Viral video ads: Emotional triggers and social media virality

Abstract

Previous studies have found that emotional arousal and emotional valence are important for video ads to be shared. As marketers are exploring new strategies to increase their viral effectiveness in social media, there is a need to provide guidelines on how to elicit emotional engagement that can trigger advertising virality. Drawing on recent findings on the effects of discrete positive emotions, this research examines how specific positive emotions may influence viral sharing. An online experiment was conducted with millennial participants, employing real viral video ads, in order to observe the viral effects of two positive emotions, awe and affection. Awe and affection emotions experienced in relation to online ads may prompt viral sharing by activating specific types of sharing expressions that relate to expressing emotional connection and emotional generosity in social media. Managerial implications for applying positive emotions as triggers to the content of video ads in order to elicit virality in social media are included.

What Drives Virality (Sharing) of Online Digital Content? The Critical Role of Information, Emotion, and Brand Prominence

“…Consistent with the third point, some prior work on sharing/sharing intentions has examined content that evokes discrete emotions such as amusement, awe, inspiration, surprise, joy, affection, anger, disgust, sadness, and fear (see Berger and Milkman 2012; Dafonte-Gomez 2014; Dobele et al 2007; Hsieh, Hsieh, and Tang 2012; Nikolinakou and King 2018; Phelps et al 2004). However, none of these studies examined whether the extent to which ads evoked these discrete emotions created variation in sharing of real-world ads.…”

Role of cognitive absorption in building user trust and experience

“…Building from SCT, studies have suggested that human‐to‐human interactions in the workplace can create innovative behavior and improve cognitive representation (Ng & Lucianetti, 2016). Besides SCT, studies have found that human‐to‐human interaction has emotional and cognitive dimensions (Frith & Frith, 2012; Nikolinakou & King, 2018; Saad & Gill, 2000; Soscia, 2007). Roche and McConkey (1990) identified three properties stating the nature of absorption, namely (a) hypnosis and hypnotizability, (b) imagery, daydreaming, and consciousness, and (c) attentional processing of psychophysiological responses.…”

Powering Social Media Footage: Simple Guide for the Most Vulnerable to Make Emergency Visible

“…In this description, it is also important to cite actions that attempted to amend this problem if they exist. The third step is emotional valence and this occurs by openly revealing how an experience has psychologically affected the author of the video ( Nikolinakou, & King, 2018).…”