
implementation of viral marketing strategy is being facilitated with the
inclusion of incentives for internet users for the spread of viral messages
(Anjum, 2011).

References
Anjum, A.H. (2011) Social Media Marketing: The Next Marketing Frontier
Grin Verlag
Beneke, J.H. (2010) The Application of Social Networking as a Marketing
Platform to Young Adults: An Emerging Market Perspective
Kabani, S.H. (2012) The Zen of Social Media Marketing 2012: An Easier Way
to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue Ben Bella Books
Lilien, G.L. & Grewal, R. (2012) Handbook of Business-to-Business
Marketing Edward Elgar Publishing
Mackay, A. & Wilmshurst, J. (2012) Fundamentals and Practice of
Marketing Routledge
Middleton, S. (2012) What You Need to Know About Marketing John Wiley
& Sons
Reece, M., Shah, R. & Kasper, M. (2010) How to Innovate in Marketing:
Collection FT Press
Ryan, D. & Jones, C. (2012) Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing
Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation Kogan Page
Schneider, G.P. (2011) Electronic Commerce Cengage Learning
Waldow, D.J. & Falls, J. (2012) The Rebels Guide to Email Marketing Que

Wirtz, J. (2012) Essentials of Services Marketing FT Press

Zarella, D. (2010) The Social Media Marketing Book OReilly
7 Great Viral Marketing Campaigns (2012) Inc. Available
at: http://www.inc.com/ss/7-successful-viral-marketing-campaigns#4