Definition:
Virality is the rapid and widespread dissemination of content through successive actions by users who share, recommend or reproduce it in their own spaces. It can occur on social networks, messaging apps, email and other digital channels.
In digital marketing, viral marketing seeks to encourage this process to spread a message. However, content can go viral without being part of a campaign and without creating a positive perception of the brand.
Content goes viral when its dissemination extends beyond the initial audience and continues through new people who share it. A user may send a link to their contacts, post it on a social network or create a version that encourages others to participate.
Platform recommendation systems can also increase its exposure. Views therefore do not necessarily come only from recommendations between contacts.
Content can take forms such as videos, images, memes, text, interactive games or web pages. Usefulness, humour, surprise, emotion and connections with current events can encourage sharing, but there is no formula that guarantees virality.
There is no universal number of views that makes content viral. Analysing its spread requires considering the period, the usual audience, the rate of growth and sharing actions, as well as reach.
When dissemination is favourable and reaches a relevant audience, it can offer advantages such as the following:
- Distribution savings: users’ actions can extend reach without paying for each new exposure. This does not eliminate production, planning, management or initial promotion costs.
- Visibility: content can reach people who were unfamiliar with the brand. That reach does not guarantee that they belong to the target audience or will become customers.
- Speed: dissemination can grow quickly across different channels. That speed can also make it harder to respond to mistakes or unexpected interpretations.
- Credibility: receiving content from someone familiar can encourage attention and trust. However, sharing does not always imply endorsement: people may also share it to criticise or question it.
Evaluation must distinguish dissemination, brand perception and commercial results. Widely shared content can generate visits or enquiries, but also criticism or attention unrelated to the organisation’s objectives.
The following cases illustrate different forms of dissemination, from charitable participation to advertising controversy:
- "Dumb Ways to Die" (2012): a railway safety campaign by Metro Trains in Melbourne that combined a song with animated characters. Its format helped the message circulate as entertainment content. The video’s spread does not in itself demonstrate a reduction in accidents.
- "Ice Bucket Challenge" (2014): an initiative associated with raising awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Participants posted videos pouring ice-cold water over themselves and nominated other people. The combination of participation, nominations and donations encouraged its spread and fundraising.
- "Will It Blend?" (2006): a series of Blendtec videos featuring its founder, Tom Dickson, blending unusual objects. It turned a product demonstration into an entertainment series with a recognisable format.
- Old Spice’s "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (2010): a campaign featuring Isaiah Mustafa that combined humour with distinctive staging. The brand subsequently published video responses to users’ comments, incorporating audience interaction into the content.
- Pepsi’s advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner (2017): the ad spread amid criticism of its portrayal of social protests and was withdrawn. It illustrates how high visibility can be associated with a negative reaction.
These examples do not represent a single recipe. Dissemination depends on the content, the context and the audience’s response, and its effects must be evaluated separately.