"I See, I Hear, I Speak": How Audiovisuals Affect Brand Video Virality

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to identify contributing factors that make brand video content viral as well as the video content characteristics that affect the popularity of branded videos in Social Media. Using the method of netnography, a sample of 4000 Youtube user comments under four branded viral videos were collected and analysed. Additionally, an online questionnaire was circulated among 157 Social Media users who shared their experiences regarding their engagement with the content characteristics of the brand videos monitored through netnography. The results suggest that visuals, audio and plot can impact a Social Media user's decision to create an online story about a brand video in Social Networks and consequently, increase its virality. Additionally, the results indicate that plot has the most impact among the three content characteristics and that the inclusion of celebrities and animals can significantly increase the chances of the brand video to go viral.