Getting it wrong: astroturfing - Viral Marketing

“Astroturfing” refers to parties trying to manipulate word of mouth, and comes from the term “grassroots campaigning”. Sometimes referred to as “stealth marketing”, it can also be a viral campaign killer.

Astroturfing usually occurs in the seeding period of a campaign. Employees may use fake names to try to seed a campaign on forums, in blog comments and through services such as Digg (www.digg.com). Communities are quick to pick up on false commentary, and this can be disastrous for a campaign. As with all social media interactions, transparency and authenticity can be far better for traction.