viral advertising in social media - maria petrescu

7/27/2019 Viral Advertising in Social Media - Maria Petrescu

1/26

Viral advertising in social media

Authors:

Maria Petrescu

Dr. Pradeep Korgaonkar

Florida Atlantic University

Etended A!stract "to !e pu!lished in the proceedings#

Despite the growing potential and interest in the practitioners world related to

viral advertising and marketing, academic research regarding viral marketing and social

media has been sparse, especially compared with other areas of marketing research

(Allsop, Bassett and Hoskins, 2007 Borroff 2000, !teyer et al" 2007#" $here is still a

limited %nderstanding of the viral techni&%e (Borroff 2000, 'raham and Havlena 2007#"

$he st%dies on the viral concept in advertising have not yet clarified the m%ltit%de of

names and definitions, electronic word)of)mo%th*, word)of)mo%se*, viral marketing*,

b%++* and viral advertising* or the effects of the viral concept on the advertising

process and o%tcome"

revio%s research has noted the necessity to st%dy the nat%re, characteristics and

eval%ation or viral advertising and the most efficient %se of comm%nications among

cons%mers as a means of m%ltiplying a brand-s pop%larity (.hi% et al" 2007, !teyer et al"

2007#" /t is beneficial to st%dy how viral advertising works, the contets in which it

performs best and how it infl%ences brand and ad attit%de formation (.r%+ and 1ill 200,

3o+inets et al" 2040#"

4


2/26


3/26

A!stract

$he ob5ectives of this st%dy are to a# provide an overview of the past social media

research foc%sing on different aspects of the viral comm%nication, vario%sly termed

electronic word)of)mo%th*, word)of)mo%se*, viral marketing* and b%++*, b# clarify

and analy+e the concept of viral advertising in social media and c# provide a definition to

red%ce the prevailing ambig%ities in the past definitions" $he key differences between all

the forms of new online marketing can be s%mmari+ed in terms of the five key schemes

a# the platforms %sed, b# traditional comm%nication or /nternet, c# their ob5ective, d# type

of message transmitted and e# orientation of the comm%nication" $hese differences are

disc%ssed in order to clarify the n%mero%s concepts related to online marketing"

8


4/26

Viral advertising in social media

%. &ntroduction

/n 499:, ;%st and , 1erg%son 200, orter and 'olan 200?, !teyer, 'arcia)Bardidia and @%ester 2007,

p"29#" $he /nternet has impacted different aspects of the b%siness processes, with

marketing representing a significant part of online b%siness activities (3rishnam%rthy and

!ingh 200>, p"?0>#"

/nternet)based advertising is contin%ally growing while the traditional advertising

media s%ch as $, radio, maga+ines and newspapers are losing terrain in front of the

6eb" $echnology and other factors have significantly evolved and positively affect the

way cons%mers process comm%nications, favoring rapid and efficient information

echange and interactivity (ohnson, Br%ner and 3%mar 200?,3eller 2009#" $he wide %se

of the /nternet has helped managers reali+e the potential of a new technology able to improve the

traditional word)of)mo%th comm%nication, transforming it into an online viral way of

comm%nication with and between cons%mers (Datta et al" 200>#"

Advertising and marketing research st%dies related to the /nternet have mentioned

aspects s%ch as electronic word)of)mo%th*, word)of)mo%se*, viral marketing*, b%++*

and viral advertising* (Dobele, $oleman and Beverland, 200>, %rvetson 4997, orter

and 'olan 200?#"

:


5/26

Among the many benefits of the /nternet for marketing, this viral potential is one

of the most infl%ential" As ;%st and


6/26

$witter and Eo%$%be, is %nbelievable" 1acebook anno%nced in 1ebr%ary 2040 that it

reached :00 million active %sers"


7/26

traditional advertising medi%m and the new social media and c# to provide a definition to

red%ce the prevailing ambig%ities in the past definitions" $he key differences between all

the forms of new online marketing are presented in $able 4"

[please insert Table 1 about here]

As $able 4 shows, the key differences between these concepts can be s%mmari+ed

in terms of the five key schemes a# the platforms %sed, b# traditional comm%nication or

/nternet, c# their ob5ective, d# type of message transmitted and e# orientation of the

comm%nication" $hese differences will be f%rther disc%ssed in the following sections of

this st%dy"

'. (ocial media and advertising

!ocial media incl%des a broad range of online platforms, s%ch as social

networking sites, brand)sponsored virt%al worlds, open virt%al worlds, video and photo

comm%nities, and social news" $hey became powerf%l word)of)mo%th comm%nication

medi%m and changed the way people comm%nicate and keep in to%ch with their social

gro%ps (Anderson, 200, H%ng, 2007#" !ocial media became pop%lar given its advantages

in allowing comm%nication, information sharing, keeping in to%ch with friends and

finding new friends" $he highly s%ccessf%l Eo%$%be allows video sharing, 1acebook and

Cy!pace provide a platform for social networking, $witter allows information and news

sharing, while other more speciali+ed websites, s%ch as inked/n, allow networking with

specific p%rposes (Anderson, 200 $%ten 200#" !ome of them are based on established

networks of friends, while others allow sharing with anyone interested" $%ten (200#

divides social networks into (4# egocentric (1acebook I social networking# and (2# ob5ect

7


8/26

centric (s%ch as Eo%$%be I video sharing#" $he egocentric networks are foc%sed on

individ%als, s%ch as networks of friends, while the ob5ect centered ones deal with ob5ects

s%ch as pict%res or video"

/n this contet, social)media advertising %ses the social comm%nities, s%ch as

social networks and virt%al worlds as an advertising medi%m, 5%st as the $ is %sed by

traditional advertising" !ocial media becomes a marketing channel" However, the r%les of

the game totally change, since the cons%mer is in control" $he advantages of %sing social

media incl%de potential interaction between cons%mers and brands, viral potential of

being diff%sed in short time and for a very low cost (Barefoot J !+abo 2040 ;iegner

2007#" !ocial media also increases the impact of word)of)mo%th within a personKs social

circle" $he interactivity potential and the cons%mer being in control also lead to an

increasing &%antity of cons%mer generated media (iederhoffer et al" 2007#" Brands can

receive a significant 5%mp)start from the viral comm%nication of brand messages, given

the diff%sion range of advertising messages within social media" A friend tells a friend

who tells his friends and so on, the rate increases as the information travels the social

channel" As a message gets transmitted from person to person, the distrib%tion potential

increases eponentially within the social networks ($%ten 200#" /nteractivity, vol%ntary

participation and easy transformation from spectator into actor promote comm%nication,

sharing and cooperation"

/n this st%dy, we will be looking at two of the main players in the market,

1acebook and Eo%$%be" Lach of them represents a different type of social network,

egocentric vers%s ob5ect centric ($%ten, 200#"

1acebookKs pop%larity has increased dramatically lately" 1or marketers, it offers


9/26

n%mero%s tools, from targeted display ads, to personal* company profiles where

companies can share information and attract fans* or friends*" 1acebook Beacon

provides a channel to virally distrib%te information abo%t %ser brand)related activity

(Barefoot J !+abo 2040 $%ten 200#" !ince it incl%des networks of friends, 1acebook

presents a h%ge potential to eponentially increase the distrib%tion of a message"

Fnlike 1acebook, Eo%$%be is an ob5ect centered media, incl%ding %ser)generated

content, generally video" Here is where videos have the highest potential to go viral" /t

presents the option of creating social networks on the site and sharing information and, in

the same time, it is accessible to people o%tside the network or witho%t registration or

creation of a personal profile" Advertisers can post to Eo%$%be and advertise their

information, can let the cons%mers do the viral 5ob by transmitting the information

forward, or can even let posts occ%r organically, thro%gh fans that capt%re video and post

it the site (;iegner 2007 $%ten 200#" Anyway, the level of epos%re and media coverage

potential is significant" Fsing Eo%$%be as an advertising media is m%ch less epensive

than %sing $ commercials" $he cons%mer)generated ads also have the potential to

become viral"


10/26


11/26


12/26


13/26

techni&%es that %se pre)eisting social networks to prod%ce eponential increases in brand

awareness(Datta et al" 200># or electronic, online form of 6#" /t

relies on c%stomers to pass forward the message %sing digital platforms (Helm, 2000#"

Altho%gh the terms are %sed interchangeably in the literat%re, we find differences

between 6#" !econd, we also accept 1erg%sonKs (200# position, that the

difference between viral marketing and 6


14/26

$herefore, viral marketing incl%des the online or offline activities performed by

managers and marketers in order to make the message viral and have electronic 6


15/26

However, the most significant differences between viral marketing and b%++ is

again in terms of process and o%tp%t, as we saw in the case of differentiating between

word)of)mo%th and viral marketing" B%++, 5%st like word)of)mo%th, often times is an

o%tp%t or conse&%ence of viral marketing (Bampo, 200 Dobele et al", 200>#"

arcene% (2007# notes that there are two types of b%++ a commercial type and a

non)commercial type" $he commercial b%++ is fo%nded on marketing strategies that

contrib%ted to its creation and growth, s%pporting the comm%nication echange between

cons%mers, and especially enco%raging opinion leaders to speak o%t"


16/26

it, the e6


17/26

6hile some st%dies %se the term viral marketing and viral advertising

interchangeably, we will attempt to clarify the concept of viral advertising" orter and

'olan (200?# define viral advertising as %npaid peer)to)peer comm%nication of

provocative content originating from an identified sponsor %sing the /nternet to pers%ade

or infl%ence an a%dience to pass along the content to others* (p"29#" 3irby (200?# writes

that viral advertising incl%des creating contagio%s advertising messages that get to be

transmitted from peer to peer in order to increase brand awareness"

/n this contet, we define viral advertising as %npaid online distrib%tion or

comm%nication of advertising content and messages from peer to peer" /t does not

necessarily need to be done in an online platform, however the /nternet offers a

significantly increased potential of an ad becoming viral and being having an

eponentially growing diff%sion rate" /t is m%ch faster and with a m%ch wider reach to

transmit an ad online, either video, a%dio or print (pict%re# format, thro%gh social media,

social networks, e)mail and other platforms" iral advertising incl%des different forms,

the link of a video ad from, for eample, Eo%$%be, being transmitted to peers thro%gh e)

mail or social media"

.lassical viral advertising eamples are the Nwhass%pON viral ad from B%dweiser

or the $ro5an condoms- 200: Nse #"


18/26

f%rther transmit the message" $he cons%mer needs to like the ad eno%gh not only for

himPher to b%y the prod%ct, b%t to also pass the message forward"

iral advertising is personal and even tho%gh it is from an identified sponsor, it

does not mean the companies pay for its distrib%tion" Cost of the classical viral ads

circ%lating online are ads paid for by the sponsor brand, la%nched either on their own

platform (company webpage or social media profile# or on social media websites s%ch as

Eo%$%be" .ons%mers get the page link from there or copy the entire ad and pass if

forward thro%gh e)mail or posting it on a blog, webpage, social media profile"

$here are many disc%ssions on the different antecedents and strategies that make

an ad viral" 1or eample, .r%+ and 1ill (200# notes two viral forms, random and placed,

differing with regards to place mode (paid or non)paid# and whether they incl%de a call)

to)action or not" !tanbo%li (2008# also writes that the key point is for marketers to take

advantage of these propagation opport%nities and be able to respond to the epectations

of /nternet s%rfers" /n the /nternet era, viral advertising is a h%ge opport%nity, especially

for companies who want to take advantage of a low cost advertising sol%tion, however,

there are certain r%les that one m%st respect* (!tanbo%li 2008, p"97#" Coreover, viral ads

can also be %sed for prod%cts that do not benefit of the wow* factor, in order to generate

b%++ on the topic, as long as the marketers are able to come %p with a viral ad (3irby

200?#"

onclusions

/nternet)based advertising is contin%ally growing, while technology and other

factors have significantly evolved and positively affect the way cons%mers process

comm%nications, favoring rapid and efficient information echange and interactivity

4


19/26

(ohnson, Br%ner and 3%mar 200?,3eller 2009#" /n the internet contet, advertising and

marketing research st%dies related to the /nternet have mentioned aspects s%ch as

electronic word)of)mo%th*, word)of)mo%se*, viral marketing*, b%++* and viral

advertising* (Dobele, $oleman and Beverland, 200>, %rvetson 4997, orter and 'olan

200?#"

$his st%dy provided an overview of the past social media research foc%sing on

different aspects of the viral comm%nication, and provided clarification of the definitions

and differences between the vario%s terms %sed in the relation marketing)/nternet

electronic word)of)mo%th*, word)of)mo%se*, viral marketing* and b%++* in order to

clarify the concept of viral advertising"

6e showed that the key differences between these concepts can be s%mmari+ed in

terms of the platforms %sed, traditional comm%nication or /nternet, their ob5ective, type

of message being transmitted, actors and orientation of the comm%nication" 1inally, we

define the key concept of o%r st%dy, viral advertising, as unpaid online distri!ution or

communication o$ advertising content and messages $rom consumer to consumer.

$he definition capt%res the key ingredients of viral advertising and separates it from other

forms of advertising"

49


20/26

1e$erences

Allsop, Dee $", Bryce ;" Bassett and ames A" Hoskins (2007#, 6ord of Co%th

;esearch rinciples and Applications*,Journal of Advertising Research, :7(:#

89):44"

Anderson, !teve (200#, Fsing !ocial etworks to CarketK*Rough Notes, 4>4(2# 44:)

44>"

Arndt, ohan (49?7#, ;ole of rod%ct);elated .onversations in the Diff%sion of a ew

rod%ct,*Journal of Marketing Research, :(8# 294)29>"

Bampo, Ca%ro, Cichael $" Lwing, Dineli ;" Cather, David !tewart and Cark 6allace

(200#, $he Lffects of the !ocial !tr%ct%re of Digital etworks on iral

Carketing erformance,*Information !stems Research, 49(8# 278I290"

Barefoot, Darren and %lie !+abo (2040#,"riends #ith $enefits% A ocial Media

Marketing &andbook%o !tarch ress"

Bay%s, Barry " (49>#, 6ord of Co%th the /ndirect Lffects of Carketing Lfforts,*

Journal of Advertising Research, 2> 84)89"

Borroff, ;yan (2000#, iral Carketing,*'recision Marketing, 20 42"

Brea+eale, Cichael (2009#, 6ord of Co%se" An Assessment of Llectronic 6ord)of)

Co%th ;esearch,*International Journal of Market Research, >4(8# 297)84"

.hi%, H%ng).hang, Ei).hing Hsieh, Ea)H%i 3ao and Conle ee (2007#, $he

Determinants of Lmail ;eceivers- Disseminating Behaviors on the /nternet,*

Journal of Advertising Research:7(:# >2:)>8:"

.r%+, Danilo and .hris 1ill (200#, Lval%ating iral Carketing /solating the 3ey

.riteria,*Marketing Intelligence ( 'lanning, 2?(7# 7:8)7>"

20
http://%20void%200/http://%20void%200/http://%20void%200/


21/26

Datta, alto ;", Dababrata " .howdh%ry, Bonya ;" .hakraborty (200>#, iral

Carketing ew form of 6ord)of)Co%th thro%gh /nternet,* The $usiness Revie#,

8(2# ?9)7>"

Derbai, .hristian and oelle anhamme (2008#, /nd%cing 6ord)of)Co%th by Lliciting

!%rprise I A ilot /nvestigation,*Journal of )conomic 's!cholog!, 2: 99I44?"

Dobele, Angela, David $oleman and Cichael Beverland (200>#, .ontrolled /nfectionQ

!preading the Brand Cessage thro%gh iral Carketing,*$usiness &ori*ons,

:(2# 4:8R4:9"

Dobele, Angela, Adam indgreen, Cichael Beverland, oSlle anhamme and ;obert van

6i5k (2007#, 6hy ass on iral CessagesO Beca%se $hey .onnect

Lmotionally,*$usiness &ori*ons, >0 294I80:"

1erg%son, ;ick (200#, 6ord of Co%th and iral Carketing $aking the $emperat%re of

the Hottest $rends in Carketing,*Journal of +onsumer Marketing, 2>(8# 479I

42"

'elb, Betsy D" and !%resh !%ndaram (2002#, Adapting to N6ord of Co%seN,*$usiness

&ori*ons, :>(:# 24)2>"

'illy, Cary ., ohn 'raham, Cary 1inley 6olfinbarger and a%ra Eale (499#, A

Dyadic !t%dy of /nterpersonal /nformation !earch,*Academ! of Marketing

cience Journal, 2?(2# 8)400"

'raham, effrey and 6illiam Havlena (2007#, 1inding the Cissing ink* Advertising-s

/mpact on 6ord of Co%th, 6eb !earches, and !ite isits,*Journal of Advertising

Research, :7(:# :27):29"

'r%en, $homas 6", $alai


22/26

/mpact of .%stomer)to).%stomer 9 ::9 I :>?"

Helm, !abrina (2000#, iral Carketing Lstablishing .%stomer ;elationship by T6ord)

of)Co%seK*,)lectronic Markets, 40(8# 4>)4?4"

Hennig)$h%ra%, $horsten, 3evin " 'winner, 'ianfranco 6alsh, and Dwayne D"

'remler, D"D" (200:#, Llectronic 6ord)of)Co%th via .ons%mer)2"

Henricks, Cark (499#, N!pread the word advertising by word)of)mo%thN, )ntrepreneur,

2?(2# 420)42?"

Hogan, ohn L", 3atherine " emon and Barak ibai (200:#, @%antifying the ;ipple

6ord of)Co%th and Advertising Lffectiveness,*Journal of Advertising Research,

::(8# 274)20"

H%ng, 3ineta H" and !tella Eiyan i (2007#, $he /nfl%ence of e6"

ohnson, 'race ", 'ordon ." Br%ner // and Anand 3%mar (200?#, /nteractivity and /ts

1acets ;evisited" $heory and Lmpirical $est,*Journal of Advertising, 8>(:# 8>I

>2"

%rvetson, !teve and $im Draper (4997#, iral Carketing henomenon Lplained,*

;etrieved April 4>th2040 from httpPPwww"df5"comPnewsParticleU2?"shtml

3eller, 3evin ane (2009#, B%ilding !trong Brands in a Codern Carketing

.omm%nications Lnvironment,*Journal of Marketing +ommunications, 4>(2#

22
http://www.dfj.com/news/article_26.shtmlhttp://www.dfj.com/news/article_26.shtml


23/26

489V4>>"

3irby, %stin and a%l Carsden (200?#, +onnected Marketing The -iral, $u** and .ord

of Mouth Revolution, Llsevier"

3o+inets, ;obert ", 3ristine de alck, Andrea ."6o5nicki and !arah "!"6ilner (2040#,

etworked arratives Fnderstanding 6ord)of)Co%th Carketing in


24/26

Advertising 'la!book 0 'roven trategies and Tested Tactics from the Advertising

Research "oundation, ohn 6iley J !ons, /nc", Hoboken, ew ersey

;eid,Alasdair (200>#, iral Advertising.ampaigns23+ampaign,4:"

;iegner, .ate (2007#, 6ord of Co%th on the 6eb $he /mpact of 6eb 2"0 on .ons%mer

%rchase Decisions,*Journal of Advertising Research, :7(:# :8?)::7"

;ogers, Lverett C" (498#,iffusion of innovations(8rd ed"#, ew Eork 1ree ress

;%st, ;oland $" and ;ichard 6"


25/26

;eview of the $heory of iral !tealth Carketing,*Australasian Marketing

Journal, 47(4# 9)4>"

$homas, 'reg Cet+ (200:#, B%ilding the B%++ in the Hive Cind*,Journal of +onsumer

$ehavior, :(4# ?:)72"

$sai, essica (2009#, ideo is Core than iral 1orget Eo%$%be !ensations and

6ardrobe Calf%nctions,* +RM Maga*ine, 48 8?):2"

$%ten, $racy " 200,Advertising 4%50 ocial Media Marketing in A .eb 4%5 .orld,

raeger, 6estport .onnectic%t"

6elker, .arl B" (2002# $he aradigm of iral .omm%nication,*Information ervicesJ

2se, 22 8I"

2>


26/26

Appendi

$able 4 Ca5or Llements of Definitions

De$inition Purpose Plat$orm ,!4ect Direction

(ocial media

viral advertising in social media - maria petrescu

Documents