18min
Going Viral explains what makes digital content go viral, using a careful analysis of the nine principal factors that cause people to want to share an image, an article or a video. Drawing on various disciplines, such as maths, psychology and economics, Brent Coker reveals the human mechanisms hidden behind a simple click or an innocent like.
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Analysis and key concepts
01.
We need to be motivated to share content
02.
What is “social currency” and why is it so important?
03.
When we communicate on social media, we are driven by the need to increase our self-esteem, to feel superior and to show a positive image of ourselves
04.
Emotions are very powerful because they motivate us to act and they are highly contagious
05.
Our expectations make us more communicative and eager to interact
06.
Leveraging people’s passions to create a sense of identification is an excellent strategy for creating content that can go viral
07.
Our innate sense of justice makes us feel called to action when we see disadvantaged people struggling
08.
We tend to follow the crowd when we are afraid of making bad choices and prefer to believe that other people know what they are doing
09.
As human beings we have an innate need to affirm our belonging to a group
10.
Content must have a positive and transformative impact on the viewer
11.
Quotes
12.
Take-home message
Content becomes viral when, thanks to the use of digital media, it is spread fast, far and wide. Just like a virus, the more content is exposed to a multitude of people, the greater the chance that it will expand and “take root”, virtually, without limits. Sharing is what makes content go viral; but this is not a new concept, it is simply the evolution of word-of-mouth. What is revolutionary, compared to the classic marketing methods used in the past, is the speed with which content can spread, thanks to the digital world. By bringing together knowledge from various disciplines, such as mathematics, psychology and economics, it is possible to explain not only why certain content goes viral, but also to predict strategies and techniques that allow images, information and videos to reach millions of people in just a few seconds. At the root of this dynamic, there is only one factor we need to consider: motivation. Viral marketing studies and analyses what motivates people to share content.
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The author
Brent Coker is a digital marketing pioneer, researcher and professor at the University of Melbourne, who has dedicated years to researching and studying what motivates people to share content on the internet. He holds a PhD in consumer psychology and was the first to develop an algorithm that can predict the spread of memes and advertising videos.
Edition
Publishing house:
FT Press
Year:
2016
Pages:
160
ISBN:
978-1292087924