My left stroke just went viral!

Kendrick Lamar's most emphasised line sung by his fans from his song 'HUMBLE', but what is the meaning of viral? What does it mean for something to 'go viral'? And why do some videos, photos and other media outlets become viral whilst others do not?

Something that is 'viral' can be understood as, circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another. It is the epitome of media that becomes iconic on the web for how largely well-known it has become, for example, 'Charli bit my finger'. This video as of January 2020 has over 870 million views (Wikipedia 2020).

So what contributes to a video or shared media going viral and why doesn't it happen to everyone? There is no one answer to these questions, but an array of factors that can contribute. This includes the principles of contagiousness.

There are six principles of contagiousness, Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value and Stories (STEPPS). It is acknowledged that not all six principles are required for a successful campaign and that some principles will be more suited to a product than others. The three we will discuss are stories, practical value and public.

Stories are influential in encouraging virality because they are easily remembered, personal and trustworthy. The attention of all people is more easily gained through visuals and storytelling because naturally, human beings don't think in terms of information but in terms of stories. Viral sources on the internet are often simple in nature and don't require information overloads, such as Turtle ASMR and Real-life recreation of 'The Simpsons' New Orleans food tour (Mashable 2019). Storytelling can be utilised for most types of products and services, recently it has been popular in skincare, superannuation, financial planning and exercise equipment.

Practical value is important because people like to share their successes with a product or service that brings them value or results. For example, tradies, builders, handymen sharing a new tool that they have purchased which has physically made their job easier. Sharing this information between people strengthens social bonds and inflicts a feeling of satisfaction that another person has been helped from their experience. When the product is more specific to a particular market, it is more likely to be shared and purchased. Such as female, sensitive skin, pore improving face mask, as opposed to general skincare improvement.

Public refers to the willingness to conform to societal changes and how this impacts buyer attitudes and purchases. It is in our human nature to unconsciously conform to what is around us, looking around the areas we live there are trends. Similar cars, clothing, likes and possessions. A product or service can become viral just from human conformity from its regular exposure!

What would you do to try and make something go viral?