Can you identify when a (counter) campaign will go viral?

See Ignacio Garcia's ABERJE column this September for the effects of viralizing social media campaigns.

Risk perception is a phenomenon of social contagion that spreads rapidly in the Age of Interconnectivity through social media, creating what network scientists call “viralization cascades”.

Accessing the digital footsteps of Internet users (in the form of post, tweets…) is a unique opportunity for scientists to advance social understanding of the digital age, but it is also a strategic knowledge that business communicators can learn to implement in their communication strategies. Here are some insights.

The waterfalls of virtual emotions

Having researched in the last eight years a hundred “viralization cascades” with methods that integrate network science, data science, and netnography, I can say that it's the emotions that determine when a campaign against, (or, to a lesser extent, in favor of an institutional or personal brand, will reach its turning point: that defining moment from which social contagion begins to spread so strongly that there is no risk communication to contain it.

In my studies, I find that these emotions are mostly triggered when images of sensitizing audiences such as children, the elderly and animals are evoked. It is no coincidence that the images most posted on Facebook for the tenth consecutive year are those of cute and harmless cats and dogs. I refer to this audience as the term “neotenic”, which is used by developmental evolutionists to refer to organisms that preserve characteristics of their origin, typically characterized by the traits of a child who, curiously, have points of contact with traits and behaviors of the elderly (newborn children have a funny face as well as old people). In the case of animals, I observe that they are only those who seem to us to be harmless at sight, because they carry traits such as: eyes and big head as opposed to a small body (think beagles and rabbits as opposed to mice and cockroaches). ).

The explosive triad of a viral campaign

If we add to this specific audience any threats (such as the possibility of a child getting cancer or an animal being part of a lab test) and finally adding a corporate target (such as a product brand or a health institute) research), we have the perfect formula for a campaign to go viral.

Just missing the network

With all the elements of the digital bomb defined, it will take a human network to spread it. Here is the secret of Social Media Strategists, experts in the art of articulating digital networks to spread the message for or against a particular target. The type of digital networks that strategists have is characteristic, and generally refers to a local or niche influence, as well as to a specific cause. However, the most effective strategists are those who can articulate different niches or groups, shortening paths and activating diverse interests around their cause.

A rational response to an emotional campaign

Finally, the best way to increase the flow rate of the waterfall is with a counter-campaign based on a technical-rational discourse that attempts to discredit, refute, or minimize emotional arguments with academic credentials. It is up to organizations to develop their communication strategies based on knowledge of digital behavior.

 

check out on here the original story.