Going Viral: An Analysis of YouTube Videos.

Author: Iris Mohr Year: 2014

Once upon a time there used to be big debates about the next innovative most above the line (ATL) communication tool. Armstrong and Feldman (1976) suggested different marketing strategies regarding the effective use of opinion leaders as an innovative promotional tool. With evolution of technology the former mentioned innovation’s credibility slid downhill while a new innovative tool called the ‘Word of Mouth’ or ‘Viral Marketing’ rose up. The focus of Marketer has increasingly changed towards social marketing encouraging consumers to share both content and recommendation. As Keller,(2012) mentions marketers to emphasize on ‘expression’ which he suggests creates active consumer engagement with content and not on’ impression’ which he believes is a passive non-engaging participant. Keller (2012) also argues ‘isn’t customer engagement with our brand the ultimate thing we are trying to achieve?’ Impact of Influencers over a time period has extended to two step/ multi step models of communication. This article steps into critically analysing the various factors revolving around a successful viral campaign based on earlier empirical studies. Memorable content, structure of digital social network, motivation of ‘will to participate’ and seeding strategies are allotted as four most important factors. Author uses the example of Susan Boyle; a Britain Got Talent shot participants viral success in order to demonstrate the four factors. The content of Susan’s video included high dosage of emotion and thus memory quotient was high. Like the former factor the social platform was YouTube which comprises of videos from both individuals and huge media corporations. The later factor utilized all the controversies that enveloped Susan’s performance gave strong motivational drivers for consumer to have a bite in it. Lastly the seeding strategy included bombardment of participation of celebrities, media, bloggers, twitters and it even extended to studies published in Journal of Marketing. The author recommends a clarification of the new ‘opinion leader’ construct, and constructing an integrated framework that affects the causality of communications.

References

Armstrong, G. M., & Feldman, L. P. (1976, August). Exposure and Sources of Opinion Leaders. Journal of Advertising Research, 16, 21-29.

Keller, E. (2012). Word-of-Mouth Advocacy. Journal of Advertising Research, 459-470.

Mohr, I. (2014). Goin Viral: An Analysis of Youtube Videos. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 8(3), 43-49.