Emotion and viral content

Viral content can be a powerful and profitable phenomenon and, for advertisers looking to use this to their advantage, understanding the psychology behind why people share can provide some useful insights.

According to the New York Times, recent research conducted separately at the University of Texas and the University of Pennsylvania, USA, has demonstrated that emotion is the key. The more intense an emotional response a piece of content provokes, the more likely it is to be shared. Strong positive reactions are especially likely to have this effect. 

Taking things one step further, a marketing technology company called Unruly has identified the psychological responses that increase the chances of a video or content going viral. These include happiness, exhilaration, amazement, inspiration, hilarity, contempt and disgust. In order to be successful, the content has to elicit a response powerful enough that people stop what they're doing and feel compelled to share it with their network. 

Unruly has also demonstrated the importance of timing when it comes to viral advertising. The first three days after content is published are make or break for its success in going viral, and it should be broadcast to as wide an audience as possible during this critical window of opportunity.

Sometimes people share things just because they want to influence how others perceive them (even if they haven’t read/watched the items themselves). This behaviour is about individuals projecting a desired identity to their peers.

Worth the effort: personalised communications

Many tactics in marketing are now digital or automated, but this doesn’t mean that marketing messages should be generic. It’s really important that companies communicate with their customers on a regular basis, to make them feel remembered and valued as clients.

By making customers feel that little bit special, Marketers can make forge an emotional attachment that increases the customer’s loyalty, and makes it less likely that they’ll be enticed by competitors or big-budget ads. Just making small tweaks to deliver a tailored message (whether it’s through email newsletters, social media, website updates or calls), can have huge impact on how well the communications are received.

Some methods of introducing personalisation are: 

Segmentation 
Sending out targeted communications that are relevant to the customers’ industry sector or product base is one of the most fundamental ways to increase personalisation, particularly for B2B companies. By segmenting the marketing database, tailored messages can be developed that are specific to each group of customers. This type of communication is proven to be far more engaging than a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Emotional triggers 
Building an emotional connection involves demonstrating that the customer (person) is most important, not just their business. Small touches such as addressing marketing emails to recipients by name, sending a birthday message or renewal reminder, are easy ways to connect on a more personal level. Many such tweaks can now be automated, so adapting communications doesn’t have to be a laborious task. 

Tailored online experiences 
Providing websites and pages that are tailored to the user is another powerful means to deliver a personalised customer experience. Visitors benefit because they receive the content they want, quicker. Brands can start to respond to customer needs and engage in dialogue – which in turn helps increase revenue. (http://www.themarketer.co.uk/archives/trends/personalised-marketing/)

Becoming a benchmark brand

This article by Jim Joseph looks at the strategic value in becoming a ‘benchmark brand’, as opposed to a ‘default’ one. In order to make that happen there are a few key areas where brands can focus their marketing efforts…

Engagement
Real loyalty is when customer purchasing decisions are conscious and deliberate, and is born when brand interactions excite and delight them. Every brand touchpoint that a customer has in their buying cycle, including their experience of the product itself, contributes to their satisfaction. Truly brilliant experiences ultimately lead to brand advocacy – when customers are happy to promote and recommend the brand to their peers.

Quantified value proposition
The most successful brands make it easy to understand the benefits of their offering by clearly explaining the things which are different and wonderful about them.
Without defining the value a brand brings to the table, it’s very difficult to achieve the engagement levels required to encourage brand loyalty and advocacy. 

Building trust
Staying consistent is more important than many companies realise. Consumers like things to be predictable, and messages are strengthened when they're reiterated multiple times. It may seem like a good idea to keep things ‘fresh’ by changing them often (and that’s true when it comes to more superficial campaigns), but the core of a brands’ story should remain constant and unwavering.

Thought leadership
If possible, being a leader rather than a follower is almost always a good thing. Helping others, and going out of your way to educate and spread knowledge or ideas, are real, tangible merits that grow awareness and positivity. They make it easier for customers to buy-into a brand and feel good about it.

Making content work

According to the Harvard Business Review, today’s consumers have ever decreasing levels of brand loyalty. In response to this, companies have ramped up their messaging, expecting that the more interaction they provide, the better the chances of holding on to distracted and disloyal customers. 

By providing communications that build trust, and make it easier for customers to weigh options or find information, companies can add real value to their prospects buying process, and avoid getting drowned out among competing messages.

Content marketing is most effective when it is relevant to the consumer. In order to succeed with content marketing (just as with all marketing), it helps to fully understand the target audience. The best content is born from first learning about the audience - taking some time to ‘listen’ to what they’re already talking about. Finding the answers to these questions is a good place to start:

• Who is going to read/watch/hear the content?
• What do they need and want the content to bring them?
• Where do they expect the content to be available?

It's also important to decide ‘what do we want our audience to do as a result of this?’ The most successful campaigns are run across multiple channels, with consistent messaging throughout - this helps compound and reinforce each story.

A good story

Storytelling has incredible power to influence our behaviour and decisions. Compelling stories actually alter our brain chemistry and emotions, as we live out tales alongside the protagonist(s), and relate the activities we’re hearing about to our personal life experiences.

But not all stories are potent enough to stimulate this effect…

Our brains are programmed to recognise patterns, and we like stories that contain familiar patterns because we use them to give meaning to our environment. Stories need certain key elements in order to resonate with and enthral us – the basic formula is a hero character that must overcome a challenge (or challenges) in pursuit of a goal. Without this structure, stories are not likely to interest us. 

Yet, when we hear a good story our brains change radically, showing neural activity in the areas that would be used if we were actually in the story ourselves.

So stories can influence our way of thinking, and what we do. When businesses tell their stories well they can increase sales by helping customers to clearly understand their product’s benefit (happy ending). Better yet, when companies consistently tell great stories they can build a brand identity that customers want to see themselves as being part of. This means repeat business and brand advocates that drive word of mouth referrals.