Virality in digital marketing: definition and principles

by our Digital Agency and Social Media Agency Optimize 360

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We live in a digital age, where information travels rapidly from one person to another. In this context, the concept of virality has taken a leading role in digital marketing.

What is virality? How does it work? And how does content go viral? This article explains everything you need to know about virality in digital marketing.

What is virality?

In digital marketing, the virality is defined as the capacity of content (information, offer, product, service) to be shared on a massive scale by Internet users, via platforms such as social networks, newsgroups and the Internet. blogs or websites.

Electronic word of mouthAlso known as "buzz", this is the basis of virality. It is similar to traditional word-of-mouth, but exploits the potential of digital technologies to facilitate and accelerate the spread of information.

Virality can therefore be seen as the result of a amplified diffusion processwhere the content creator wants to reach a wide audience. audience thanks to the spread of information by Internet users themselves.

Why aim for virality in digital marketing?

When content goes viral, there can be many benefits for the company or brand concerned:

• Increased awareness and exposure
• Improved brand image
• Win new customers and retain existing ones
• Greater marketing effectiveness, thanks in particular to a generally favourable cost/audience ratio.

However, it should be noted that virality is not always a guarantee of success.. In some cases, it can have negative repercussions for a company, particularly if the content provokes controversial reactions or leads to malicious misappropriation. Communication strategies therefore need to assess the risks before attempting to generate buzz.

The key factors of virality in marketing

What are the factors that encourage content to go viral? It's difficult to give a universal answer, as this often depends on the specific characteristics of each sector, audience or platform. However, we can identify a few common factors:

Emotion

Content that arouses strong emotionsEmotions such as surprise, joy, anger or indignation tend to encourage more sharing. This is because emotions are an essential part of human interaction, including on the Internet.

The format

Certain content formats are particularly conducive to virality. This is the case, for example, with short, dynamic videos, eye-catching images or synthetic infographics that quickly convey clear, hard-hitting information.

Quality and usefulness

Content from high quality or with a practical interest is more likely to be shared. In this context, it is crucial to design offers that are tailored to the needs and expectations of the target audience.

Originality

Given the information overload that characterises the Internet, innovative and creative content generally has a better chance of capturing the attention of Internet users and generating electronic word-of-mouth.

Influencers

Social media play a vital role in the virality phenomenon. When an influential user shares content with his or her community of subscribers, this can quickly trigger the process of going viral.Working with influencers whose image and values correspond to the brand can multiply the possibilities for creating buzz around a specific offer or product.

A few techniques to encourage virality

Here are a few methods that digital marketers can use to try and maximise the virality of their content:

• Adapting content to different platformsand through specific formats (stories on Instagramlong-format articles for blogs) or appropriate tags.
  
  
• Involving Internet users with calls to action to encourage content sharing, and even offering rewards for the most active ambassadors.
  
  
• Maintain a regular and active presence on the main social networksThe aim is to build lasting relationships with subscribers and establish a solid foothold in these potential distribution areas.
  
  
• Analyse data relating to the performance of previous contentby studying which formats, subjects and publication times have produced the best results in terms of virality.

In short, virality is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon in digital marketing.

While its potential can be very powerful in generating visibility and engagement around a brand, it's important to bear in mind the risks inherent in this type of strategy and to be scrupulous about creating relevant, high-quality content.