How does content go viral.

1. Helping create
brands for the
future _
Viral content marketing
by Jyotika Malhotra
14 December 2011 | All content copyright

2. Source – http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/viral-marketing
What is virality?
_
^‘Gone viral’ means a piece of content has been well received and
widely shared
^When word of mouth turns to word of mouse
^Examples
^‘Why this Kolaveri Di’
^Growth of Hotmail.com (fastest in the world)
^ Vodafone ZooZoo ads and more…
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3. Understanding
virality _ Reed’s Law: Network supports formation of groups
^Consumer + Producer =
Prosumer
^As even consumers can
produce, share and create
content
^Leads to formation of communities and interconnections between
them; groups can talk with each other and within allowing for
exponential growth . For the mathematically inclined the details are
here: http://bit.ly/reedslaw
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4. Source – http://www.noahbrier.com/archives/2007/06/the_math_of_viral/
The math of
viral _
^In the old days of media buying, Value = Cost
^Viral marketing attempts to get value far and beyond cost
^While cost is still constant, value grows exponentially
^Post critical mass crossover/ Tipping point, the network starts paying
^The fundamental flaw underlying both Metcalfe's and Reed's laws is in
the assignment of equal value to all connections or all groups
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5. Types of viral
content _
Articles and blog posts
Interactive content (quizzes, contest, widgets)
Video/audio (also vlogs, podcasts)
Infographics
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6. Source – http://www.movieviral.com/2011/10/19/in-time-twitter-contest-win-
Types of viral tickets-to-the-world-premiere/
content _ ‘In Time’ viral contest
^For the movie ‘In Time’, a Twitter contest to win tickets went viral
^#intimepremiere carried a virtual map with the location of the ticket
giveaways
^Five people were located in the Los Angeles area secretly handing out
tickets to the event
^As the amount of tweets increased, the closer one became to
discovering the secret giveaway locations
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7. Why should
people share it? Characteristics
_
Is it hilarious?– mood elevator
Is it incredible or unbelievable?– seek similar reaction from friends
Is it emotional?– positive or negative connect
Is it agrees with our world view?– backs up our values
Is it makes us stop and think?– makes us ponder at big questions in life
Is it not covered by the mainstream media?
Is it dramatic?
Is it embarrassing?– guilty pleasure
Is it provocative (but SFW)?– adds spice to life, yet can be openly shared
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8. Source – http://www.soravjain.com/why-this-kolaveri-di-%E2%80%93-social-media-
sensation-%E2%80%93-movie-marketing-case-study
Kolaveri Di
Why did ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’ go viral?
video_
^Catchy and foot tapping
^English with Tamil accent
^Subtitles – karaoke approach
^Personalised video with real emotions
^Song can speak more than a trailer
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9. Source – www.blogworks.in
Ingredients of a
trending topic _ Characteristics
Top trending #
Nucleus Topic Influencers Timing Trending
Topicalit Other
Seed Velocity Mass Niche Resonance Speed Credibility of day
y trends
Spread Dense
(few (many
from from Hashtag
many) few)
gene topic conte
ric al xtual
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10. Source – mashable.com
Viral content
design _ Information Design
Interestingness Function Form Integrity
• Relevant • Easiness • Beauty • Truth
• Meaningful • Usefulness • Structure • Consistency
• New • Usability • Appearance • Honesty
• Fit • Accuracy
Result Interestingness Function Form Integrity
Experiment P P
Sketch P P
Eye-candy P P
Proof of concept P P
Ugly P P P
Rubbish P P P
Boring P P P
Useless P P P
Success information
design
P P P P
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11. Integrated viral
execution _ Old Spice example
^In July 2010, Old Spice launched their video campaign (was the
fastest growing online viral video campaign ever)
^Created a bathroom set and had their brand endorser (A TV star)
reply to online comments and questions from Facebook, Twitter,
Youtube
^The campaign ran for three days
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12. Thank you_