Literature Review

THE EVOLUTION OF VIRALITY AND SOCIAL SHARING IN DIGITAL MARKETING   2

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The evolution of virality and social sharing in digital marketing

Introduction

Viral marketing refers to the promotional process generated when a buzz is created among online users, and electronic word-of-mouth facilitates increased content sharing. It was easy to facilitate virality in the past because users would share any content that they found funny, heartwarming, or inspiring. However, it is harder for content to go viral today because algorithms influence content shareability. The reality is that not all content that ought to go viral does, and not all content that goes viral deserves the popularity attached to it. Virality is determined by several factors that include timing and algorithms. What cannot be disputed is that content has to appeal to a large audience to have any chance of going viral. Digital marketers have to analyze several factors before creating promotional content to increase the chances of it going viral. This article discusses some facts that increase the chances of advertising content going viral.

Annotated Bibliography

Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2012). What makes online content viral? Journal of Marketing Research, XLIX, 192-205. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/WhatMakesOnlineContentViral%20(1).pdf

Researchers in this study analyzed content characteristics to discover emotional factors that facilitate virality. They first examined 7000 articles from the most popular newspapers like The New York Times to accomplish this objective. They then invested in lab experiments to manipulate emotions to determine the activation induced by this action. Results from these processes indicate that using contagious content that has already been proven to have immense shareability increases the chances of content going viral. That is because audiences remain attached to content that achieved virality. That has a greater chance of attracting potential customers than influencers or the study of consumer buying behavior. This information is relevant to the study of virality because it provides digital marketers with a cost-effective but labor-intensive method of achieving virality. Moreover, the researchers have not addressed the possibility of confirmation bias – where users hear their voice and exclude other perspectives- affecting conclusions drawn about the influence of popular content.

Himelboim, I., & Golan, J. (2019). A Social Networks Approach to Viral Advertising: The Role of Primary, Contextual, and Low Influencers. Society + Social Media, 1-13. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/ASocialNetworksApproachtoViral%20(1).pdf

In this study, the authors aim to reveal the extent to which low, contextual, and primary influencers facilitate virality by increasing the number of consumers who purchase specified products. The researchers examine the advertising power wielded by these groups of influencers in the ‘Worlds Apart’ Heiniken campaign. This study, whose findings are meant to inform organizations’ advertising efforts, found that highly retweeted users attract the greatest numbers of consumers to a product. The researchers also found that the aggregated influence of highly mentioned users and low influencers increases their advertising power in social media networks like ‘Twitter’. Unlike the other two studies, this research prioritizes the importance of influencers in advertising efforts. There is confirmation bias, though, as the researchers only tested one dataset to examine the power wielded by influencers. This study is critical because it elaborates on how influencer marketing can increase brand awareness on social media platforms.

Pescher, C., Reichhart, P., & Spann, M. (2014). Consumer Decision-making Processes in Mobile

Viral Marketing Campaigns. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28, 43-54. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/ConsumerDecision-makingProcessesinMobileViralMarketingCampaigns%20(1).pdf

In this study, researchers examine the extent to which the mobile environment increases the possibility of content going viral by assessing the meanings ascribed to the exchange of messages in this setting. The research found that the entertainment value associated with the mobile platform makes it easier for consumers to share messages or forward them to friends, acquaintances, and strangers. That reveals the mobile phones as a factor that increases the possibility of content going viral, as consumers ascribe entertainment value to the mobile platform. However, these results cannot be generalized to a wider audience as researchers only examined a single product- a newly released music CD. This study focuses on how the mobile environment can increase the possibility of content going viral. In contrast, the other two studies assess the likelihood of popular content and influencers achieving the same. This study will help organizations resolve questions about reaching customers in the mobile environment.

References

Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2012). What makes online content viral? Journal of Marketing Research, XLIX, 192-205. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/WhatMakesOnlineContentViral%20(1).pdf

Himelboim, I., & Golan, J. (2019). A Social Networks Approach to Viral Advertising: The Role of Primary, Contextual, and Low Influencers. Society + Social Media, 1-13. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/ASocialNetworksApproachtoViral%20(1).pdf

Pescher, C., Reichhart, P., & Spann, M. (2014). Consumer Decision-making Processes in Mobile

Viral Marketing Campaigns. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28, 43-54. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/ConsumerDecision-makingProcessesinMobileViralMarketingCampaigns%20(1).pdf