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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
Only hilarious is adequate to go viral in our
supercharged digital world
It is not pure altruism that triggers users to share certain Karen Nelson-Field, a Senior Research Associate with
content on the Internet with other people, but rather the the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the University of South
opposite - a very selfish act of gratification. Creating Australia, delved even deeper into what makes a video
and receiving a social status by being compared to oth- go viral. She came to the conclusion that “videos of
ers as a transmitter of new, interesting and innovative sneezing panda cubs, or Charlie biting his brother’s
content on Facebook, or tweeting and re-tweeting on finger, can achieve enviable share on purely organic
Twitter, is the reward. terms, but the Holy Grail of marketing is to be found in
achieving the perfect sharing formula by design”, which
Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman managed to shed reminds content creators to invest a lot of time in ‘pre-
light on the question why people share content. Accord- testing to ensure the material makes the viewer laugh,
ing to their findings positive content is more viral than gasp or get goose bumps.’
negative content and the viral success of content is
highly dependent on its emotional impact. Similar to Berger and Milkman findings, her team could
prove that “high-arousal positive” emotions were
For sure you ask now what kind of emotions triggers to shared more often than those that drew any other emo-
share content the most. Well, let me tell you that the tional response, which emphasizes to focus more on
key to high sharing rates is neither humor nor fear or emotional than creative appeal.
horror, but "exhilaration", according to their study.
“In our supercharged world, funny isn’t enough—only
Everybody knows by now the ‘Gangnam Style’ which hilarious will do. Happiness is okay, but exhilarating is
remains one of the most viewed viral videos of all time. what we want. Negative high-arousal emotions can al-
But as The Drum reported, its global success was not so prompt us to share, but which marketer is brave
the work of random chance, but the result of a careful enough to risk offending their customers? Positive
production of content, combined with relentless re- emotions are a much safer bet”, she concludes.◊
search, well planned placing, and a sophisticated strat-
egy. By Daniela La Marca
12 Asian eMarketing - May 2016: The impact of Social Media & Storytelling, Native & Contextual Advertising, on Content Marketing
12
Only hilarious is adequate to go viral in our
supercharged digital world
It is not pure altruism that triggers users to share certain Karen Nelson-Field, a Senior Research Associate with
content on the Internet with other people, but rather the the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the University of South
opposite - a very selfish act of gratification. Creating Australia, delved even deeper into what makes a video
and receiving a social status by being compared to oth- go viral. She came to the conclusion that “videos of
ers as a transmitter of new, interesting and innovative sneezing panda cubs, or Charlie biting his brother’s
content on Facebook, or tweeting and re-tweeting on finger, can achieve enviable share on purely organic
Twitter, is the reward. terms, but the Holy Grail of marketing is to be found in
achieving the perfect sharing formula by design”, which
Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman managed to shed reminds content creators to invest a lot of time in ‘pre-
light on the question why people share content. Accord- testing to ensure the material makes the viewer laugh,
ing to their findings positive content is more viral than gasp or get goose bumps.’
negative content and the viral success of content is
highly dependent on its emotional impact. Similar to Berger and Milkman findings, her team could
prove that “high-arousal positive” emotions were
For sure you ask now what kind of emotions triggers to shared more often than those that drew any other emo-
share content the most. Well, let me tell you that the tional response, which emphasizes to focus more on
key to high sharing rates is neither humor nor fear or emotional than creative appeal.
horror, but "exhilaration", according to their study.
“In our supercharged world, funny isn’t enough—only
Everybody knows by now the ‘Gangnam Style’ which hilarious will do. Happiness is okay, but exhilarating is
remains one of the most viewed viral videos of all time. what we want. Negative high-arousal emotions can al-
But as The Drum reported, its global success was not so prompt us to share, but which marketer is brave
the work of random chance, but the result of a careful enough to risk offending their customers? Positive
production of content, combined with relentless re- emotions are a much safer bet”, she concludes.◊
search, well planned placing, and a sophisticated strat-
egy. By Daniela La Marca
12 Asian eMarketing - May 2016: The impact of Social Media & Storytelling, Native & Contextual Advertising, on Content Marketing
12
